SUNDAY FILM SERIES
Collective Agency
April 6, 2025 at 2:30pm
Entrance by donation | Writer and Director: Harry Killas, 2024, 24 MINS
Post-screening discussion with Harry Killas (filmmaker) and Ann Pollock (curator)
Collective Agency is a short documentary, creative portrait of a group of seniors who embarked on a unique photo-based public art project in Vancouver, BC. Under the guidance of curator and artist Ann Pollock, and with the support of artist mentors Christos Dikeakos and Birthe Piontek, this group was introduced to photography and learned to interpret it as a multifaceted art practice. Through a series of intimate interviews and insights, Collective Agency captures their journey of personal and artistic growth, culminating in a local exhibition and public art installations.
The Collective Agency Project was a two-year public art project in which Vancouver artist and Emily Carr University Associate Professor of Photography Birthe Piontek, artist Chris Dikeakos, and consultant Ann Pollock worked with nine senior citizens to produce photo-based art projects in public space.
Among many interactions, the project involved an exchange between ECU photo students and seniors participating in the program. It highlights the meaning created through lifelong learning and intergenerational dialogue, as well as countering prevalent notions of ageism.
The Collective Agency Project was coordinated by Ann Pollock and produced by the City of Vancouver Public Art Program in fulfillment of the public art requirement for Opal by element, and in partnership with Arts & Health: Healthy Aging Through the Arts, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.