Russian St. Louis
RUSSIAN ST. LOUIS
Training: September 12 - November 14, 2009; Forest Park Community College;
Ron Laboray, Instructor
Exhibition SITE #1: PPRC Photography Project Gallery
January 19 - March 14, 2010
Exhibition SITE #2: Astoria Restaurant
January 26 - March 14, 2010
Website: www.worldtradecenter-stl.com/sisterCities/samara.asp
St. Louis has a large immigrant population from Russia and the former Soviet Union. (A 2006 census of ancestry estimates the population at 16,890.) Russian immigrants have come to the city in waves during times of political turmoil or for economic reasons. Many arrived during or just after World War II, others came during the Cold War or when the Berlin Wall fell. Jewish immigrants fled discrimination in their home country and many Christian immigrants came as a result of missionary work. The Russian St. Louis Photography Project captured the broad array of Russian activity in St. Louis by working with Russian children and teens, Russian photographers, and other adult volunteers interested in the Project. They captured daily life in St. Louis from the perspective of Russian teenagers, young professionals, and working parents. Several participants worked on their own as well as with the group. Dmitri Kabargin had family members and friends take his camera for a day to capture their perspectives on film. As a group they attended the downtown Taste of St Louis, as well as cultural events such as a Russian trivia contest, family dinners, a Russian wedding, and they visited a home for Russian World War II Veterans. After a number of introductory sessions, participants pursued the group's goal to celebrate Russian heritage while also fighting stereotypes and to use photography to explore Russian traditions and contemporary culture among St. Louis' Russian population.
--Mel Watkin, Instructor and Director
PPRC Photography Project
PARTICIPANTS:
Mars Chekhovskay, St. Louis
John Paul Daley II, Chesterfield
Aida Gabitova, St. Charles
Elena Gracheva, St. Louis
Anna Kabargin, St. Louis
Dmitri Kabargin, St. Louis
Sergey Kabargin, St. Louis
Ivan Komarov, St. Louis
Anastasia Korshunova, St. Louis
Carl Trautmann, St. Louis
Evelina Yulianova, St. Louis
Olena Zhadko, St. Louis
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Greater St. Louis Samara-St. Louis Sister City Committee
Astoria Restaurant, St. Louis
St. Louis Community College/Forest Park