Dany Pen

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Dany Pen
Dany Pen at the Bermuda National Gallery advocating for Early Years Art Education, October 25, 2017.
Dany Pen, "Family Portrait" series (2006–2015), Whistler Museum of Art, "Pursuing Justice Through Art" exhibition, Massachusetts, U.S.A, 2015.

Dany Pen (born September 22, 1986) is a Khmer-Canadian human rights activist, artist and educator.

Early life[edit]

Dany Pen was born to a Cambodian refugee family who arrived in America in the 1980s.[1] She spent the first few years of her childhood living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada under the sanctuary of the Catholic Church with her mother. In the late 1980s, Pen and her mother were transitioned into the community of St. Jamestown by the Toronto Housing Corporation. In 1995, Pen and her mother were relocated again to the housing projects of Regent Park.[2]

At the age of 12, Pen was nominated by her school for the Toronto Star Honderich Award. The submission of her essay "Pride in the Ghetto" granted her the award and a full academic scholarship from the University of Toronto.

Pen began using art as a platform for her political and social agendas. She then decided to transfer her University of Toronto scholarship to attend OCAD University. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at OCAD in sculpture and installation and was honoured with the "Faculty Chair" award upon graduation.[3]

Career[edit]

Dany Pen, "Intangible" exhibition, XPACE Gallery (in conjunction with Toronto, CONTACT Photography Festival), Toronto, Ontario, 2010.

After graduating from OCAD, Pen had her first solo art show at The Board of Directors in Toronto.[3]

The spotlight gave her the opportunity to also showcase her work at XPACE Gallery[4] in conjunction with the CONTACT Photography Festival[5] in Canada and a solo show at the Society of Arts in Bermuda.[6]

Her art show titled "Deja Vu 1965"[6] in Bermuda caught the attention of art critic Charles Zuill, who compared her works to that of Post-Impressionist Artist Paul Gauguin.[7]

Artistic work[edit]

Dany Pen, featured speaker at the Bermuda College for the International Freedom Day, 2019.
Dany Pen being honoured by the "World Builder" award by OCAD University in Canada, 2016.

Her artwork Erasures, influenced by the history of the Cambodian genocide and the Khmer Rouge regime, was featured in the 2012 Bermuda Biennial.[8][9]

Her artwork Grooming Goods, which spoke to slavery and consumerism, was selected and featured in the 2014 International Bermuda Biennial.[10][11][12]

Her Self-Portrait and Family artwork series, which also comments on her family history with the Cambodian genocide, were featured in the 2015 Charman exhibition at the Museum of Masterworks. She was also previously awarded the 2013 Charman Prize for artist with "Best Source of Inspiration".[13][14]

Her artwork Last Breath featured in the 2016 Bermuda Biennial.[15][16][17]

Political and social work[edit]

In 2006, Pen became involved with June Callwood Centre (formerly known as Jessie's Centre) and began advocating for the rights of young mothers and the protection of young girls from sexual abuse. The same year, Pen explicitly spoke out for women's rights and addressed the North York Community Council; the City of Toronto government, and the City of North York to provide adequate housing to young single mothers in the city of Toronto and North York. Her advocacy was challenged by the Bayview community, however the number of vote by city councilors resulted in the approval of the building permits.

In 2016, Pen was appointed to serve on the Human Rights Commission as a Commissioner in Bermuda.[18][19] As the Human Rights Commissioner, Pen held special interests in women's rights, gender equality and education.[19]

The same year in 2016, Pen founded the international advocacy group called Women's A.C.T (action, change, today). The Women's A.C.T organization is about equality, justice, empowerment and support for women who are survivors of sexual assault, violence and domestic abuse.[20]

Notably and controversially, on April 9, 2021, VICE Media Group published an article titled, “These People Were Arrested by the Khmer Rouge and Never Seen Again,” featuring photos of Tuol Sleng victims with their faces manipulated — erased and subjectively colorized — by Matt Loughrey, a “self-taught artist”. The photos however, have been used without the community's consent including many of the surviving family members of those murdered at the Tuol Sleng execution site. Dany Pen along with other members of the Cambodian community launch an international petition demanding that Matt Loughrey and Vice Media Group issue an apology to the Cambodian Community. The petition amassed over 10,000 signatures worldwide with press releases in the New York Times,[21] Washington Post,[22] BBC News[23] and Southeast Asian Globe[24] publications. The petition received worldwide support and even direct support from the Kingdom of Cambodia who released their own international public statement.[25] Pen and Vice Media Group were able to reconcile the situation through private meetings in which Vice media group thereafter issued a public and private apology.[26]

Awards[edit]

In 2006, Pen was recognized by the City of Toronto government and former Mayor David Miller for her philanthropic work and advocacy for women's rights.

