Interfaith Photovoice is an arts-based approach to interfaith understanding. By using mobile-phone photography, this project is designed to help capture the experiences and stories of participants of diverse worldview identities (religious, secular, or spiritual), to enable students to find their voice through photography.

Through a series of conversations guided by a facilitator, students will explore one another’s lived experiences, clarify their thoughts, and organize their ideas into themes. Prior to each meeting, attendees are given a prompt and asked to take a series of photographs related to it. A sample prompt could be, "In what ways do your beliefs, practices, and values show up in your everyday life?"

The cohort will culminate in several pop-up gallery exhibitions, curated by the participants with the help of the facilitators. During the exhibitions, participants are invited to be stationed around the gallery and given the opportunity to talk with attendees about their experience and the narratives represented in the exhibition.

The goals of this cohort are to strengthen relationships on campus, create a sense of solidarity and belonging among the participating students, raise awareness of experiential differences on campus, and instigate change.

Our exhibitions are coming up soon! We hope you'll be able to join us for the pop-up displays showcasing a selection of photographs created during the cohort. At each event, representatives from the group will be present to provide further perspective on the overall experience, their stories, the learning that arose over the course of our sessions, and the resulting artwork.

On Thursday, April 11th, we will be taking over the lobby of Kirkhof Center on GV's Allendale Campus from 10am-5pm. Coffee and cocoa available from 11-4pm. 

On Friday, April 12th, we are thrilled to be a part of the President's Reach Higher Showcase - a public, interactive, exhibition-style event showcasing the work of GVSU faculty, staff, and students. A sampling of the photos from our Interfaith Photovoice cohort will be on display in the Gordon Gallery as a part of this exciting event.  We hope you will join us to listen to their stories and to see through their eyes. While there is no fee to attend the Showcase, registration is requested, and includes: Free Parking, Free Dinner Buffet, Free Beer & Wine. Public welcome and encouraged to attend!

After these two receptions, the GVSU Interfaith Photovoice Exhibition will move to the Kaufman Interfaith Institute's main programming space on the Health Campus. Stay tuned for open-house opportunities over the summer to view the exhibition in our beautiful, sunny space!