Contemporary Farm Workers on Film

Central Coast residents now have the opportunity to view a powerful photo exhibit –
one that captures a human face on a hidden segment of our society.

Photographer, writer and filmmaker Rick Nahmias is the artist behind The Migrant Project, a 40-image essay that highlights the farm workers who pick California’s fruits and vegetables – produce which accounts for more than half of the nation’s daily consumption. Evocative of the style of the powerful Works Progress Administration (WPA) images of the Dust Bowl and Appalachia in the l930s, Nahmias’ photos took more than two years to produce and were captured on multiple trips to more than four dozen towns, spanning Sacramento to Calexico, during the 2002-03 harvest. The migrants are California’s truly invisible population, traveling in darkness and working in the blinding sun.

The exhibit can currently be seen through May 27 at the Betteravia Gallery in Santa Maria, weekdays from eight a.m. to five p.m. The gallery number is 805-965-9040. Exactly one month later, The Migrant Project will move to the Channing Peake Gallery in Santa Barbara, with the same hours as the Betteravia location. An artist’s reception will be held there on July 7 at five o’clock. Information for that location is at 805-965-9665. The exhibit will then move to Princeton University in the fall. To learn more about The Migrant Project, log on to Nahmias’ web site at www.rcnphoto.com.