Transcript Photo Album

Gallery Slideshow
Photography
BRYCS would like to express our deep appreciation to the dedicated teachers and service
providers who suggested the wonderful artists and art works featured here.
BRYCS is project of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops/Migration and Refugee
Services (USCCB/MRS)
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New Eyes on Our New Hometown: The Birth of My Nephew
(Photograph) - Alexis – Mexican-American, age 18
Kentucky Youth Advocates
My name is Alexis. I was born in
Chicago, Illinois and my dad took
me to Mexico when I was 8
months old. He brought me back
when I was 12 and I have been in
the USA for 4 years and in
Louisville for 2 years. I’m a senior
in high school. I’m interested in
computers and anything that has
to do with technology. My
photograph is titled: “New Eyes
on Our New Hometown: The Birth
of My Nephew”.
Faith Transcends the Waters (Photograph) – Yasmani - Cuba, age 15
Kentucky Youth Advocates
My name is Yasmani and I am a
9th grader at Iroquois High School.
I came from Cuba and I’m 15
years old. I have been living in
Louisville, Kentucky for 7 years. I
like where I’m living. Every one is
friendly and really nice. It’s a
beautiful city with a lot of
opportunities that you should take
advantage of. Also there are so
many things to enjoy! I liked that
we were able to take pictures and
actually do something with them
like posting them at the Pegasus
Gallery at the Louisville
International Airport for all to see .
My photograph is titled “Faith
Transcends the Waters”
Torn Between Turmoil and Tranquility: Coping with a New Life in Louisville
While Family Remains in Iraq (Photograph) – Duua – Iraq, Age 17
Kentucky Youth Advocates
My name is Duua. I’m from Iraq. I have
been in Louisville, KY for 5 years and I’m a
student at Iroquois High School. In addition,
I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters. I like to
read and I love photographing. What I liked
about this project is that it gave us a
chance to show our city and the things that
mean a lot to each one of us. We expressed
ourselves by shooting pictures of things we
like and are meaningful to us. My
photograph is titled: “Torn between Turmoil
and Tranquility: coping with a new life in
Louisville while family remains in Iraq.” My
mother had just spoken to my brother, who
is in Iraq, and could hear bombs going off in
the background.
Growth in the Midst of Diversity (Photograph) - Ngoc –
Vietnam, Age 18
Kentucky Youth Advocates
My name is Ngoc and I have been in Louisville for two
and a half years now. Since I came to the United
States alone at the age of sixteen, I had a hard time
adjusting to the new environment. Nevertheless, I’m
glad that I had come to Louisville because I feel very
welcomed as a “Newcomer” to the country and
especially to Louisville. People here are amicable and
generous. The environment is always safe and fresh
with green trees everywhere. That’s the reason I am
very grateful to be involved in the “Voices from the
‘Ville” program of Kentucky Youth Advocates. Not only
I have a lot of fun carrying out the project, but also
have a chance to express the sense of secure and free
I feel living in the city through my photographs.
The program was really interesting and I enjoyed my
time working on the project. Not only I had a chance to
take a lot of pictures of Louisville, my New Hometown,
but I also got a chance to get professional feedback to
make them even better. Knowing that my opinion of
our city expressed in my pictures is treasured by
viewers makes the program even more meaningful to
me. I am sincerely grateful to be a part of the project.
My photograph is titled “Growth in the Midst of
Adversity” and for me represents a mirror to life in the
US as a young refugee.
Awer Bul – Sudan, age 24
(http://www.awerbul.net/)
Virginia Commonwealth University
Greetings,
My name is Awer G. Bul, born in 1983 and raised in the bush. I say this because I grew up in the midst of the Sudanese civil
war. I am one of the Lost Boys from Sudan and Art saved my life. Since we were denied to go to school, I did not know of
any other ways I could tell my story except by using a universal language. I would define Art as a universal language of all
the people around the world. I started Art when I was at least six years old, one year before the war came to my village. I
was using the simplest of traditional art materials as I would burn cow dung to produce the color white, and grind charcoal to
get black. My main canvas was just the mud wall in my house and my fingers were my paint brushes.
When I was 7 years old I fled by myself; without my parents, to Uganda and then Kenya where I encountered similar
instability and insecurity as in Sudan. I lived in Kenya for at least six years eating one meal a day and lacking health care.
With how much I suffered, I did not know if I would survive the war. Growing up in Africa, I thought America was only for
rich people and the chances of going there was impossible for someone who was poor like me. Because of my art skills
though, I was one of the lucky boys who was given a chance that I didn’t think was possible – coming to America. Since I
could not speak English I used my art skills to communicate my story to international aid workers in my refugee camp in
Kenya.
They blessed me with the opportunity to come to America because of my drawings, even though I had not previously
qualified for relocation (only refugees who had arrived in 1992 were qualified for relocation at the time and I did not arrive in
the camp until 1994.) With the help and greatness of the United States, I was gracefully accepted here in my adopted
country. I came to Richmond, VA in December 2000 and shortly thereafter started attending J.R. Tucker High School and
working at the local grocery store - Food Lion. I am now a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth University and a full-time
Art student majoring in painting and printmaking with plans to double major in kinetic imaging.
It is very important that people know that I believe helping others is a natural extension of myself like my Art. I am always
working to improve myself, and through my Art I have been able to deal with traumas from the atrocities of war, separation
from my family, the loss of my home and homeland, and the poor conditions of refugee camp life. When I do art I feel like I
have let out all things that are in me. Art is a way for me to respond and to give.
Regards,
Awer G. Bul
2006
Caller of Bulls (Photograph) – Awer Bul – Sudan, age 24
Virginia Commonwealth University
Awer Bul, is a young Sudanese artist currently completing a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and Communication at Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. His Web site displays his paintings, photographs, and a short documentary titled “Living
in Exile,” which the artist states “deals with transformation, not only in mind and body, but also in location and spirit.” His web site,
showing more of his fine work, is http://www.awerbul.net/.
Akuot (Photograph) – Awer Bul - Sudan, age 24
Virginia Commonwealth University
Awer Bul, is a young Sudanese artist currently completing a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and Communication at Virginia
Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. His Web site displays his paintings, photographs, and a short documentary titled “Living
in Exile,” which the artist states “deals with transformation, not only in mind and body, but also in location and spirit.” His web site,
showing more of his fine work, is http://www.awerbul.net/.
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young artists featured in the BRYCS Youth Arts and Voices Web Page.
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