VOICES FROM SOUTH OF THE CLOUDS

Tibetan Life
"I just want to tell people through the picture that the Tibetan way of life is still very hard, and even in wintertime we have to go out to get milk."

©Nan Jie (19-year-old Tibetan man), Nagela Village/Photovoice

September 17, 2005–January 2, 2007

Voices from South of the Clouds, an exhibition of over 30 enthralling color photographs of life in China's Yunnan Province at the American Museum of Natural History, transports visitors to Yunnan's villages to view rich cultures and religions of the villagers, the striking natural diversity of their surroundings, and the joy, hardships, and rhythm of their daily lives. The photographs taken by local people focus on their everyday activities, such as harvesting vegetables, herding cattle, playing instruments, and weaving blankets, as well as conducting ceremonies including funerals and weddings, all set against the lush landscapes of this section of southwestern China.

Sweeping Up and Bagging Bran
"These women were sweeping up and bagging the bran after crushing the wheat. The bran is usually used for feeding chickens and pigs. Our Jiyu Village is an administrative village that has the most croplands in the Lashi Township. Naturally, more cropland means more hard work in the fields. Because the people in Tai'an only grow potatoes, we sometimes go there to sell our grain crops or exchange with people there for their potatoes."

©Wang Xinyun (24-year-old Naxi man), Yule Village/Photovoice

The exhibition is the result of an innovative project called Photovoice, which is part of the Yunnan Great Rivers Project, a collaborative effort between the Chinese government and The Nature Conservancy, an international organization dedicated to preserving the diversity of life on Earth. Photovoice was created to document and protect northwestern Yunnan's natural and cultural resources by providing villagers with simple point-and-shoot cameras and one roll of film per month with which to chronicle their daily lives. At the end of each month, the film is developed and the photographers describe the images and their contexts to project facilitators. Since 2001, Photovoice photographers have produced over 50,000 images with 15,000 accompanying stories. The pictures and stories are being compiled into a database for conservation planners, government decision-makers, biologists, social scientists, and others who are formulating plans for natural and cultural resource protection in northwestern Yunnan. Ann McBride Norton is the creator of the Photovoice project, which she directed during her six years in Yunnan Province working for The Nature Conservancy.

Laurel Kendall, Curator in the Museum's Division of Anthropology, and Eleanor J. Sterling, Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the Museum, are curating the installation of Voices from South of the Clouds at the Museum.

The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from Eastman Kodak Company.

The presentation of this exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History is made possible by the generosity of the Arthur Ross Foundation.

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