Submissions are being accepted through March 23; you can complete the form and upload the image online. You also can email entries to qvdo@uab.edu.In a highly viewed video for YouTube, six professional photographers are asked to create a portrait of a single man. Then each one is given a different backstory for the subject — from ex-con to self-made millionaire. Not surprisingly, the final portraits perfectly capture six identities that don’t exist and prove the hypothesis: “A photograph is shaped more by the person behind the camera than by what is in front of it.”
Perhaps such bias helps explain the allure of the selfie, especially for a generation native to smart phones and social media. Some decry the self-portraits as narcissism or worse. But maybe, just maybe selfies are something more — something empowering precisely because the subject controls the filter through which they are depicted and the narrative it supports.
That’s the premise of The Selfie Project, an exhibit that will be displayed in the Hill Student Center March 27-31, said Quang Do, a student affairs specialist for Fraternity and Sorority Life in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership. “It will feature selfies of women students and employees and a brief written expression about their experiences being a woman on the UAB campus.”
Submissions are being accepted through March 23; you can complete the form and upload the image online. You also can email entries to qvdo@uab.edu.
| “The Selfie Project provides a space for women at UAB to share their stories on their own terms. If we don’t share our narrative with all its' struggles and victories, we allow others to write it for us.” |
About 30 women have participated each of the previous two years, but organizers are hoping to attract more — more employees, postdocs and professional students — to create an exhibit that reflects women at all points along the career paths.
“We want to break 100,” Do said. “We especially want to attract even more women who can share their experiences about studying and working in predominantly male STEM and medical fields.”
“UAB has a wealth of accomplished, talented, and extraordinary women with strong voices and unique experiences,” said Catherine McCarty, a palliative care researcher who participated this past year.
McCarty, who earned a degree in health care management at UAB, is pursuing her master’s degree in public health and will begin the physician assistant program in August, also intends to submit another selfie for the upcoming exhibit.
“The Selfie Project provides a space for women at UAB to share their stories on their own terms. If we don’t share our narrative with all its' struggles and victories, we allow others to write it for us.
“Participating in the Selfie Project is an act of empowerment and promotes dialogue that can improve the lives of women in the UAB community,” she said.
The bigger picture
In previous years, the photos had been exhibited in Heritage Hall, but the student center promises more exposure to a broader range of students, employees and visitors to campus.
“The over-arching goal is for men and women walking by to be able to look at these posters, reflect on their own experiences and respect the shared experiences they might have with these women,” Do said.
Do said the project started three years ago in the Office of Student Multicultural and Diversity Programs, with the goal to celebrate Women's History Month. “Their office did some re-alignment in terms of missions and goals, and it no longer fit into their mission and vision,” he said “Courtney Johnson reached out to our office to see if we'd be interested to take it on, and we decided it was just too good a program and opportunity to pass up.”
If you miss the deadline, you can still be counted, Do said. Post a photo to your social network of choice with the hashtag #UABSelfies during exhibit week.Support the Selfie Project
- Take a picture of yourself that expresses who you are and how you feel.
- Write a brief statement about your experience.
- Submit it online by March 23 for the exhibit.
- Share it on social media with the hashtag #UABSelfies March 27-31
Help the Graduate School and Staff Council provide much-needed items to the Ronald McDonald House and Birmingham-area schools.
