I recently had the chance to get a personalized tour of Ajani Charles' solo hip-hop photography show being hosted at Toronto's City Centre Airport. Charles' exhibit is the result of a lifelong passion that has turned into a massive personal and professional adventure: Project T-Dot. I thought I was going to get a straightforward gallery tour from one of Canon Canada's Ambassadors, but I walked away with a whole lot more. Due to its popularity, the exhibit has just been extended to July 24, 2025.
Charles has been working on what was to become Project T-Dot since 2007. The project's images cover a sprawling era of musical and cultural upheaval, with Toronto as the focus of Charles' vision. Project T-Dot at Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport features 60 large-scale black-and-white vinyl prints (notably, all the images are shot exclusively with Canon cameras and lenses) on three interior walls, a printed information panel and banner, as well as a 55-inch touchscreen that will be updated throughout the exhibit’s duration, featuring detailed supplementary information on the incredible people that define Toronto’s diverse hip-hop scene.
Our wide-ranging conversation covered dozens of topics, a few of which I'd like to share today.
Elevating Behind-the-Scenes Work: Finding Out Who The Performer Is
Charles is constantly looking for new and unique ways to elevate behind-the-scenes and music-related portrait work. From Charles' perspective, the performer's stage persona is different from the performer's personality when they aren't out there in front of a crowd. As Charles put it, both are real and important parts of the performer, but they are different—the on-stage persona is more performative, larger, perhaps larger than life. Charles' ability to see both parts of the performer is what sets him apart as one of the best photographers working in this space.
Being able to find and show all the different facets of each performer's personality while they light up the stage is a gift. Capturing that shining moment when performers are moving the crowd is hard enough. Being able to also find the moments where you can see through the armor and stage persona to catch a glimpse of the human performer, not just the star, really sets Charles apart.
I was curious what Charles felt was the harder task: capturing the live moments or the more scripted portraits. Charles explained that he feels more pressure to get the fly-on-the-wall shots because those moments are fleeting—a one-and-done kind of thing. For Charles, planned images are paced for more thinking, providing more of a chance to develop ideas with the subject. The music world is full of great portrait photographers, but Charles creates his own genre by making even his stylized portraits look almost like candid images. The key is relaxed subjects. Charles explained that being around all these stars for almost two decades has helped him put each subject at ease. By understanding the dual personas of stage performers, Charles can draw out the different parts of each performer under a variety of conditions to create truly unique images.
The Impact of Using Multi-Media in Modern Art Installations
Charles' images stretch a story high in the airport atrium, dominating the welcome lounge. The size of the images makes a viewer feel part of something much larger than a photography show, almost as if you're part of the hip-hop movement itself.
Charles has also installed a dynamic multimedia component to his exhibit. A 55-inch touchscreen acts as the center of the exhibit. You can scroll through and click on each image to learn more about the subjects. Of course, the images stand on their own, but Charles also sees himself as a bit of an educator—a witness. It's always been Charles' intention to tell the story of Toronto's hip-hop scene, and the multimedia educational component fits the bill.
Given that Charles' Project T-Dot is a work in progress, the multimedia board also allows him to add images as he takes them, without the expense of recovering the massive walls that house the exhibit. This ability makes the exhibit a living, breathing, dynamic thing rather than a static show.
Even more than this, Charles' display also helps build the very community he is documenting. Tapping on images lets viewers into the lives of Charles' subjects. Not only can you find more pictures, but you can also find information about the charities and philanthropic activities each subject has engaged in. So, not only is the multimedia board the physical center of the exhibit—a source for more information and new images—but it’s also the heart of Charles' attempt to grow the community and the networks within it.
Seeing the way Charles uses the multimedia board has helped me understand the impact a multimedia exhibit can have.
Picking a Project And Making It Your Calling Card: Finding A Way In
Charles is a prolific photographer, working with some of the hip-hop industry's biggest stars. The ongoing results of Project T-Dot have become something of a calling card for Charles. Having worked with the hip-hop industry for so long, becoming familiar with the luminaries and rising stars has actually made Charles' job easier. Even if Charles hasn't met one of his subjects, those in the Toronto hip-hop world know who he is, and his reputation as a capable photographer puts everyone at ease.
Being involved with the industry for so long has also helped to give Charles a much broader vision of the evolution of hip-hop music and the underlying culture.
This background allows Charles to make connections between moments decades apart, helping him draw a line through the story of Toronto's hip-hop scene.
Project T-Dot is scheduled to become a book as well as a documentary, further increasing the reach of Charles' work and vision. Charles is also looking to establish what he’s calling the T-Dot Foundation. The foundation will oversee coverage of Toronto's hip-hop community after he steps back from the busy schedule of attending so many concerts and events.
Now, ensconced in the industry to the point that he has become a name himself, I was curious how Charles started out. Charles proudly shared that he made a lot of his initial contacts through cold calls, even finding a way to get in touch with the President of Sony Music Canada. Of course, before the cold calls, Charles did the work—he created a portfolio that could stand up to scrutiny—but he was willing to put himself out there.
A big part of my career is getting in touch with strangers and then developing personal relationships.
Before leaving Charles, we also talked about his work with Operation Prefrontal Cortex, an organization dedicated to reduce violence in Toronto through mindfulness. Julien Christian Lutz, professionally known as Director X, and his longtime friend Danell Adams, founded Operation Prefrontal Cortex after Lutz was a victim of gun violence. Together, with Lutz and Adams, Charles acts as Art Director for the organization that aims to harness the power of mindfulness and meditation to help reduce the incidents of gun violence, mass violence, and police violence in Toronto.
All images provided and shot by Ajani Charles.
Thank you so much, Fstoppers!