Photos capture 'life experiences' abroad

Gulfem Demiray Staff Writer

Trying to decide where you should apply for your Junior Year Abroad (JYA)? Perhaps a visit to the current Palmer Gallery exhibit, Vivencias: Hispanic Cultures through the Study Abroad Lens, will persuade you to spend a semester in Spain, Mexico, Peru or Bolivia.

Vivencia literally means a life experience that has marked you in some way. The exhibit, open through Dec. 20, displays 39 photographs of landscape, architecture, faces and, most importantly, experiences in Hispanic cultures. Most of the 19 contributors are students, along with faculty members and their families.

Professor of Hispanic Studies Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert organized Vivencias. She solicited photos from students who had gone abroad and, with help from the rest of department, selected the 39 photos for display from approximately 200 submissions. Citing a desire for a balance between the various cities and programs represented, Paravisini-Gebert said it was difficult to come to a consensus on the finalists.

Austin Saddlemire ’10 took “Masked Dancer (Virgen del Carmen Festival)” during Vassar’s six-week summer program in Peru. “I have like, a thousand photos from the trip, but I wanted to submit something not everyone can get to see everywhere, something unique,” he said. While in the Peruvian town of Pisac, he witnessed the Virgen del Carmen Festival and was amazed by the folkloric dresses, masks and makeup.

“The experience was absolutely amazing and eye-opening—being in another country, seeing new customs and having lots of time to go and explore by ourselves,” said Saddlemire.

Seth Tannenbaum ’08, who participated in Vassar’s Madrid program last year, submitted a photo depicting a towering aqueduct in Segovia, a small medieval city in Spain.

“[The exhibit is] a good way to advertise the programs. It’s a lot more broad-reaching than just having meetings,” he said. “I’ve always liked photography as a medium, because theoretically you can’t lie.”

Vivencias follows the exhibit China and Japan: Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder, a similar collection that ran Nov. 12-27 of student and faculty photography from their study abroad programs. These exhibits are part of a non-consecutive series; in Fall 2008, Palmer will display images from German and Russian programs.

The overall concept for these gallery exhibitions originated with Associate Professor of Italian Eugene Giusti, who wanted to give students an opportunity to share their JYA experiences.

“I really wanted people at Vassar to become aware of the value of the programs that the College has,” said Giusti. “My goal was to somewhat produce and show the products of a cultural exchange between the American culture and the abroad cultures.”

Giusti met with Executive Director of Campus Activities Teresa Quinn and sent proposals to departments that participate in JYA programs.

“The idea was that all the language departments would have a chance [to participate in the exhibits], so all of the community could get a sense of all the programs,” said Quinn. Last semester, the Italian Department displayed photos from students at the program at the Università di Bologna in the gallery.

Giusti’s ultimate goal is to select pieces from each exhibit and put them on permanent display in the College Center. “[Study abroad] shouldn’t just be a language program,” he said, “it should be an integral part of the college life.”