From Bosnia to Buerkle Middle School
FROM BOSNIA TO BUERKLE MIDDLE SCHOOL
Training: October 24 - December 19, 2005; Buerkle Middle School; Mel Watkin, Instructor
Exhibition SITE #1: PPRC Photography Project Gallery
January 31 - April 26, 2006
Exhibition SITE #2: Grbic Restaurant
February 1 - April 26, 2006
Buerkle Middle School is located in Mehlville, a town in South St. Louis County with a history of welcoming immigrants from all over the world. Mehlville is currently home to a large population of immigrants who fled Bosnia in the mid-1990s. The middle school has trained staff in place to assist students who are newcomers, as they prefer to be called. Scott Hayes, the school's principal in 2005, Officer Lindy Robertson, a Russian-speaking school resource officer from the St. Louis County Police, and Bob Dimitrijevich, a retired high school teacher and native Serbo-Croatia speaker, collaborated regularly to ensure a quality education for the Bosnian students. Many of this Project's participants, ranging in age from 12 to 15 (7th and 8th grades), were born in Bosnia. Memories of their homeland were still vivid, even though most left at a young age. Some have memories of their country's natural beauty, but, for a few, that beauty was marred by memories of war. While they came from different parts of Bosnia, participants shared a language, a respect for family and a deep pride in their culture. With the goal of showing family and cultural pride, participants learned about the beauty and richness of Renaissance portraiture. In many of these paintings the sitter is dramatically lit and seen from the waist up in a classic 3/4 pose that twists their upper body slightly toward the painter. The sitter's hands play a major role in Renaissance portraits, making the sitter more interesting to look at. Pursuing these ideas, participants shot formal portraits of each other and later portraits of their families using fabric we associate with Renaissance attire: lace, satin, brocades, and dense floral patterns. Like most children of immigrant parents, the students from Buerkle Middle School moved constantly between cultures, blending aspects of their Bosnian heritage with American teenage culture. Like many immigrants, who were forced to leave their culture behind, the pride and interest these students have for their country and their family has considerably enhanced St. Louis' cultural richness.
--Mel Watkin, Instructor and Director
PPRC Photography Project
PARTICIPANTS: 7th & 8th graders
Nadja Basic
Alma Corlic
Belkisa Dautovic
Zehra Dautovic
Medina Dzaferbegovic
Diana Mujkic
Samra Sahbegovic
Fatima Suljic
COMMUNITY PARTNERS:
Buerkle Middle School, Mehlville
Grbic Restaurant, Bevo Mills neighborhood, St. Louis