The VOICE project (previously known as “Through Our Eyes, Hear Our Stories”) trained 24 students at the University of California, Irvine to become photo-ethnographers to document the experiences of AAPI community members during COVID-19 in Orange County, California. Learning from organizations serving AAPI populations, our team first explored the issues facing our communities before taking photographs. We then learned about ethics, informed consent and how to archive these photographs.
Our photographs explored the impact of COVID-19 through 3 themes, each with 2 sub-themes.
Race and Class:
- small businesses and economic insecurity
- AAPI allyship and politics
Collective Identity:
- AAPI connection and community
- multigenerational family relationships
Health and Care:
- access to services and information
- mental health causes
During the Winter 2021 quarter, we curated our photographs in the following themes that you can visit on our website:
Why AAPIs?
Asian American and Pacific Islanders experience disproportionate impacts from the pandemic. Blaming the spread of COVID-19 on China led to economic boycotts of Asian ethnic businesses, increasing anti-Asian violence, and immigration/travel bans. Also, gaining accurate information and access to resources is challenging, given the high percentages of AAPIs who are not fluent in English. Furthermore, certain sectors of the community, most notably Pacific Islanders, suffer higher rates of infection and mortality.
Why Photovoice?
The Photovoice method represents a powerful process to capture community-level information through the eyes of its residents. Developed by Wang & Burris (1994), Photovoice methodology emerged from the innovative combination of several theoretical perspectives that emphasize community participation for social action, including empowerment education and documentary photography. The three objectives of VOICE are 1) to empower and engage community members to document their COVID19-related concerns through taking photographs within their own communities, 2) to use the photographs as the focal point of group discussions and dialogue about underlying community issues, and 3) to share their photographs with students, faculty, community and policy makers to create awareness and change.
Reading links about higher rates/impacts of COVID-19 on AAPIs:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-07-21/filipino-americans-dying-covid
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2773538
https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20200708.894552/full/