Art project leads to self discovery

APPLETON - "These are my strongest photos," said Anam Shahid, an international student at Lawrence University in Appleton as she viewed photos with Minnesota-based artist Wing Young Huie. Huie travels the country with a project called "Chalk Talk."

"There is this imbedded perception of who we are," Huie said.

This week, his goal is to get students at Lawrence to challenge their perceptions of the world around them.

"Hopefully you get to know something about someone you didn't know, but more importantly, you get confronted by something you thought about that other person," Huie said.

"It's a community builder and another way to sort of engage with the community outside of the Lawrence campus," said photography student Ali Scattergood.

Students practice by asking each other revealing questions, like what, not who are you? How do others see you and what do you want them to see? The students then select the most thought provoking answer. They write it on a chalkboard. They then create a word or short sentence about the answer and take a picture of the subject with the chalkboard. Thursday students will take the project to the community, meeting complete strangers at the Housing Partnership of the Fox Cities.

"What I try to do is get them to write something revealing, that would challenge the way people look at them," Huie said.

For some students this project is about more than just these pictures and this chalkboard, it's a journey of self discovery.

"It's a project where I have been trying to inform others about my culture but I have been learning more about myself as a Muslim here and how I see myself as a Muslim back home," said Shahid.

Shahid is an international student from Pakistan. She says the project is a personal challenge.

"I'm just stuck in this western and eastern culture and I'm just like where do I belong?"

Whether it's challenging their beliefs.

"You're asking them questions that really reveal something about them or has the opportunity to," said Scattergood.

Or according to Scattergood, changing their perceptions.

"I think how you interact with somebody really shares a lot about you too."

These pictures are an eye-opening look at who we truly are.