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With the highlight of competing in the 1996 Olympics for Canada, Cynthia Johnston’s basketball career spanned 20 years in both Europe and Canada,

with 14 years as part of the National Team program beginning at the age of 16. The latter part of her sport’s career overlapped with the early years of raising her children in Belgium. Somewhere in there, she also ran a bed and breakfast in Brugge with her husband. It is since she accidently won her first camera at the age of 19 that her passion for photography began, existing as a constant thread throughout these many and varied phases of her life thus far.
 

Following two years of commuting from Quebec City to Toronto to attain her MFA in Documentary Media at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2019, Cynthia has returned to residing full time in Quebec City with her husband, 5 children, 2 dogs, 4 cats and 3 horses.

As a mother of five, Cince Johnston's photography practice includes exploring intimate family narratives alongside street documentary and activist-based storytelling for change. From an ecological standpoint, Johnston also attempts to incorporate environmentally conscious elements to her work through sustainable printing practices—focussing on using recycled paper and recycled ink.  Most recently, she can be found hand binding her new book late into the night.

Education
2019—MFA Documentary Media, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada 
1999—Diploma Photojournalism, SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology), Calgary, AB, Canada
1991—BA History and Art History, Bishop’s University, Lennoxville, QC, Canada


RESIDENCIES
2023/24—VU Photo Eco-Sensible Residency, Quebec City, QC, Canada
2022—Penumbra Foundation Risograph Print and Publication Residency, New York, NY, US


FELLOWSHIP
2021—Wendy Snyder MacNeil Research Fellowship, Image Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada

Awards
2024—22nd Julia Margaret Cameron Non Professional Woman Photographer, winner, category: series children
2024—22nd
 Julia Margaret Cameron Non Professional Woman Photographer, runner-up, category: series bxw
2021—17th Julia Margaret Cameron Non Professional Woman Photographer, runner-up, category: series
2021—Winner, Portrait Non Professional Series
2021—Winner, Children Non Professional Series


GRants
2021-24—Freddy and Ceydie project, Canada Council for the Arts, Explore and Create—Concept to Realization

Handmade Book
2022—this place i call home whispers fragments of secrets to me--risograph printed, edition 80 books, hand sewn

SOLO Exhibitions (Freddy and Ceydie Project)
currently runningFreddy and CeydieCafé Saint-Henri, Quebec City, QC, Canada 
2024
Freddy and Ceydie, Trailside Art Gallery, North Rustico, PEI, Canada 
2024Freddy and CeydieMusée Pierre Boucher, Trois Rivières, QC, Canada 
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Port Hope Public Library, Port Hope, ONT, Canada
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Susan Anderson Library, Bow Island, AB, Canada 
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Seton--Jasper Healthcare Centre, Jasper, AB, Canada 
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Cobblestone Cafe, Drayton Valley, AB, Canada 
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Cross Roads Farmer's Market, Calgary, AB, Canada  
2024Freddy and Ceydie, Chez Casgrain, Kamouraska, QC, Canada 
2023Freddy and Ceydie, Ganaraska Art & Framing, Port Hope, ON, Canada
2023Freddy and Ceydie, Tett Creative and Learning Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada
2023Freddy and Ceydie, Lyceum Gallery, Toronto,, ON, Canada
2022Freddy and Ceydie, Griffin House, Bishop's University, Lennoxville, QC, Canada
2022Freddy and Ceydie, Saint John Arts Centre, Saint John, NB, Canada
2018Ceydie, The Image Center Student Gallery, Toronto, ON, Canada
2018iFragments, Toronto Metropolitan University Image Arts Gallery Space, Toronto, ON, Canada


CATALOGUE - TRAVELLING exhibition
2022—Freddy and Ceydie, book and exhibition in one, printed using recycled ink on old stock 30% recycled paper, offset Lithograph printing, 200 copies

GROUP Exhibitions
2024—Finalist Open Call, exhibited July 26 - August 25, Fotografia Calabria Festival, Calabria, Italy
2023—Les 14es Rencontres de la Photographie en Gaspésie ("Freddy and Ceydie"), Gaspésie, Quebec, Canada
2023—Cortona On the Move Festival ("Freddy and Ceydie"), Cortona, Italy
2022—Julia Margaret Cameron selection, FotoNostrum, Barcelona, Spain
2022—The Print Swap, ClampArt Gallery, New York, NY, USA
2021—Être au Monde, (body of work from "this place I call home..."), VU Photo, Quebec City, Canada
2021—The Portrait, International Juried Exhibition, Praxis Photo Art Center, Minneapolis, MH, USA
2021A Woman's View, South East Centre for Photography, Greenville, South Carolina USA
2021Memory, South East Centre for Photography, Greenville, South Carolina USA
2021—Black and White: 2021, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
2020—Women Street Photographers, El Barrio's Artspace PS109, New York, NY, USA
2020—Finding the Light,  PhotoPlace Gallery (On-Line Exhibition), Middlebury, Vermont, USA
2020—Color Photography: 2020, Black Box Gallery (On-line Annex Exhibition), Portland, Oregon, USA
2020—Narratives, International Juried Exhibition, Praxis Photo Art Center, Minneapolis, MH, USA
2020—Dynamic: Shadow and Light, Black Box Gallery (On-Line Annex Exhibition), Portland, Oregon, USA
2020—Women Street Photographers, State Historical Museum, Chelyabinsk, Russia
2020—The Shadow Aspect, International Juried Exhibition, Praxis Photo Art Center, Minneapolis, MH, USA
2020—Color: The Visual Spectrum, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
2020Regarding Roots, Contact Festival (Cancelled — Covid19), Toronto, ON, Canada
2020Black and White 2020, Black Box Gallery (On-line Annex Exhibition), Portland Oregon, USA
2019Vision: Colour Photoraphy, Black Box Gallery, Portland, Oregon, USA
2019Women Street Photographers, Leica Store, New Delhi, India
2019WHAT: Cars and Dogs, Black Box Gallery (On-line Annex Exhibition), Portland, Oregon, USA
2017150, Contact Festival, TMU Image Building, Toronto, ON, Canada


OTHEr
2023—Sustainable Photobook Publishing network Freddy and Ceydie project case study feature (Nov.16)
2019—Santa Fe Juried Portfolio Review for Freddy and Ceydie project

SCREENINGS
2018Video screening: From the Driver’s Side, A mobile phone project, TMU Image Arts Gallery (Toronto, ON, Canada)
2017Video screening: From the Driver’s Side, A mobile phone project, Harbourfront Centre (Toronto, ON, Canada)

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