Faces and Places: joint Yemeni American photo show [Archives:2006/968/Culture]
August 31 2006
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A Yemeni-American photographic art exhibition was opened at the National Museum July 8, 2006. The exhibition hosts the works of Keisha Toms, a visiting Fulbright student, and Hiyam Khalid Al-Omeisy, a graduate of graphic design. The exhibition was organized by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the US Embassy.
The works displayed at the exhibition provide a unique insight into the diversity and sumptuousness of the Yemeni culture through the lenses of the two artists capturing images of people throughout their routine in a variety of different scenes depicting everyday life as it flows from dawn to dusk.
The exhibition includes some 50 photos, each artist drew 25. They portray popular markets, traditions, people, picturesque nature, civilizations, handicrafts, and tourist attractions.
More than an artist:
In an interview with the Yemen Times, Keisha Toms said that she liked Yemen where nature is very different from her home town, New York. Keisha practiced photography since her college years but the time she spent in some Arab countries like Egypt, UAE and especially Yemen, has enriched her experience in Yemen.
Keisha took snapshots of faces and places in Yemen and always make them in black and white trying to make them “natural and real.” She said that Hiyam Al-Omeisy's photos are interesting and show professionalism.
Keisha Toms is an anthropology undergraduate from Seattle and studies at Medgar Evers College in New York (CUNY), specializing in cross-cultural studies.
She is very much interested in the ordinary aspects of Yemen but she is particularly drawn towards making research subjects related to cross-cultural studies. She is also interested in identity: how people perceive themselves and perceive others in terms of labels. She came to Yemen trying to find out what these labels mean and how they affect one's identity.
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