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MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Feb. 12, 2016) — In today’s world, families can come in many forms. Milligan College senior Harper Severance captures what “family” looks like for the orphaned children of Casa Shalom in San Lucas, Guatemala, in her photography exhibit, “Adopted.”
Severance’s exhibit will open in the Milligan Art Gallery in Derthick Hall on Sunday, Feb. 28, from 2-4 p.m. The reception and show are free and open to the public.
“Rather than being focused on the scars each one of these children carry, I wanted to capture them as a sibling and a child of the family, spiritual and physical,” said Severance, of Jupiter, Florida, who is a photography major and digital media minor.
This past summer Severance interned at Casa Shalom orphanage in San Lucas, Guatemala. The orphanage is home to about 100 orphans who have faced neglect, abandonment, family loss, malnutrition and/or abuse.
“Each child has his or her own story of how they were ‘adopted’ into the family of Casa Shalom, much like we each have our own story of how we were ‘adopted’ into the Christian family, as a child of God,” said Severance.
In the future, Severance hopes to serve full time on the mission field as a photojournalist and sees this exhibit as just the start of what her future holds.
“I hope my photos show not only family life, but also the transformations these Guatemalan children have made during their stay at Casa Shalom, House of Peace,” said Severance.
Severance’s exhibit will run from Feb. 28 through March 4, 2016.