The stories of Italian emigrants are captured through words and images this month at Alden Library in the exhibit Migrant Lives: Stories of Emigrants in America in the Photographic Account by Francesco Nonino.
The exhibit opened April 6 and depicts immigrants to the U.S. from the Pordenone province in northeastern Italy. The 32 pictures on display span a large section of the library's third floor and will close Sunday.
Annalisa Zanuso, an Italian visiting instructor at Ohio University, said many of the emigrants photographed by Nonino now live in New York or Philadelphia, but initially had difficulty adjusting to life in the U.S.
They weren't appreciated here in the U.S.
Zanuso said.
Many photographs only feature individuals' hands and a few also juxtapose the faces and hands with personal anecdotes and quotations.
We're good at working with our hands so that's the reason for the exhibit Zanuso said.
Like many other immigrants, those who came from northeastern Italy were mainly in search of jobs that didn't exist in their home country. Even though many emigrants settled down and created new lives years ago, Zanuso said that a cultural gap still exists.
It's hard ... They all feel American but they still feel Italian
she said. So they're kind of in-between.
Thursday, a reception was held in Alden celebrating Nonino's work. The event was open to the public and attended by the deans of the College of Arts and Sciences and Fine Arts; Scaiola Ziska, the honorary vice consul of Italy; and Marco Nobili, Italian consul in Detroit.
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Culture
Alyssa Hansen
