Langara’s 2025 Artist-in-Residence sheds light on immigrant life in new project

By JUAN DIAZ LOPEZ

Langara’s 2025 Artist in Residence, Pooya Nabei, shares stories of immigrants as they transition to a new life in his new project, An Old Reverie.

Having immigrated from Iran to Canada when he was 17, Nabei’s experience served as an inspiration for this project. In the duration of his career as a photographer, he wanted his personal story to reflect his art, which motivated him to create An Old Reverie.

“As I’m getting older, I’m trying to connect with who I am, where I come from, and being an immigrant was a profound experience in my life and in my career. I’m trying to connect [my personal projects] with who I was and who I am,” Nabei said.

Expanding opportunities for artists

Langara College opened the Artist in Residence program for photographers and writers to have a chance to create personal projects and get students to engage with professionals. The college is planning to expand categories in the future, hoping to involve the Studio 58 program for a playwright in residence.

“This exposes our students to working professionals in the creative sectors helping them better hone their craft,” said Simone Le Blanc, the executive director of the Langara College Foundation.

Eric Stewart, department chair of Langara photography department said that commercial photographers rarely get the chance to create personal projects. He stated that Nabei’s project is an art form that sheds light on relevant stories.

“This one is based around community and global citizenship and social conscience. I’m really glad that Langara sponsors it. It’s important,” Stewart said.

Representation and student experience

Hargun Preet Singh Kambo, an international student who studies photography at Langara College had the opportunity to work with Nabei. He stated that this experience made him reflect on his time as an immigrant while learning technical skills.

“Working with him was a great opportunity for me. This was my first time assisting a photographer on set, so it was a good opportunity to see how the set works, how the ethics are,” Kambo said, “Watching people get emotional telling the stories and listening to the stories was a really beautiful moment for me, because being an international student myself,  it was easy for me to relate to the stories.”

Vernon Macaraig, an international student from the political science program said he hopes this project gives justice to the stories of immigrants.

“Every day is just another day of surviving, I am sure anyone else in Vancouver knows this story for themselves well enough, I’m hoping this project portrays both the highs and lows,” Macaraig said.

Nabei said that immigrants go through struggles and hardships which are difficult to put in words, and he aims to capture their stories through visuals.

“If I can interview different ethnicities, different nationalities, and ask them what they’ve experienced and share that with my viewers, they have a better understanding of what it’s like to actually immigrate from one country to another,” Nabei said.

The exhibit for An Old Reverie opens on April 10.