Photo by Ella Cooper
About the Talk
Explore embodied practices for making short film and empowered photo based projects dedicated to positive social change and radical love. ellacooper.ca
About the Artist
Ella Cooper is an award winning cultural leader, producer, facilitator, photo-video artist, educator and programmer based in Toronto. She has been working in the arts and culture sector for over 19 years. Her creative work explores the diaspora, the creation of positive representations of the Black body in Canada, equity and arts for social change, community storytelling, contemporary dance and hybrid identity.
She is also the founder of Black Women Film! Canada a new collective and leadership initiative supporting the development of Black women filmmakers that she created with support from TIFF, CBC, CFC, the Nia Centre for the Arts and 40 Black women filmmakers funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Ella continues to design and facilitate transformative leadership, anti-oppression and arts empowerment programs for diverse communities, youth and not for profit organizations across Canada, the US, Europe, the Caribbean and South Africa. Ella holds a Masters of Education and has served as part time faculty at University of Toronto Scarborough. In addition, she continues to be a featured speaker and guest facilitator for national and international conferences.
In 2019, Ella was nominated for a Mayor’s Arts Cultural Leadership Award and in 2017 selected as one of Toronto Arts Council's Cultural Leader Fellows.
In 2015, her documentary film debut ‘Black Men Loving’ won ‘Best Canadian Film’ at the International Caribbean Tales Film Festival, plus she received ‘Best Canadian Presentation’ award for her work in collaboration with Alison Duke and the Akua Benjamin Legacy Project series she directed with five other Black female directors, celebrating 50 year of Black activism in Toronto. In addition, her new short dance film documentary series ‘Dance for Life’ recently launched on Fibe TV1 and received honorable mention for ‘Best Dance Film Documentary’ at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival.
Ella’s work has been presented in galleries, public spaces and festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Berlin. She receives continued support from the Canada Council and Ontario Arts Council, as well as being a recipient of a City of Vancouver award and recent artist in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
Photo by Ella Cooper
Your All Access Pass is your digital ticket to all things F-O-R-M 2020—it gives you access to every event, from artists talks, to workshops and film screenings. Pay what you can, sliding scale $5-$70. Please note all F-O-R-M 2020 events are online-only.