About
Soka Lazara (she/her) is a mixed Costa Rican, Nicaraguan, French-Canadian, and German lens-based artist and community arts facilitator based in Mississauga. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University and completed a Graduate Certification in Arts Education and Community Engagement from Centennial College. In her artistic practice her work revolves around self-portraiture, editorials, and documentaries. Soka explores themes of storytelling, identity, family lineages, and her own personal experiences in her artwork.
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Education
2022 - Postgraduate Degree (Art Education and Community Engagement), Centennial College, Toronto, ON.
2020 - Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography Studies), Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON.
Awards and Honours
2022 - Dean's Award for Academic Excellence, Centennial College, Toronto, ON.
2019 - Dean’s Award for Kaleidoscope Magazine, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON.
Publications
2020 - Kaleidoscope Magazine, Issue No.4, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON.
2019 - Kaleidoscope Magazine, Issue No.3, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON.
Group Shows and Exhibitions
2024 - Desire Lines Exhibition presented by VIBE Arts, Ikea Court at Scarborough Town Centre and Dundas West Station, Toronto and Scarborough, ON.
2024 - Meet Me At The Park, Bradley Museum, Mississauga, ON, Curated by the Master of Museums Studies program at University of Toronto.
2024 - City of Mississauga’s Resident Artist Exhibition “Ephemera”, Small Arms Inspection Building, Mississauga, ON.
2023 - Annual Member Exhibition "blue", Gallery 44, Toronto, ON, Curated by Grace Wang.
2022 - Contact Photography Festival: View Find (H)er: Finding Women Working in Photography 2022, Art Gallery of Mississauga, Mississauga ON, Curated by Fausta Facciponte.
2020 - State of Being, Small Arms Inspection Building, Mississauga, ON.
2020 - Now Streaming, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2019 - Bread and Butter: FCAD Marketplace, Artspace at 401 Richmond, Toronto, ON.
2019 - Maximum Exposure 24, School of Image Arts, Toronto, ON.
2018 - Maximum Exposure 23, School of Image Arts, Toronto, ON.
2018 - Dirty Talk: Art Show and Marketplace, Smiling Buddha, Toronto, ON.
2018 - First Edition Photobook Show, Artspace, Toronto, ON.
2018 - Fragments: Third Year Show, Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON.
2017 - Toronto Metropolitan University x Brighton Exchange, School of Image Arts Gallery 310, Toronto, ON.
2017 - Women in Art, School of Image Arts, Toronto, ON.
2017 - Maximum Exposure 22, School of Image Arts, Toronto, ON.
2017 - Bread and Butter, Artspace at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON.
2017 - Art in Colour, School of Image Arts, Toronto, ON.
2016 - Bread and Butter, Artspace at the Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, ON.
Online Exhibitions
2021 - Interactive Art Exhibit, Meta Arts Fest, Brampton, ON.
2021 - Now Streaming, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
Online Publications
2020 - PhotoED Magazine, Fall 2020: Portraiture #59, Toronto, ON.
PhotoVogue, Vogue Italia - (2021 - On Going Portfolio)
Mentorship Programs
2022 - Present - VIBE Arts Emerging Artist Roster, VIBE Arts, Toronto, ON.
2024 - Room Up Front Mentorship Program, Canada.
2022 - RBC Emerging Artist Network, The Power Plant, Toronto, ON.
Residencies
2023 - FPN Island presented by Feminist Photography Network, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto, ON.
2022 - CreateSpace Public Art Forum, STEPS Public Art, Toronto, ON.
2020 - VAM’s Creative Residency, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
Curatorial Experience
2020 - Now Streaming, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga ON.
Professional Experience
2019 - Present - Visual Arts Instructor, City of Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2022 - Present - Visual Arts Facilitator, VIBE Arts, Toronto, ON.
2023 - Outreach and Accessibility Engager, Clay and Paper Theatre, Toronto, ON.
2023 - Project Assistant, Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, Hamilton, ON.
2022 - Communications and Outreach Assistant, Clay and Paper Theatre, Toronto, ON.
2021 - Visual Arts Instructor, Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON.
2020 - Education and Gallery Intern, Koffler Center of the Arts, Toronto, ON.
2020 - Digital Printing Assistant, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON.