Meet the Photographers of Out of Many: Stories of Migration Exhibit at the Jewish Community Center

By Laura Domencic

The Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill is hosting a photo documentary exhibit, Out of Many: Stories of Migration. A free public reception to meet the artists will be held Thursday, November 2 from 6-8 p.m.

The exhibit is part of a new project by The Documentary Works, a collaborative group of professional photographers that documents social and environmental issues. Photographs by Brian Cohen, Scott Goldsmith, Nate Guidry, Lynn Johnson and Annie O’Neill use Pittsburgh’s story as a lens through which to explore America’s immigration and migration experience. Curated by Laura Domencic and Brian Cohen, this show is the first in a series of exhibits and events featuring the faces and experiences of generations of migrants and immigrants, and their descendants, in Pittsburgh.

 

Lynn Johnson (2017) captured signs scrawled and printed, in support of “Others.” They are micro-protests against the decline of civility, acceptance, and embrace of those who look different or come from other shores. They are reminders that very few of our ancestors began here.

 

 

 

Scott Goldsmith (2017) documented the experiences of newly-arrived Bhutanese refugees as they make their home in Pittsburgh. He coordinated with the Northern Area Multi-Service Center, “NAMS,” to meet a family of 3 refugees from Bhutan, from the moment they entered the U.S. at the Pittsburgh Airport.  He looks at the struggles and obstacles they encounter as they navigate through their first days and weeks in a completely new environment.

The exhibit will run through December 28.

The American Jewish Museum is located at the Jewish Community Center, 5738 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Regular hours are: Monday-Thursday, 7 am–9:30 pm; Friday, 7 am–6 pm; Saturday, 8 am–6 pm; Sunday, 8 am–6 pm.