In | Dignity Exhibition Open Now in San Bernardino
Republished from Inside CSUSB Online publication:
“These two meanings [“indignity” and “in dignity”] capture precisely what the exhibition explores: experiences with oppression, discrimination, and prejudice, and simultaneously the pride and self-respect that we must have for ourselves and for others facing such injustices,” said director of the Anthropology Museum and exhibition co-curator Arianna Huhn.
The exhibition centers on the stories of community participants who volunteered to share intimate details of their lives “in the hope that doing so would help promote conversation, introspection and change in the way we interact with each other,” said Annika Anderson, co-curator and assistant professor of sociology, at the exhibit’s opening reception on Jan. 18.
In|Dignity shares life experiences of Inland Empire community members in their own words on giant displays that also feature portraits of them by Thomas McGovern, CSUSB professor of art. The exhibit becomes even more personal through the audio interviews where museum visitors can hear the voices of the participants telling their stories.
“They are powerful stories to read,” Huhn said. “They are more powerful to listen to.”
The indignities considered in the exhibition and story collection process are wide-ranging and include personal experiences with ableism, androcentrism, cisgenderism, Islamophobia, racism, heterosexism, educationalism, ageism, colorism, size-ism, pro-natalism and other axes of life outside of the societal “norm.”
