Yesterday, "Exposures," an art exhibit organized by the student-run Brown Refugee Youth Tutoring and Enrichment, was unveiled in the Hillel gallery. The exhibit, which seeks to raise awareness about the refugee experience in Providence, will be on view at Hillel from Nov. 2 to Nov. 9. A dance performance by the Central Africa Cultural Dancers, a Providence dance group composed of refugees, added to the lively mood of the opening.
"Exposures" is a compilation of photographs taken by BRYTE participants. A majority of the photos in the exhibit were taken by refugee-students from Liberia, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, Eritrea, Burundi, Rwanda and Iran. The students were given cameras to document their experiences in Providence.
While the artists may not be professionals, it is easy to appreciate their work. Many photos portray scenes of the students' home lives. The subjects of the images range from siblings and friends hamming it up for the camera, to world-weary adults gazing straight-faced ahead.
Mount Pleasant High School sophomore and BRYTE participant, Solomon Paye was visibly excited as he gave viewers a tour of the exhibit, proudly pointing out his work. He said that he enjoyed taking his camera to school and was all smiles when talking about his BRYTE tutor.
The work on display was not exclusively by the student-refugees. A series of black and white photos taken by Sofia Unanue '11 is compelling in its paradoxically macabre and jovial subject matter. At first glance, these are just images of a group of children playing, but the images become chilling when you realize that they are frolicking in a cemetery. In one of the most striking photos, a young girl smiles coyly at the camera while a younger boy in the background stands on a grave marker.
