California Documentary Project
The Hmong of Central California:
A Culture in Transition
Fresno Interdenominational Refugee Ministries
Fresno
Project Co-directors: Joel Pickford and Kim Thompson
Documenting in photographs the Hmong Refugee community in Southeast Fresno
This photography project is documenting the lives of 2,000 recently Hmong refugees in Fresno.
“Our photographs explore the impact of two cultures, Hmong and American, brought suddenly together,” said Joes Pickford, the project photographer and one of the project’s directors.
The culmination of the work will be a traveling exhibit of 25 photographs that will be held at three venues in the area. As part of the project, 20 Hmong students, ages 14 to 18, will participate in a documentary photography workshop to learn how to document their new lives in America. The best student photos will be integrated into the traveling exhibit.
An exhibit of Pickford's photographs will be presented at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum in summer 2008. "I plan to involve many local Hmong in exhibit events," Pickford said. "I hope that the exhibit will be a catalyst for bringing Hmong together with Californians of other ethnic backgrounds," he added.
For more information about the project and to view Pickford's Hmong photographs, visit Pickford Pictures at www.joelpickford.com.