CAHR 2026 Ancillary Event
YSMENA Trans Photovoice Art Exhibit
Middle Eastern and North African Trans and Gender Diverse Photovoice Art Exhibit: Stories of Resilience & Be/Longing
Event Details from CAHR 2026
Host: Family Studies and Human Development Program, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University
The Trans Photovoice Art Exhibit: Stories of Resilience & Be/Longing aims to amplify the lived experiences of transgender and gender-diverse Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) newcomer youth. This initiative is part of the larger YSMENA Research Program which aims to advance culturally responsive, equitable, and evidence-based support for MENA youth in Canada.
Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the MENA Trans Photovoice Study marks the culmination of a one year community-based participatory research project led by Nominated Principal Investigator, Dr. Roula Kteily-Hawa from Western University, with Co-Principal Investigators, Dr. Sarah Flicker, York University, and Dr. Trevor Hart, Toronto Metropolitan University. The project was strengthened through collaboration with key community partners, including The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO), Queer Muslims, Sherbourne Health, LubunTo, Alliance for South Asian AIDS prevention, and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA), with a commitment to community-engaged, trauma-informed, and intersectional research approaches.
Aligned with CAHR’s 2026 theme, “Under open skies: Rising to meet unprecedented challenges in the HIV response”, the exhibition will showcase study participants’ art pieces, photography, mixed-media installations, a documentary film, and participant reflections, to illuminate the complex realities of trans MENA youth navigating migration, identity, safety, and belonging. The research highlights urgent service sexual health gaps faced by trans MENA newcomers, and this event allows their calls to action to be seen and heard.
Session attendees will be engaged with the MENA youth’s Six Calls to Action, which highlight critical needs in the areas of gender-affirming care, HIV prevention, language accessibility, community safety, anti-violence efforts, and culturally competent health and social services. The session will end with an open buffet of Middle Eastern food.
Ancillary Event
Ancillary Event Hosts
Click on a photo in the gallery to enlarge.
Middle Eastern and North African Trans and Gender Diverse Photovoice Art Exhibit: Stories of Resilience & Be/Longing
Click on a photo in the gallery to enlarge.
Sponsor
Thank you
Thank you to all of the artists who contributed their work and time to the Trans Photovoice Study. Without you, none of this could have happened.
Thank you as well to our community partners, community research leads, dedicated members of our team and to the partners and funding that came together to support such important work.
Thank you to everyone who is getting involved and who came to the art exhibit while it was open in Toronto to support the artists and community.