In 2016, Pen was honored with the "World Builder" award from OCAD University, Canada, which is the highest honors for alumni achievement.[27][28][29] The "World Builder" award is bestowed upon individuals who have made substantive humanitarian contributions to their community and culture; individuals who are active in supporting global causes.[30]

In 2017, Pen was nominated as "Woman of the Year" in Bermuda at the Women's Empowerment Summit hosted by Today in Bermuda. Pen was recognized for her on-going advocacy for women's rights.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Moniz-Hardy, Jessie (March 9, 2015). "Art Helps to tell story of Cambodian Genocide". Royal Gazette. Royal Gazette Limited.
  2. ^ Assan, Krystle. "Taking Dany Pen's Pulse". 10thtribe. Kulcha. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Bernews, Bernews. "Bermuda Society of Arts Members' Show". Bernews. Bernews. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  4. ^ "- Events – Proposal Workshop with Lisa Wohrle June 19 @ XPACE, Toronto". Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  5. ^ "Tonight: Bermuda Society of Arts Fall Show – Bernews". Bernews. 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  6. ^ a b "CAMBODIAN Connection | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda Lifestyle". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  7. ^ "High marks for sheer impact | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda Lifestyle". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  8. ^ Zuill, Charles (August 17, 2012). "The smallest BNG Biennial". Royal Gazette. Royal Gazette Newspaper. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  9. ^ ARC. "Capturing the Ellipsis: the Bermuda National Gallery 2012 Biennial of Contemporary Bermuda Art sponsored by Bacardi Limited". arcthemagazine.com. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  10. ^ Howie, Lisa (April 11, 2016). "Bermuda Biennial 2016 announcing the artists". ARC Magazine. ARC Magazine.
  11. ^ Bynoe, Holly (August 13, 2014). "Bermuda Biennial 2014: A View from the Edge". Arc Magazine. ARC Magazine.
  12. ^ Repeating Islands, Repeating Islands. "Bermuda Biennial Explores Conflicts in Island Life". Repeating Islands. Repeating Islands. Retrieved June 13, 2014.
  13. ^ Moniz-Hardy, Jessie (October 28, 2013). "A Mask on Top of a Mask". Royal Gazette. Royal Gazette Limited.
  14. ^ "Charman Prize Exhibit Highlights Award Winners". Bernews. Bernews. September 9, 2015.
  15. ^ Bermuda National Gallery, Bermuda National Gallery (June 2016). "2016 Bermuda Biennial". Vimeo. Bermuda National Gallery. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  16. ^ "Artists explore theme with aplomb | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda Lifestyle". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  17. ^ Silk, Nick (July 18, 2016). "Artists Explore Theme with Aplomb". Royal Gazette. Royal Gazette. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  18. ^ "New Human Rights Commissioners Appointed – Bernews". Bernews. 2016-01-21. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  19. ^ a b "Commission names its latest line-up | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda News". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  20. ^ "Domestic Violence Awareness Panel Discussion". Bernews. 2018-10-23. Retrieved 2019-04-22.
  21. ^ Mydans, Seth (2021-04-13). "Cambodians Demand Apology for Khmer Rouge Images With Smiling Faces". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  22. ^ "Vice published altered photos showing Cambodian genocide victims smiling. It unleashed an uproar". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  23. ^ "Cambodia criticises edited photos of Khmer Rouge victims". BBC News. 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  24. ^ "Photoshopping history: The true story behind the smirking man of Tuol Sleng". Southeast Asia Globe. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  25. ^ Staff, Post. "Culture ministry: Take Tuol Sleng photos down, or else". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  26. ^ "Editorial Statement Regarding Photographs of Khmer Rouge Victims". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  27. ^ University, OCAD. "Instudio | The Alumni of Influence Interviews: Dany Pen | | [cur..." www2.ocadu.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  28. ^ University, OCAD (2016-10-21), OCAD University Alumni of Influence 2016 Recipients, Worldbuilder Award, Dany Pen, retrieved 2017-11-01
  29. ^ University, OCAD. "2016 Recipients". www.ocadu.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  30. ^ University, OCAD. "Nomination Guideline – OCADU". www.ocadu.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
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