Event Description:
For the third year in a row, photographer Saskia Keeley conducted photo workshops for Orthodox Jewish Israeli and Palestinian women. Though living side-by-side in the West Bank, for political reasons, these women would otherwise have no contact. To arrange the workshops, Saskia partners with Roots, an initiative led by a Palestinian and Israeli settler committee working at the heart of the conflict.
Saskia’s West Bank photo workshops are exclusively for women and girls. The purpose of the workshops is to foster an environment where women can interact with “the other” in an informal and safe setting, many for the very first time in their lives.
Bridges of empathy that help heal communities may come in many formats. In Saskia’s workshops, the cameras create a human bridge. Her workshops break down barriers and foster contact as women take portraits of each other first in exploratory, and then often intimate ways.
Bringing out the humanity of others is the essence of the workshops. Photography is a great tool to open doors. By looking through the eyes of those we might feel separated from, participants discover both interconnectivity and empathy. The workshops are about supporting the engagement of each in the process of recognizing parallel lives and narratives. The acknowledgment that comes from those shared moments can help create a new feeling of shared belonging.
Saskia describes the methodology of the photo workshops with a display of striking photos taken by the participants. The design of the photo workshops reflects Roots’ efforts to foster respect for the other, a prerequisite for lasting justice, freedom and peace.
Saskia Bory Keeley is a Swiss photographer who partners with humanitarian organizations to share their valuable work with the world, including Leaders' Quest (India), The END Fund / Amani Global Works (Democratic Republic of the Congo) Roots and Taghyeer (West Bank) and We Love Reading (Jordan).
Saskia runs photography workshops in which participants unpack decades of fear and bias through the simple acts of looking and listening. She is exploring where these workshops can be helpful in global conversations toward peace (Roots and Taghyeer, West Bank) and within divided communities (Pico Union Project, Los Angeles). She was educated at Geneva University, Sotheby’s and the New Academy for Art Studies in London. She also received training at the International Center for Photography in New York City. |
