FARMINGTON – Franklin Memorial Hospital is hosting the photography exhibit, Farmworkers Feed Us All, which documents the lives and experiences of Maine’s migrant farm workers by nationally known occupational photojournalist, Earl Dotter, and audio-documentary reporter, Tennessee Watson.
The exhibit, which features photos and interviews from the 2007 harvest season in Maine, will be set up in the corridor between Franklin Memorial Hospital and Franklin Health Medical Arts Center from Sept. 22 to Oct. 12. It can be viewed every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The exhibit features scenes, stories, and quotes from Maine’s migrant farmworker population. Those who migrate to Maine are diverse workers hailing from all parts of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean to harvest local crops such as wild blueberries, broccoli, apples, and eggs. They can also be found planting and thinning trees and dairy farming.
An opening reception will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m. in the Bass Room at Franklin Memorial Hospital. Dr. Mike Rowland, medical director of the Maine Migrant Health Program will provide opening remarks and then lead participants to the exhibit. The public is invited and refreshments will be available. There is no fee to attend.
“Descriptive text and interviews by Ms. Watson and Mr. Dotter’s hand-harvest photographs complement one another to bring voice to the living, working, and health care circumstances of Maine’s migrant workers,” said Rowland. “Watson is a former outreach worker for MMHP who currently teaches and produces audio and multimedia projects at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. Dotter is an award-winning photojournalist who has documented the occupational health and safety conditions of workers for over 35 years.”
The exhibit opened at the State House in February, and has since traveled to the Maine Department of Labor, Harvard School of Public Health, the Bangor Public Library, and the Raker’s Center in Washington County. Franklin Memorial Hospital will be the last stop in Maine before it travels to Washington D.C. in October.
The Maine Migrant Health Program is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing access to healthcare for Maine’s migrant and seasonal farm workers. MMHP’s mobile clinics and outreach workers travel to harvest locations throughout the year offering medical and nursing care, access to dental services, health education, case management, transportation, and interpretations to migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families.
Farmworkers Feed Us All is funded by the Harvard School of Public Health NIOSH Education and Research Center; the Migrant Clinicians Network; Mike Rowland, MD, MPH; Maine Department of Labor; and the Maine Initiatives Harvest Fund.
