Soul Calling
A Photographic Journey In The Hmong Diaspora
Soul Calling will be published by Heyday Books in the spring of 2012. The 256-page hardcover book will include more than 200 color photographs, two narrative essays by Joel Pickford, and a forward by Kao Kalia Yang.
The book is based on a five-year documentary project that used digital photography to document the saga of several thousand new Hmong refugees as they arrived in California from refugee camps in Thailand. Working with FIRM and the Fresno Historical Society, Joel began by photographing the Hmong new arrivals as they adapted to life in a strange, new world eight thousand miles from their birthplace. As the project evolved he also began to document Hmong American culture as practiced by established families from earlier waves of immigration. From 2006 to 2011, Joel traveled to Laos five times to capture images of Hmong village life and culture.
Funded by the California Council for the Humanities and the James Irvine foundation, the photographic work began in December 2004 and continues in 2011. A large exhibition of these photographs will premiere at the Fresno Art Museum in the fall of 2012.
Soul Calling Slide Lecture
Joel Pickford presents an engaging and informative slide lecture about his experiences working with the Hmong to organizations and groups. Inquire about dates and availability