We recently connected with Yannis Lobaina and have shared our conversation below.

Yannis, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I have had a passion for writing since I was just nine years old. Reading books and creating imaginative stories and poems has always brought me joy. Despite facing challenges and detours in my career path, I never lost hope in pursuing my dreams. In my twenties, I explored various art forms such as writing, film, visual arts, and music. When I received my first paycheck at the age of twenty-four for my photographs and publications, I felt courageous and knew I wanted to pursue my artistic path professionally.

I taught creative writing classes and studied Narrative Techniques at the Onelio Jorge Cardoso Literary Training Center in Cuba. I also attended the Cuban International School of Film, Radio, and Television where I received several diplomas in complementary courses, including Film producer, film festival curator, Audiovisual scriptwriting, and sitcom script. It was there that I realized my true passion for visual storytelling.
For over a decade, I worked at the International School of Cinema, Radio, and TV (EICTV), ICAIC, and International Film Production House as an Assistant Director, Script Editor, Production Manager, and creative executive producer. I also worked as a writer and Cultural Promotion specialist at one of Cuba’s most important publishing houses, Ediciones Unión.

Since then, I have been committed to developing my skills as a professional artist, never giving up on my dreams, and always following my heart. As a highly versatile and multidisciplinary artist with nearly two decades of experience, I have held numerous pivotal roles since 2004. My diverse skill set includes creative film production, directorial assistance for both film and TV, production management, musical production, art curation, cultural promotion, and filmmaking. I have successfully produced over 50 short fiction and documentary films, both domestically and internationally.

Through my journey, I learned that with dedication and hard work, anything is possible. I am proud to have followed my heart and never given up on my passions.

You can find more about it here: https://vimeo.com/groups/yannislobaina.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My inspiration comes from the simple things in life, like a bird singing, snowflakes on my face, listening to music, walking in the forest, and laughing with my daughter. I am a photographer, author, emerging filmmaker, and podcaster, and I am currently focusing on minimalist art photography. I capture the fleeting moments, patterns, pareidolias (faces), and beauty of Mother Nature. As an author and filmmaker, I explore themes like immigration, language, diaspora, and motherhood issues through various visual storytelling tools. Since arriving in Canada in 2014, I have been actively practicing my art, learning new skills, and giving back to my community in Canada and abroad. In 2024, I will celebrate a big milestone in my immigrant life: 10 years since arriving in Canada. I am grateful for all the wonderful recognition of my artwork, writing, and community projects I have received so far. Awards, grants, exhibition opportunities, and rejections have all helped me shape my path in Canada. In 2022 and 2021, I was a recipient of the Space Award by the Toronto Arts Foundation, which helped me exhibit my ongoing series, Catch and Release and Alive, Upside Down and Rebirth. I also received the 2021 Ontario Arts Council’s “Skills and Career Development: Arts Professionals of Colour” Grant for my writing project and the 2019 Toronto Arts Council’s Newcomer and Refugee Artist Mentorship Grant as a writer.

I believe that the arts have the power to effect social change and promote peace. Therefore, I am dedicated to developing more bilingual (Spanish-English) creative writing and visual art programs for children and families around Toronto and abroad. Over the past seven years, I have conducted over 100 sessions across various locations and communities, connecting with diverse and multilingual families, promoting a sense of community, and spreading hope, happiness, and inspiration through visual storytelling. My aim is to create an inclusive community that thrives through the power of art, connecting art and community through playful learning. In 2022, my community-based program was selected as the Best Digital Program by the Culture Days Festival.

To learn more about my creative services, community art projects, and upcoming events, please visit my website https://enlareddeltiempo.com/book-a-workshop/. Also, I founded AlbART Global Collective – to create a global community that encourages creativity and self-expression through creative writing and visual storytelling art programs for children and families, as well as curated exhibitions and other community-engaged events around Toronto and abroad in Canada.
Thank you.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As an artist, mother, and community builder, my goal is to preserve the seven major positive emotions. I believe in the power of emotions and strive to connect my creative work with human emotions to stimulate critical thinking, joy, and peace. However, this is an ongoing challenge for me, especially in the current times we live in.

The seven major positive emotions that I focus on are hope, desire, faith, love, sex, enthusiasm, and romance. These emotions help me in my mindful journey as an artist and creative human being. Art is about evolution and growth, and therefore my mission is to keep evolving as a female artist and mother by taking risks and experimenting.

My ultimate goal now, in my community-engaged programs, is to empower the creative spirit in children and families. I believe that this will develop not only their creative skills but also their spiritual creativity, self-expression, ingenuity, and positive mental attitude in life.

As an emerging podcaster, I am the host and producer of my bilingual (Spanish-English) podcast “We Should Talk”. My main goal is to interview female immigrant artists, authors, poets, and independent small publishers in Canada and around the world. My message has always revolved around love, hope, compassion, and respect for all people. Through my art, my lifelong intention has been to uplift humanity.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience has been with me since my birth in Cuba in 1979. Growing up amid an economic crisis known as the “Periodo Special” in a third-world country, I learned to withstand and recover quickly from difficulties. In recent years, we have all faced many challenges such as a pandemic, mental health crisis, wars, natural disasters, worsening climate crisis, political unrest, social injustices, and discrimination. As an immigrant, mother, and artist in a new land, without family or close friends, I had to relearn resilience and find new ways to keep moving forward. My life in Canada has been an exercise in great strength, perseverance, and adaptability.

This theme of resilience is reflected in my writing and photography, celebrating persistent strength, hope, joy in the little things, gratitude as a daily practice and resilience.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://enlareddeltiempo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yannislobaina/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Yannis-Lobaina/818212367/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yannis-lobaina-80a74194/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yannis_lobaina
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTWBV2vC0t9yCtemlq7gHGQ
• Other: https://linktr.ee/Yannislobaina

Image Credits
@Yannis Lobaina.