Between Cultures: Children of Immigrants in America

The New Americans Museum at Liberty Station ends its inaugural year with an exhibition from the heart. In "Between Cultures: Children of Immigrants in America", Chicago photography Gina Grillo captures family experiences as they arrive in Chicago as new Americans and chronicles their integration into urban life – in new neighborhoods, with family, at
cultural celebrations, citizenship ceremonies and many other everyday scenes.

“The New Americans Museum opened earlier this year to celebrate America’s past and promise by providing inspiring educational and cultural programs that honor our diverse immigrant experiences,” explained Executive Director Gayle Hom. “Grillo’s extraordinary exhibition provides an opportunity to help all of us understand and value our roots and ancestry. Newcomers, as well as many San Diegans, will relate to the challenges and the possibilities that the children in these images face as they begin life in a completely new and foreign home.”

Grillo’s personal commitment to exploring immigrant life in the United States turned into a creative odyssey. Since 1996 the photographer has documented the faces and captured the souls of the young people whose lives straddle two cultures. “I grew up with a longing for my Italian heritage, to know my grandparents who had come to America long before I was born. Their immigrant stories were told to me the way one receives a prayer, and part of my history
was made in their repeating.”

Grillo began by shooting photographs outside the lines of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Later, she photographed citizenship swearing in ceremonies, explored immigrant neighborhoods and ultimately was invited by the INS to photograph new immigrant families arriving at O’Hare. This opportunity led Grillo to develop relationships with
individuals, enriching not only her work, but also her understanding of her own heritage. The exhibition has been featured at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, the Children’s Immigration Museum - Chicago and The Field Museum-Chicago.

Free

2825 Dewey Road, San Diego  

619-255-8908