I was approached to donate to The Migrant Project and
thus gave $100. I was not notified about the opening
reception but instead saw a newspaper blub the day
after it was held. I did get a mailing two weeks after
it opened. When I saw where the Project was displayed
I was saddened. I live in Santa Barbara, CA, a very
tourist oriented city with many nice galleries. It was
in a county owned bldg. that has wall space they call
the Channing Peake Gallery, it is open 8-5 daily and
not on weekends. I made a special trip to view the
exhibit. It is nice but not grand. There are typos in
the Spanish text. I saw no farmworkers present and
doubt they have the time to go during the day to visit
the gallery. Unfortunatley weekends might be the best
time for farmworkers to view the exhibit. I heard the
photographer interviewed on NPR and was so sorry I was
driving and couldn't call in. I feel taken by the $100
donation as it was staged in a PUBLIC facility and
wonder what expenses were defrayed. I wished it had
been placed in the central library which is open every
day/evenings and on weekends when migrant/seasonal
farmworkers could view the photos. It leaves a bad
taste that someone is earning a living photographing
my people and wonder how much money goes back to the
farmworker groups or organizations. I hope I am wrong
on all accounts and that this experience is unique. I
want to caution others before they donate to get
specifics.

Formerly from Delano and a child of farmworker
parents.
Martha L. Lopez, Ed.D.




--- "Tina.Castanares" <tina.castanares@...>
wrote:

> Thanks to a friend and fine colleague, Frank
> Vasquez, for sending this along.
> Tina
>
_______________________________________________________________
>
> "If you have not already heard of the Migrant
> Project (see excerpt below describing the project),
> I am attaching the link to Rick Nahmias Photography,
> which will take you to the web site:
> http://www.rcnphoto.com/.
>
>
>
>
> "The Migrant Project: Contemporary California Farm
> Workers" is an in-depth photojournalistic portrait
> detailing the lives and struggles of today's
> California migrant farm workers. It was shot in over
> four dozen towns across the state, from Calexico to
> Sacramento by photographer, writer, and filmmaker,
> Rick Nahmias, during the 2002-3 harvest.
>
>
>
> From spring 2002 thru winter 2003, Nahmias traveled
> up and down the state to over fifty rural
> communities, photographing their people and
> recording their stories. The resulting 40 image
> exhibit previewed in Los Angeles as an official
> affiliate exhibit of the California Council on the
> Humanities "Grapes of Wrath/California Stories"
> program and is now touring museums, universities,
> and cultural centers throughout North America as an
> art, humanities and education tool.
>
>
>
> Though images of the farm workers of the 1930s and
> 40s are now iconic to many Americans, this mosaic of
> images and bilingual text aims to capture the rarely
> seen contemporary faces of this mostly invisible and
> cast-off population, as well as speak about more
> general issues surrounding the human cost of feeding
> America.
>
>
>
> "The Migrant Project" depicts everything from family
> life, culture, children and pesticides, to the
> search for housing, work, health care, and the
> scraping together of community. By providing these
> and other human details it aims to foster a greater
> sense of empathy with today's farm workers as well
> as provide a humanistic lens through which to
> understand this, the poorest and most consistently
> exploited segment of our society."
>
>
>





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