On July 9-11, American environmental photographer James Balog participated in the Panamanaia photography exhibit “The Water’s Edge” in Toronto. Funded by the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto, the local arts and environment organization No. 9 was able to bring the internationally acclaimed photographer to feature his brilliant work at Toronto’s two busiest transportation hubs, Union Station and Pearson International Airport.
Balog’s photographs, taken all over the world, demonstrate the impact of human and technological development on planet Earth. Ongoing from July 9 to July 15, as part of the Pan Am cultural festival, Panamania’s Water’s Edge is a photographic exhibition produced by non-governmental arts organization No.9: Contemporary Art & the Environment. It explores the causes and effects of global change, where human civilization modifies land and freshwater supply on a daily basis. The exhibition features the work of five other exemplary Pan Am photographers, and brings to the public’s attention other relevant topics such as Indigenous fresh water rights. As a free, multi-venue exhibition, it has already touched the minds and hearts of millions of Torontonians, raising awareness on global environmental concerns through the use of art.
James Balog is known for his role in the Emmy award-winning documentary Extreme Ice Survey, the most groundbreaking photographic study of glaciers ever conducted on the effects of global warming and climate change. Featured in the 2012 documentary Chasing Ice, Oscar-nominee Balog has also won numerous awards. Balog has taken up studying and observing the human modification of our planet’s natural systems. Incredibly, he began displaying solid evidence of global warming through powerful photographs in order to witness not only the fruits of human progression in society, but unfortunately, the environmental degradation that comes along with it. Balog’s presentation at the Fresh Water Symposium on July 10 demonstrated footage of the effects of global warming on glacial ice using time-lapse photography, conventional photography, and video. Public Affairs Officer Hillary Renner and Cultural/Academic Program Assistant Claudia Valladolid attended the event and were impressed with his message calling for the preservation and conservation of water globally and across Canada.
