UC Clermont exhibit features immigrant photography

This fall, UC Clermont College will play home to a unique photography exhibit meant to highlight the intimate experiences of new immigrants to the United States.

The multi-artist exhibition, “"New World: Refugees and Immigrants Photograph New Life in America",” featuring work by five photographers, is on display in the Park National Bank Art Gallery at UC Clermont College Sept. 4-Oct.31. An opening reception will be held in the gallery on Sept. 14 from 5-8 p.m. Special viewing hours will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 27.

The show, curated by local photographer and UC alum Kent Krugh, provides visitors with an up-close perspective on the experiences of immigrant and refugee families. The exhibit will include work from photographers Luke Kellett, Sodiq Onanuga, Bhim Rai, Bhimla Rai and Lourdes Santos.

“"These stories are often ‘boxed away’ and out of view of most Americans,"” said Krugh. “"What we don’t know, we don’t care about. This exhibition is an attempt to open the box and reveal that which is hidden to most of us. Their hopes, dreams and desires are not that different from the rest of America. The photographs taken through the lens of the refugee and the immigrant oblige us to consider their story, and hopefully, compel us to understanding and compassion.”"

The “"New World"” exhibition is part of FotoFocus Biennial 2018, an event that spans more than 80 museums, galleries and universities across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and features more than 250 artists, curators and educators. Each biennial is structured around a unifying theme; for 2018, the theme is Open Archive, which in part examines our fundamental need to preserve photographs and to tell stories through collection, organization and interpretation.

In addition to the exhibit, a panel discussion, moderated by UC Clermont Professor Anu Chatterjee, will take place from 2-3 p.m., on Oct. 17, in Room 142, in the Snyder building on campus. The discussion will address current challenges facing immigrants and refugees in the region. Panelists will include immigration advocates, an immigration lawyer and an educator.

The Park National Bank Art Gallery is located in the Snyder Building on the UC Clermont College campus in Batavia at 4200 Clermont College Drive. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–-5 p.m. All exhibits are free and open to the public. For more than 20 years, the spacious 1,000-square-foot gallery has offered visual art exhibits open to UC Clermont students, faculty, staff and the general public.