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City of Seattle

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Mike McGinn, Mayor

NEWS ADVISORY

SUBJECT: Seattle City Hall exhibition features photographs by local Somali youth in Our Children, Our Voices

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
7/11/2012  4:00:00 PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Calandra Childers  (206) 684-7306

Seattle City Hall exhibition features photographs by local Somali youth
in Our Children, Our Voices
Opening reception, 3 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 24

SEATTLE — Seattle is home to the United States' second largest Somali population. See photographs by teen members of this community and photographers/mentors Claire Garoutte and Saheed Adejumobi, instructors at Seattle University, in the exhibition Our Children, Our Voices. The exhibition is on view at Seattle City Hall now through Sept. 5. An opening reception will be held 3 to 5 p.m., Tuesday, July 24, at City Hall's Boards and Commissions Conference Room L280. The reception is open to the public.

Consisting of 40 photographs by 12 artists, Our Children, Our Voices reveals perspectives of local Somali youth on cross-cultural identity, citizenship, education, assimilation and immigration. Through oral histories and photography, the multi-layered narrative focuses on early childhood education and first-generation youth and highlights the agency, activism and self-representation of these two groups.

Also on view are portraits of community members and project participants by Garoutte. Garoutte, along with Saheed Yinka Adejumobi, Gurey Faarah, Hodan Sheikh and Nafiso Samatar, created this community-driven documentary endeavor over the past two years. The work was inspired by an interdisciplinary, community-based research project of Seattle University faculty and members of the Somali/Oromo Cultural and Character Education Group and Neighborhood House at Yesler Terrace, a part of Seattle Housing Authority. The project identified the need for better cross-cultural dialog with the larger Seattle community and discussion on child rearing, identity and education within the Somali community.

Our Children, Our Voices is on view in the City Hall Lobby Gallery and Anne Focke Gallery (located on the L-2 level of City Hall), 600 Fourth Ave. Gallery hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call (206) 684-7171 or visit www.seattle.gov/arts.

The Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs promotes the value of arts and culture in communities throughout Seattle. The 16-member Seattle Arts Commission, citizen volunteers appointed by the mayor and City Council, supports the city agency.

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