Enchanting India: A Photo Exhibit and Conversation

This keynote photographic presentation features images made in the northern parts of India, capturing the beauty of the region’s geography and glimpses of its culture through the eyes of global travellers Neville and Vivienne Poy. Neville, now a retired Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, has had a life-long passion for visual and performing arts. He found at an early age that the camera was the best instrument through which he could express his artistic abilities, and it became his constant recreational companion. As a historian and author, Vivienne delights in acquiring knowledge of cultural diversity and experiencing and learning about the people and places of our world, both in the present and the historic past. The pair found their visual perception of India to be enchanting; therefore they will present images that are as much artistry as they are a record of the people and places visited. Neville and Vivienne’s combined artistic and intellectual interests promise to make for an enjoyable and rewarding presentation.

Dr Neville Poy graduated from McGill University in 1960 with the degrees of BSc, MD, CM, MSc (surgery), FRCS©, and FACS. He is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, and was Director of the first burn unit in Canada at the Scarborough General Hospital beginning in 1967. He became its Inaugural Recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Dr Poy was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998 and an Officer of the Order of St. John in 2003. He is a recipient of both the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals. He was appointed Honorary Lt Colonel of the Queen’s York Rangers (oldest Reserve Army Regiment in Canada) in 2003, Honorary Colonel in 2007, and Honorary Colonel Emeritus in 2010 including the present. He has served on numerous boards, medical and non-medical. He retired from medical practice in 1995.

The Honourable Dr Vivienne Poy is Chancellor Emerita of the University of Toronto, an author of non-fiction, and a historian. In 1998, she was the first Canadian of Asian heritage to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, where she focused on gender issues, multiculturalism, immigration, and human rights. She retired from the Senate in September 2012 and continues to be actively involved with communities across Canada. She travels extensively and has a special interest in the study of Chinese diaspora.

The Dr. Neville Poy photo exhibition will be on display in the East Foyer of Innis College on May 27. Photographic prints will be for sale with proceeds to benefit the Asian Institute.