{"id":16835,"date":"2025-07-17T16:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/16835\/"},"modified":"2025-07-17T16:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T16:57:12","slug":"i-really-wanted-to-reflect-each-persons-individuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/16835\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I really wanted to reflect each person\u2019s individuality\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a result of the effort, 12 images depicting new Daytonians from locations as diverse as Iran, Colombia and Rwanda were commissioned. <\/p>\n

\"Youssef<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

\"icon<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

SarahLydia Kiehl, the photographer behind the lens, said the initiative was a welcome change from her usual work for the City of Dayton. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to reflect each person\u2019s individuality, their strength, and their connection to Dayton,\u201d Kiehl said. \u201cSeeing the portraits in a central public place is humbling, exciting and a reminder that these stories come from all walks of life. They deserve to be seen, valued, and celebrated right in the heart of our city.\u201d <\/p>\n

Kiehl, who works as a public information associate with the City of Dayton, said each person made the choice to be seen. That decision, to have their images displayed publicly, has become a matter of pride for participants. <\/p>\n

Many shared with her the experience \u201cbrought them peace\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"Severa<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

\"icon<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a feel-good feeling,\u201d Kiehl said about seeing her work so prominently displayed. \u201cI really think the smiles make all the difference.\u201d <\/p>\n

The portraits were originally taken as part of Welcome Dayton\u2019s drive to modernize its webpage last year. The organization\u2019s coordinator, Jeannette Horwitz, was keen to update the site\u2019s \u201cStories\u201d section with new profiles and a new name. <\/p>\n

Discussions regarding storefront activations to beautify the city inevitably led to a unique idea formulating: why not give the \u201cVoices of the Immigrant Experience\u201d portraits pride of place downtown?<\/p>\n

\"Dayton’s\"icon<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really positive,\u201d Horwitz said about the public response to the portraits. <\/p>\n

It is one example of the work the community initiative has done to make immigrants feel welcome. The efforts also include educational seminars, translation services and the provision of professional interpreters. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur job is to bridge gaps and make sure people understand each other so that there are fewer misconceptions,\u201d Horwitz said. \u201cWe have a language access policy in the City of Dayton so that police, fire department, mediation and every other front facing division within the city will contact an interpreter if you don\u2019t speak English.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Robert<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

\"icon<\/p>\n

Credit: SarahLydia Keihl<\/p>\n

But not all of its work is that serious. Some of Welcome Dayton\u2019s events are simply about bringing people together such as the upcoming New Americans Art Exhibit. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s coming up this fall but we just opened it up for people to submit artwork to be considered for it,\u201d Horwitz was happy to share. \u201cWe have a kickoff event in November where people will have an opportunity to meet the artists to learn who they are, where they come from, and to talk about their artwork.\u201d <\/p>\n

At a time when immigration has become a flashpoint across the U.S., Welcome Dayton knows it has an important role to play. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think people here are by nature very welcoming. It\u2019s nice to see it continue strongly even during more challenging times,\u201d Horwitz said. <\/p>\n

Because of Horwitz and her team, the city will seeing more of Welcome Dayton in the near future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a result of the effort, 12 images depicting new Daytonians from locations as diverse as Iran, Colombia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":["post-16835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}