A Life Reclaimed

An exhibition by Annie Sakkab
Text by James Wareham

Nellie’s 40th Anniversary Open House:
June 1, 2013. 1pm-6pm.

Press Release

Marking the 40th Anniversary of Nellie’s shelter for women and children fleeing violence, poverty and homelessness in Toronto, A Life Reclaimed by photographer Annie Sakkab will feature during the Riverside ‘Eats & Beats’ Street Fest in conjunction with the Riverdale Artwalk.

A photo exhibition involving women from the shelter, A Life Reclaimed strives to shed light on the hidden truth of gender-based violence that affects 1 in 2 women in every society, across every class and race, at every stage from infancy to old age.

Freezing moments of sadness and hope, it echoes the deep sense of abandonment and isolation of women forced into exile from their homes, while capturing their extraordinary resilience and the rebirth of their identity and empowerment. Women’s shelters like Nellie’s are vital harbors on this journey back to emotional and physical security.

Annie Sakkab is a documentary photographer who lives in Toronto. Born in Jordan, she has worked and resided in London, Rome, Dubai, and Amman. Her documentary practice investigates socio-cultural issues and questions of identity, and seeks to raise awareness on experiences of exile, uprooting, and displacement among marginalized groups. An honors graduate in Fine Art and Graphic Design, Sakkab’s photographs have been exhibited in Canada as well as abroad. Her work Non-spaces (1993) is part of the collection of the National Gallery in Amman, Jordan. Her recent series, Projections – Ghosts of Dubai’s Boom (2010), was exhibited in a featured group exhibition in the 2013 Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival in Toronto, Ontario.

*Please join us this Saturday June 1st at Nellie’s Community Support and Outreach Office, 754 Queen Street East, between 1 and 6pm to view A Life Reclaimed.