As a Black woman, I understand the difficulty of discussing hair. I personally have been misgendered, bullied and made to feel uncomfortable because of my hair. I have chemically straightened my beautiful curls to try to assimilate, and been paranoid that fun coloured box-braids would impede job opportunities.
These shared stories and experiences led hair artist Yo Yo Michele of YoYo’s Studios in Montreal to start My Hair is Art. The third instalment in her art series, My Hair is Art. Please Don’t Judge., is her first exhibit in Toronto. The models in the photographs are youth taking part in the Kickback Foundation. All proceeds from the 3 day exhibit also supported Kickback Foundation.
The Kickback Foundation is a youth-led movement for change coming out of Toronto, Canada. Artists, athletes, social workers and community programmers came together to serve neighbourhoods similar to ones they grew up in. Founded by Jamal Burger, Kickback’s vision is to redefine communities by breaking down the social barriers that underserved youth face. The Kickback Foundation has two arts programs, two education based programs and three sports based programs.The graduation held December 12th celebrates 88 successful graduates, over 300 community members and over 700 networking opportunities for the accomplished students.
Yoyo shares that she met Burger at a retreat of her husband’s, and once she saw his photography work she became instantly intrigued at the prospect of working together. “I was really intrigued with [his art] and I just thought doing an art series with him, considering he does have his nonprofit, the Kickback Foundation, which highlights young men would be a great idea to connect and collaborate on this next series.”
Yoyo started her art series as a means to get creative, explore outside of her comfort zone and felt that the “My Hair is Art” series was a great way to address issues many Black people faced. “I did feel like there was a need for this series because unfortunately a lot of us as black people have experienced discrimination or, people making inappropriate comments about our hair. I felt like this was our voice for the young men as well because a lot of times young men don’t voice their experiences or they have a lot of personal things going on as well. So for them, their hair is really a part of them. They shouldn’t have to explain why they style their hair a certain way or why their hair is a certain texture or length . They shouldn’t be judged or looked at in a certain way because of the way they choose to style their hair.”
Her last two exhibits were in Montreal, but bringing this exhibit to Toronto was better than she expected “The Kickback Foundation has such a strong community behind them. The kids [who were photographed], they brought their families, and they were just so excited and proud to have their community around them. Even online it’s been doing so well. I’m still living in it.”
Yoyo and her team travelled to Toronto and styled the hair of these young men. This was the first time they were all meeting. “It was really interesting. I was very nervous because I didn’t know what I was walking into, but they were so sweet. I had an hour with each young man, and in that hour we just talked. They were just so sweet. They were polite, they were kind. It really felt like they were sitting in my salon chair, and just opening up.” The shoot was conducted a year ago, edited and then the team spent time finding a venue – The NIA Centre.
Yoyo shares that she anticipates more projects with The Kickback Foundation, so stay tuned for more!
Hillary LeBlanc
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