Ph.D. Candidate at O.S.U.’s Dept. of Arts Administration, Education and Policy, Ruth Smith received a grant for her participatory photography project, Dumarka Soomaaliyeed. This exhibit includes written narratives and photographs by second and third generation, 18-35 year old Somali women, whom are college-educated and living in Columbus, Minneapolis, or Boston. These second-wave immigration cities have the largest concentration of descendants who originally emigrated from Somalia to the USA since violence and civil war torn through their homeland. Participatory Photography is an art making process in which the community determines and explores issues, questions, and problems with the camera. The power of this type of project is in the potential to give communities a voice and empower them to create social change by using this process to open a window on an idea. The women in this project will tell their own stories, focusing on their respective roles in the community and how that community has developed since the original Somali immigrants arrived. These women will definitely challenge assumptions and stereotypes that many people have. Currently the work by the group of Columbus women who worked on this project is on view at Westerville Public Library and will be exhibited at the Columbus Metropolitan Library Northern Lights branch in April. Venues in the two other cities to be announced.
