Join us for an interactive reception for the photo installation Huddled Masses, Who We are at the UTSA Institute of Texan Cultures with artist Ramin Samandari. Ramin will lead a discussion on migration, diversity, and the inspiration behind the project that led to the artwork.

Title of the presentation: “migrant experience from an artist point of view”

Bio of the Artist/speaker  – Ramin Samandari

Iranian-born photographer, I arrived in Odessa, Texas in 1978 at age 17, sent there by my parents in the midst of the Iranian revolution. At the time I thought I might return to my homeland in a few years with a medical degree, but then the Iran-Iraq War broke out, so I renewed my U.S. visa, eventually got a green card, and in 1990 became a U.S. citizen.
My work is in the permanent collection at San Antonio Museum of Art, University of Texas at San Antonio, The Tobin Center for the Performing Art and Institute of Texan Cultures.