ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Sandy Nicholson

Image of Santee Siouxx, Fall for the North

Photographer Sandy Nicholson's multiple Category Winner (MCW) Tkaronto 2 Dance Pow Wow Style Dance Competition was selected as the cover art for our 2025 Photography & Illustration and Design Summer Annual. The work won in three categories: Arts and Culture, Portrait and Pro Bono! Applied Arts wanted to delve further into his work, approach, and process.

Can you walk us through the specifics of creating this piece?

The photos were taken at the Turkaronto 2 competition. The idea came to me after seeing a friend post images of himself at various pow Wows—he’s part of the Pow Wow circuit and competes in the Smoke Dance category. That got me really curious, so I asked him if I could come and photograph him, and he said nope, you should come to this event and see the jingle dance and men's fancy war dance . It turned out there was a major competition happening right in Toronto.

I love the idea of Pow Wows as being many things at once: art, competition, and political protest all wrapped into one event. I wanted to take photos that the participants could use and be excited about. There’s a long history of photographers taking images for themselves, which can often be problematic—especially in cultural spaces like this. Part of my goal was to work against that: to make photographs that could be a gift to the competitors, a thank-you. And at the same time, I hoped the photos would be interesting for others to see as well. But to be completely honest, I also want to make photos that rock. I don't believe photographers who say it's not about me—it's about the people. Then they want a photo byline or credit. Photos are complex and simple at the same time.

Image of  Baac, Fall for the North 

What was the hardest part of creating this piece?

The hardest part of making the photographs was catching the competitors before they packed up to leave. The competition was set up in a round-robin style, and by the time the winners reached their final events, they were utterly exhausted. One of the dancers, after finishing his performance, rushed off to throw up—only to return and continue competing.

The men’s Fancy War Dance is incredibly physical. The dancers must move in perfect sync with the beat of the drums, while the drummers intentionally shift rhythms or have false stops in an attempt to throw them off. It’s a powerful game of endurance, precision, and skill.

Can you give us a behind-the-scenes aperçu?

Everyone should attend a Powwow if they have the chance. Powwows have such a great vibe—there are food stalls craft makers, dancing, and kids running around. It’s a mix of competition and socializing, all happening at once. The ones I’ve been to often include competitive dance events, hosted by an MC. The MC keep the energy high—cracking jokes, announcing events, and providing running commentary throughout the day.

Turkaronto 2 was held in the old arcade space at Union Station in Toronto—a large hall that used to be a walkway. The atmosphere was fun. The drummers played together on a single large drum, and the sound and vibrations were so powerful that you could feel them shaking through your body. At the same time, the drummers were singing—it's intensely physical and incredible to witness.

For photography, I worked with the organizers to set up a portable studio backdrop at one end of the space. It was a setup with a strobe light where dancers could drop in for individual or group portraits between performances. I chose bold, joyful colours for the background—there’s a long history of anthropological-style images and dappled backdrops used at powwows, and I wanted to break that tradition. I aimed for something vibrant and contemporary—living here now, colours, not images frozen in a historic or ethnographic frame.

Image of Alanna Pashe  Santee Siouxx & Nicole, Fall for the North

How would you describe your artistic style?

I always want to make pictures that are useful to other people pictures of simple and beautiful that other people would like to use or keep themselves. My idea of a good photo was a photo of that if you found it on the street you'd want to pick up and take home and perhaps put on the fridge. So my style if there is at all one is simple. I want to subjects to speak for themselves I want the pictures to be clear and to the point.

What inspires you?

People inspire me I've always loved the idea of seeing someone somewhere and thinking oh my god you look amazing. I love obsessive people who are consumed by a passion or an idea and have dedicated themselves completely too.

W: sandynicholson.com | IG: @sandynicholsonphoto | IN: @sandynicholsonphoto

Impressive work Sandy! Thank you for sharing with us.