Artists, Educators to Discuss Representations of Identity in the Arts

Finding Voice

Joseph Howe, a refugee, immigrated to the United States from Liberia via Cote d’Ivoire with his family.

The Union Gallery is hosting a panel discussion with local artists, educators and community members to coincide with its "Finding Voice" photo exhibition, which features works by refugee and immigrant students.

By University Communications October 30, 2009

Identity, voice and representations of both in the visual and literary arts will be the focus of a panel discussion being held by the University of Arizona's Union Gallery.

Local arts organizers, educators and community members will participate in the panel discussion, being held Thursday at the Union Gallery, which is located on the third floor of the Student Union Memorial Center. The event begins at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The discussion is being held in conjunction with "Finding Voice," an exhibit that features photographs taken by international students attending Catalina Magnet High School as part of a literacy and visual arts program. Their work is on display at the gallery through Nov. 13.

The program, also called Finding Voice, works directly with refugee and immigrant youth in LEARN Center English Language Development classes at the high school. 

The program is meant to aid the students in developing their literacy and second languge skills by having them research, photograph, write and speak about critical social issues in their lives and communities. 

Julie Kasper and Josh Schachter founded the program in the spring of 2007 through a collaboration with the Tucson chapter of the International Rescue Committee, which includes UA faculty and staff among its members. 

Finding Voice has worked with students from a broad range of countries, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Kuwait,  Russia, Turkey and Vietnam, among others.

As a creative outlet, students are encouraged to examine through words and photographs where they came from, where they currently live and what lives they envision for themselves in the future.

Their photographs, writing and digital stories have been exhibited throughout Tucson and elsewhere in the United States. 

Et Cetera