Photographed by John Delante

Artist Biography

Sai Bagni (b. 2002 Batac, Ilocos Norte) is a Filipino-Canadian lens-based artist and photographer who lives and works in Tkaronto, Ontario, on the ceded territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.

Sai's work responds to notions of images as vessels for truth-telling and history-keeping, analyzing how they inform one’s own identity formation and relationship to collective existence as a queer Filipino. They’re interested in photography as an expression of subjective interpretation rather than an objective document of the world, challenging ideas of representation and memory, and offering alternative ways to engage with the present. They have developed an interest in the photographic object, perceiving materiality as an opportunity to extend an image’s expression and disrupt hegemonic spaces. Their work investigates themes relating to the internet, the queer body, banal environments, the natural world, and collective memory.

They are currently completing a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Photography Media Arts at the Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Image Arts.

Contact

Email: isaiahbagni@gmail.com
Instagram: @saibagni

Relevant Experience

Communications Coordinator
Artspace TMU, Toronto
Public Programming & Events Coordinator
Artspace TMU, Toronto

Selected Exhibitions

2025
Camera Bodies
Artspace TMU, Toronto (group)
Maximum Exposure 30: Legacy
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (group)
Frisson!
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (solo)

2024
Artspace Creative Market
Artspace TMU, Toronto (group)
Third Year Show 2024: Flux
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (group)
Maximum Exposure 29: Beyond the Surface
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (group)
First Edition Photobook Show
Artspace TMU, Toronto (group)
Chosen Family
Shoes Off Collective, bevy, Toronto (group)

2023
Artspace Creative Market
Artspace TMU, Toronto (group)
Maximum Exposure 28: Perennials
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (group)

2022
ROUGHER Film Festival
Yonge-Dundas Square, Toronto (group)
Maximum Exposure 27: The Time is Now
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto (group)

Awards

2025
SF Fourth Year Award in Photography
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto

2024
Best in Show
Artspace Creative Market, Artspace TMU, Toronto
The Peter Gerretsen Bursary
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto
The 2024 NewGen List
CAFA Awards, Toronto
First Edition Photobook Purchase Award
TMU Special Collections Library, Toronto

2023
Best in Show
Artspace Creative Market, Artspace TMU, Toronto
New Diversity and Leadership in Photography Award
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto
Downtown Camera Award
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto
2022
Taylor Lobban Memorial Award
Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Image Arts, Toronto

Publications

2024
Function Magazine, Issue 25
Youthquaker, Issue 02
Youthquaker, Issue 01

2023
Hues Magazine, Issue 18
Function Magazine, Issue 24

2022
Function Magazine & Maximum Exposure Mini Zine 2022

Sai Bagni

Works About