Exhibit recap: Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York

Written by Anna Archibald

Clockwise from top left: Olya, a participant in the exhibit, with her photo; a guest takes in a photo from the exhibit; LEAD Program Coordinator Mia Toftdahl Olesen and NWNY volunteers Neha Sodhi, Abbey Kurtz, and Mary Woldegiorgis; Kripa, a LEAD graduate and participant in the exhibit, with her photo; exhibit participants and guests taking a selfie; the crowd during NWNY Founder and Director Arielle Kandel’s speech.

On Thursday, March 24, more than 200 people gathered at the Centre for Social Innovation to experience New Women New Yorkers’ very first immigrant-inspired art exhibit in honor of Women’s History Month.

The exhibit was a collaboration between NWNY, photographer Sasha Nialla, and a group of five graduates of NWNY’s LEAD Program, a free professional development program for young women immigrants, which combines skills training, teamwork, and leadership development. As part of the final project for the program, the graduates helped interview women who have been working to make their lives in NYC. Nialla photographed each with a projection of her hometown cast over her face.

Olya giving her speech during the exhibit.

“We were all wearing the same beige shirt, but what’s different is the projection of our hometowns,” says Olya, who came to the US from the Ukraine about five years ago. “Where I come from there are a lot of churches, so mine was of a church.”

She said her main challenge throughout the project was getting the stories from the participants in time to meet the deadline, with which she assisted NWNY Founder & Director Arielle Kandel.

“It’s not easy to get the stories,” Olya says. “Many people are very personal. I asked my friends first. It was not so comfortable, but I talk to other LEAD participants and that’s how we gathered the stories. It’s exciting. It’s a collaborative work.”

Olya also participated in the project, sharing her story of moving to the city, learning English, and finding a job, while also dealing with precarious living situations. During her speech at the event, she stressed the women who participated in the event came from very different backgrounds, but they all shared similar struggles as women and as newcomers to New York.

Kandel also gave a speech during the event, explaining her vision for the organization and exhibit project.

“One of my first experiences working with immigrants was as a legal assistant at a small, grassroots nonprofit,” she said. “I helped African asylum seekers apply for refugee status, both men and women. I think my first realization was that my work was about much more than just providing legal aid. But what really left a mark on me the most were the women migrants I worked with, and seeing how resilient they were despite all the hardships they had gone through.”

This, she says, is what inspired her and the LEAD graduates to create the exhibit.

“Statistics do not tell the story of immigration,” Kandel said in her speech. “People do. Women do. Each immigrant story is an extraordinary combination of hardships and challenges, and of determination and hope. Every time we tell one of these stories, we shed some light and some humanity on what otherwise often remains a faceless, a voiceless immigrant.”

In total, 15 women were featured in the exhibit. They come from all corners of the globe, including Japan, Colombia, Ethiopia, and Romania, among other countries.

Portraits of immigrant women on display at the Centre for Social Innovation.

A uniting factor throughout the exhibit’s many photos and stories was how lonely and difficult it can be to move to New York for the first time.

“As an immigrant it’s very easy to forget — even though NYC is full of them — that you’re not alone,” says Emil Rivera, an attendee from the Dominican Republic. “You could be from Iowa or from Panama… We all have things in common. [These stories] are a reminder that we are all part of a community.”

For those who struggle alone, it can be both nerve-racking and liberating to share these experiences. Fatoumata, who arrived in New York from Guinea less than two years ago, was included in the exhibit.

“It’s great that people see the stories and are touched,” says Fatoumata (read her story here). “It’s nice for me. People are coming to me and saying, ‘your story is very powerful.’ I’m very glad for the opportunity to express myself and share my struggle. I was heavy before and now I’m relaxed. I’m glad I did it.”

To read the stories of these inspiring immigrant women from around the world, check out our blog, which will be updated regularly with stories and photos from the exhibit:

Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York: Stine, 31, from Denmark

Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York: Fatoumata, 29, from Guinea

Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York: Netsanet, 27, from Ethiopia