Creating this Gallery

During the Spring 2022 semester, EMU faculty, staff, and students convened to engage in a participatory arts-based research method called "photovoice." Through this process, we co-created a space for intimate dialogue about our visions for belonging and reconciliation for LGBTQ+ people. There was an alchemy in the process that may or may not be visible in the artwork. The sessions unearthed powerful stories that provided us the space to reconnect to a sense of possibility.

Over three sessions, we invited people to create art, in any medium they wanted, that represented their response to the following prompts:

• What histories are hidden here? Why are they hidden?

• What silences are you holding? What would it look like to transform that silence into action?

• What are your next steps to foster belonging at EMU?

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As you engage with the gallery, please reflect on the following:

• What histories come up for you?

• How do these stories relate to your present?

• What are some of your ideas to foster belonging at Eastern Mennonite University?