Braided Memories is on display in the Kelvin Smith Library Art Gallery through April 21, 2023. A unique collaboration between Chilean Jewish poet Marjorie Agosín and Chilean Jewish photographer Samuel Shats, the multimedia exhibit captures the experiences of immigrants through its
expressions of resilience and celebration of unity. CWRU faculty, staff, and students joined the artists for an opening reception at which Shats spoke to the importance of the topic, and attendees considered, What does it mean to seek refuge? One student commented, “It’s incredibly powerful how messages conveyed through these different mediums (poetry & photography) come together to tell an incredibly poignant story that is so personal to the individual & also resonates with so many others who have had to immigrate & take refuge in a new place.”
The exhibit and reception is a collaboration between Kelvin Smith Library and CWRU's Department of Modern
Languages & Literatures. Elizabeth Meinke, the library’s Exhibits Coordinator worked closely with the artists and Associate Professor of Spanish, Jacqueline Nanfito, who commented on the value of the partnership: “I have been able to work closely with the KSL staff to connect individual and departmental scholarly production to a broad spectrum of library patrons who might not have had access to this moving work on the Holocaust… It has been a joy to collaborate with Elizabeth and her colleagues on this professional-level exhibit, which is interdisciplinary in nature.”
Additionally, a selection of Agosín’s books were available to borrow from the KSL Features display, and On the Threshold of Oblivion: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors in Chile, photography by Samuel Shats is displayed on the 2nd floor in conjunction with this event. Read more about the current exhibit program at Kelvin Smith Library.