The Hoya Empowerment and Learning Program Hosts Artist Jesse Payne for Exhibit
The work of innovative American artist Jesse Payne, an Associate Professor at VCUarts Qatar, was recently featured at an exhibit and panel discussion at GU-Q on his painted series “Untitled,” which features migrant workers in Doha. The event was organized by the Hoya Empowerment and Learning Program, or H.E.L.P., a student-led initiative that delivers financial, computer, administrative, Microsoft Office, English, and Arabic language literacy classes for members of the GU-Q service provider community. They also organize sports competitions and other campus-wide events that bring together students, faculty, staff, and service providers for community-building and cultural exchange.
The president of H.E.L.P., International Politics major Irene Promodh, says the club decided on hosting the art exhibit because it was an excellent opportunity to bring voices from GU-Q’s service provider community into the broader discussion on migrant workers. “We wanted to have a conversation about the construction workers depicted by the artist, to see if there are similarities between those depictions and the lived experiences of our own community members,” said Irene, who said the themes resonated with her own family’s experience of migration from Kerala to the Gulf. “My own parents left India over 20 years ago, and they had to navigate the challenges of expat life in this part of the world as well. So I found myself relating to the paintings in a strong way too.”
Jesse Payne explains the motivation behind the featured series of paintings, saying: “By creating these paintings, I hope to elevate these workers to a place of importance – reposition them at the center of their lives, and provide them notice, recognition, and appreciation.” The large canvases feature portraits of construction workers who “conceal and reveal their faces in an interesting and thought-provoking manner,” says the artist, creating a dual message of anonymity and individuality, and reflecting on conceptions of class and identity.
In his opening statements, Dr. Ahmad Dallal, dean of GU-Q, thanked the H.E.L.P. club’s members for organizing the event and for putting the university’s foundational values into practice. “We are proud of the work this student group does in service of the Georgetown mission of Cura Personalis. This value – which means care for each person in the community with their unique gifts, challenges, needs and possibilities – applies to students and all those who work on the campus, including service staff.”
The dean’s introduction was followed by remarks from Irene who discussed the evolution of H.E.L.P. from a small QNRF Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) grant-funded project to the thriving campus club it is today. She also took part in the panel discussion that featured two service workers sharing their experiences working in the Gulf, including the challenges of pursuing employment in a foreign country, and the positive impact that support had made along the way.
The “Untitled” series remains on exhibit at GU-Q for viewing.