CSI to Showcase Refugee Portraits

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KLIX) – Twenty-five. That’s the number of black-and-white portraits of refugees that will be displayed by the College of Southern Idaho later this month in the Meyerhoeffer building.

The portraits, by CSI English professor Ken Bingham, visually tell a story that only a photo can tell: “you’ll see struggle, perseverance, hardship and understanding” reads a CSI news release about the Refugee Portrait Project. “You may also see a depth of experience that most Americans will never know.”

The portraits depict just some of the refugees who've fled turmoil in their homelands in order to make a new home in the U.S.

“Their presence in our community reflects more than the calamitous circumstances that brought them here: it allies them with those who were already here as they integrate into and enrich local life,” Bingham said in the prepared statement.

“It also demonstrates that fear of appearances, of mere external differences, cannot withstand the combined sense of shared humanity and compassion that some people willingly extend to those in need.”

You can meet the artist from 2-5 p.m. June 20 – the day the portraits will be put on display – at the Meyerhoeffer building. The display, which will be open and free to the public, will be available until late September.