Scarborough Made: The Origins
Above Image: Portrait of Curator & Creative Director, Ashley Mckenzie Barnes (2019)
Scarborough Made is a documentary storytelling collaboration led by visual artists Alex Narvaez & Sid Naidu. The project started in 2019 and aims to create a body of short documentary stories that showcase the diverse narratives of people from communities across Scarborough, Toronto.
One of the first stories shot for Scarborough Made was of Ashley Mckenzie Barnes. Ashley, a leading creative director and curator for Toronto, speaks on the strength of Scarborough’s cultural backbone. It's an attitude fuelled by hustle and grit, a trait that makes our contributions to Toronto's culture something that is hard to ignore.
Above Image: Portrait of Canadian Hip Hop Artist, Maestro Fresh Wes (2019)
Through Scarborough Made we celebrate stories of people like Canadian Hip Hop Pioneer & Canadian Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductee, Maestro Fresh Wes.
Working as a security guard in Parkway Mall he penned “Let Your Backbone Slide,” which led him to be the first Canadian Rapper with a gold single.
His story highlights the significant cultural contributions that have emerged from Scarborough’s neighbourhoods.
Above Image: Portrait of a Young Changemaker, Mel Ayisi (2019)
I immigrated to Canada in 99 with my family and Scarborough was a whole new world to me. I would grow up to be raised by the experiences and narratives of this city. I let the grit and rawness that was Scarborough become a part of me. I often left to find work outside of Scarborough's geographical boundaries but would always find myself being brought back here time and time again.
When we shot the story on aspiring young changemaker Mel Ayisi, she shared this common idea that many of us have with wanting to leave the hood to do better. She flipped that perspective by asking the difference that could be made if we focused on bettering our home with that same energy.
For me, Scarborough Made started becoming more about fulfilling that purpose & calling to document stories for the communities I’ve grown up around to build our home first.
Above Image: Portrait of Celebrity Portrait Photographer & Visual Artist, Trevor Godhino (2019)
I often remember seeing Trevor on the Kennedy Station train heading downtown during my commutes to university. Years later when documenting his story we both learned that we shared common lines of being born in the same country within the Arabian Gulf as expatriates to eventually immigrating to Scarborough and growing up around the same high schools.
Scarborough is a place where you find multitudes of cultural connecting identities living along different storylines.
Above Image: Portrait of Creative Entrepreneur & CEO, Kiana 'Rookz' Eastmond (2019)
When I would travel to different countries, I would find commonalities that reminded me of what Scarborough represented. An arrival city for newcomers looking to build a life, the blue-collar hustle of industry and family businesses which fuels the economy, neighbourhoods filled with culture, vibrancy and wisdom but often misunderstood by outsiders looking in. We grew up with mainstream media headlining us a certain type of way but we knew it was time to change that script for the world to truly understand what Scarborough represents.
Growing up in Scarborough didn’t come without its challenges but it made us adaptable and stronger. A story from creative entrepreneur Rookz is a common narrative of clashing cultural identities, acceptance and creating fate. It’s a raw reality of growing up on the streets to becoming a business mogul. That’s the grit that defines Scarborough.
Above Image: Portrait of 105-year-old Scarborough resident, Dorris Sneddon (2019)
I wanted the world to see what I saw in Scarborough. I wanted people to hear the beautiful narratives of humanity that are present here. I wanted them to feel connected to the places and people who represent the communities because in Scarborough we can all find a little bit of us.
Above Image: Portrait of Spoken Word Artist & Ontario's first Poet Laureate: Randell Adjei
Spoken Word Artist Randell Adjei, describes Scarborough as a world in one city. The long-time community organizer has always seen the beauty in people here and has spent years building community in Scarborough through various arts & culture initiatives.
In 2021 he was appointed as Ontario’s First Poet Laureate and continues his grassroots work in a larger capacity for the province.
Above Image: Portrait of Federick's Restaurant Owner, Jennifer Lee (2019)
If there’s one thing that can bring people together, it’s food and with Scarborough, you don’t have to go very far to get a taste of the world with just a few bites. Being critically acclaimed as one of the best food suburbs in the world is without a doubt that immigrant culture influences the way Toronto eats.
I grew up eating Hakka Chinese long before immigrating to Canada. The fusion of Chinese food with Indian spices has become a trademark of Scarborough’s culinary experience.
In Scarborough “Federick’s” was one of the first legendary Hakka Chinese Restaurants that many residents remember. For me it’s a nostalgic taste of the world I left behind mixed with the idea of finding home again.
Above Image: Portrait of Award Winning Speaker & Author, Hamza Khan (2019)
So these stories are to pay tribute to our everyday heroes, our young changemakers, our cultural leaders and our wise elders. It’s for the people that yell out “SCARBOROUGH” from the top of their lungs, for those who have felt some connection to the land and diversity represented here and it's especially for those who try to navigate and find a home in this new world, where they belong.
What started from the origins of an idea to document the neighbourhoods we grew up in and amplify the voices of the people here has evolved to so much more for the community. Today Scarborough Made continues as a social impact art project to strengthen the representation of underserved communities through documentary storytelling, creative youth mentorships & public art.
To learn more about the project visit scarboroughmade.ca
To license images from this project contact info@sncd.ca
