Juwan (Justin) Yu is a Korean-Canadian 17-year-old photographer in B.C., Canada. Yu specializes in storytelling: converting environmental, social, and governing aspects of our world into a 3 X 2 film.
He’s the founder & CEO of Acimona, a global indigenous visual-ethnographic journal funded by Canon and Festival of Hope for championing one of the United Nations SDG goals, which has raised over $7,500 to support charity. He is also the youngest co-host of the 2022 Canadian Youth Photography Contest, which drew more than 120+ applicants and awarded $1,600+ in student prizes.
His work ranges from documenting the TMX pipeline protest to the ongoing “Stranger Danger” series, which is driven by the struggles he sees and the unique ability of photography to evoke emotions and enact societal change.
His work has awarded him accolades at the local and international level, such as: 2023 Canon Global Young Champion of the Year Finalist, 12+ awards in Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards, winner of Glasgow International Photography Competition, and in the permanent collection of Sogos art gallery in Scotland.
Currently, Juwan is developing an animation and film fusion documentary which covers actual indigenous elders who suffered from the Canadian residential school systems, responsible for amassing cultural genocide and sexual/physical abuse on 10,000s of children. His goal is to humanize people and destigmatize healing.