REBECCA BEAYNI listens to the drum beats at a recent
peace camp in The Beaches in Toronto.
Student photographer learns about himself, others
‘I didn’t have the experience I have now’.

Wednesday August 13, 2003
Natalie Miller

Engrossed in the sound of bongo drums, the woman danced in her wheelchair with the assistance of her support worker.
Rebecca Beayni’s beaming smile was captured with the click of the shutter release button on a digital camera. When student photographer Brendan Kennedy reviewed the images later, he observed the pleasure Rebecca was experiencing at that moment in time.
Brendan, who was hired to take photographs for Community Living Ontario this summer, has been asked by his friends how he communicates with the people he photographs, as some of his subjects, like Rebecca, are non-verbal.

“You can see what (she is) feeling,” explains Brendan in a telephone interview.
Brendan says he has learned much about people who have intellectual disabilities and their families during his employment opportunity. He has spent time with individuals, families and attended a camp, drop-in centres and adult education programs. Brendan may spend up to two days with a family so he can capture moments that are joyous, serious, quiet or focused, said Richard Van Dine, communications consultant in an earlier interview.
“What we want is to gather together an album of pictures that tell life stories through a moment in time, while absolutely respecting the dignity of the individual,” said Richard.
Brendan anticipates his collection will contain more than 1,000 photographs by summer’s end. The photographs will be the property of Community Living Ontario, to be used in publicity or promotional materials such as annual reports, brochures and newsletters.
Brendan, 19, who wishes to pursue a career in journalism, recently spent some time in Peterborough with the Viscardis family. He was on hand to celebrate Laura Viscardis’ 19th birthday party with a concert outside of Peterborough Square and a night at the Trasheteria, a local dance club.

“They were totally awesome,” says Brendan. “It was an amazing experience.”
Through visiting families, Brendan has yet to meet a parent who wasn’t actively involved in the life of his or her child. “Every parent was an activist for the disability of their child.”
Brendan has also learned something about himself. Before he started the project, he says while he considered himself “open-minded”, he still saw peoples’ disabilities. “I didn’t have the experience I have now. By getting a chance…to get to know them…you see the person definitely first,” says Brendan.
“I automatically see the person first now,” he notes. “These are people who feel, think, laugh and share the same emotions as everybody else does.”