In the International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) exhibition, The Hands That Make a Home, you’ll meet Nelson, Suzan, Julia, and Shakira — four people who left their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and western Uganda — and who are now rebuilding their lives in Kampala, Uganda.
In Kampala, they each took part in the Financial Integration in Displacement (FIND) Project, an IRC program in partnership with Tufts University and the Open Society Foundations that helps refugees and migrants overcome barriers to financial stability. The program placed them in four-month mentorships with local Ugandan business owners.
In these photographs, you’ll see their hands at work as they are trained by their mentors in a trade that will allow them to one day thrive while running their own businesses. But look more closely, and you’ll notice something else: a new community being woven together.
Artist Bios
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Nichole Sobecki
Nichole Sobecki brings attention to humanity’s fraught, intimate, and ultimately unbreakable connection to the natural world through her documentary photography.
Born in New York, she has lived in Nairobi for the past decade. In 2016, Sobecki began her body of work Where Our Land Was, which investigates the human consequences of significant environmental change in Somalia.
Sobecki’s photography has been recognized by the ASME Award, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights prize, the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, Pictures of the Year, the One World Media Awards, and the Alexandra Boulat Award for Photojournalism, among others.
Her photography has been exhibited at the United Nations Headquarters and Photoville in New York City, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco, the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris, the Nikola Rukaj Gallery in Toronto, and beyond.
Sobecki is represented internationally by the photo agency VII, and is a member of Women Photograph and Everyday Africa. She is currently exploring the vital role the Congo Basin plays in the ecological balance of our planet as a National Geographic Explorer.
Organizations
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The International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and rebuild.
Founded in 1933 at the call of Albert Einstein, we first helped people fleeing violence and persecution in Europe find safety in the United States.
Today, we work in over 40 crisis-affected countries — bringing ingenuity, fortitude, and optimism to make a lasting impact for the people we serve. We arrive at the onset of crisis and aim to stay as long as we are needed. We also help refugees and other vulnerable people integrate into their new communities across dozens of cities in Europe and the Americas.
The IRC provides health care, helps children learn, and empowers individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always with a focus on the unique needs of women and girls.
The Hands that Make a Home
Featuring: Nichole Sobecki
Locations
View Location Details Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 2146 Furman Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
This location is part of Brooklyn Bridge Park
Explore other locations and exhibitions nearby
- Monday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Tuesday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Wednesday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Thursday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Friday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Saturday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
- Sunday 8:00 am - 8:00 pm
The FIND Project is a client-response program to meet the specific needs of refugees and migrants in Yumbe and Kampala based on the research conducted by IRC and partner Tufts University.
Funded by the Open Society Foundations.
