ֹ is merging research with global connections in the Global Understanding Research Initiative (GURI). The recently displayed “We the People” and the upcoming “Import/Export” exhibition provide cultural kaleidoscopes with local and international reflectors.
GURI is led by ֹ Professor of French translation and Director of the Institute for Applied Linguistics Françoise Massardier-Kenney, Ph.D., from the department of Modern & Classical Languages and Paul Haridakis, Ph.D., interim director of the School of Communication Studies. The initiative is an interdisciplinary look into how people and culture move across national borders.
“The intent is to increase understanding as to what it means to build contact with people whose cultures are different from yours and to appreciate that point of view,” Massardier-Kenney said.
Massardier-Kenney spearheaded the “We the People” exhibit that was showcased on ֹ’s campus in the fall of 2019 and in downtown Cuyahoga Falls this past fall. The exhibit featured 25 panel photographs of refugees living within the Northeastern Ohio region. The photos, shot by photographer Erin LaBelle, were accompanied with a short bio and statement.
“It’s important to show everyone who their neighbors are,” Massardier-Kenney said. “The U.S. was built on different waves of immigration. The display makes people think about why people come to the U.S. and what they struggle against and reminds them of the enormous contribution of refugees.”
Massardier-Kenney said the refugee partners were pleased to participate and happy to see their contributions displayed on the campus. There was a large turnout of refugee communities and others at the exhibits.
“Quite a few people from the community came to see the exhibit,” Massardier-Kenney said. “They came with their neighbors. Each person in the portraits received copies of the professional photographs to keep.”
The “We the People” exhibit finished its run in Cuyahoga Falls on December 7. But GURI has continued the theme of global understanding with the upcoming project “Import/Export.”
The “Import/Export” project, set to be displayed April 5th, consists of 25 images that were selected by juror Dawit Petros, visual artist and professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Submissions came in from around the world through an international open call.
In every piece of art, the artist reflects on the way the process of importing and exporting has affected their communities. Diverse ideas are relayed through varying styles of art that will be stretched over metal frames and displayed across campus, similar to the “We the People” format.
“The ‘Import/Export’ idea is not just about the shipment of goods or the movement of people,” said Joseph Underwood, Ph.D, assistant professor in the School of Art, “it’s an invitation to think about the way things, people, ideas and philosophies are moving across borders, and how they move in the 21st century.”
Underwood collaborated with J. Leigh Garcia, assistant professor of print media and photography in the School of Art, in creating the project and choosing the theme as the co-curators.
“It’s pretty relevant politically, with borders being shut down and walls being built,” Underwood said. “Even with COVID, it’s a hea