August 2012
| The Spider Web by Amy Wilson Honourable Mention This is a photograph of Amy Wilson’s seven-year-old daughter, Mailoan, which means “future” in Vietnamese. Mailoan is the youngest of three children, and her mother took the picture while Mailoan played with her brother and sister at Maclean Park. “I’m smiling. My hair is upside down and it’s sticking up,” says Mailoan. “And I’m holding on to the web.” The “spider web” is what she and her siblings call the jungle gym apparatus, and it’s Mailoan’s favourite feature at the park, says Amy. The park was originally on the site of the current Maclean Park public housing complex, a few blocks west, but was moved as part of the partially completed 1960s "urban renewal" project. Amy Wilson (Gitxsan) loves singing, dancing, music, and reading. She is a longtime volunteer at the Sheway Pregnancy Outreach Program and is active with YWCA’s Crabtree Corner. “I want a job… I want to be a good role model for my kids,” says Amy, who is currently in the newSTART Bridging Employment Program for Women. She and her children survived homelessness while relocating from Ontario to British Columbia. Amy treasures her time with her children and took these photos not just for the contest but as mementos. “These are really special and important to me,” she says of the images. “It brings me lots of joy, love, and happiness.” From the Hope in Shadows collection |
