Chapter 10: Faces of Faith: Building Understanding, Empathy, and Respect

“Putting a Face on Islam,” a socially engaged photography project, was developed to address the question: “How does personally interacting with and creating a work of art about a person from a religion you do not practice deepen your understanding of that person and yourself?” The project involves first learning foundational information about Islam. Students then interview individuals who practice Islam and create photographic portraiture of those interviewed. This launches the art-making aspect of the assignment as students finalize their choice of portrait and design a frame to support the portrait. In addition, students craft artists’ statements to position their interviewees historically, religiously, and artistically. The final step is the exhibition of the students’ artwork in various community locations, which encourages dialogue between students and the community about issues of faith, diversity, and representation.