The Generational Face Project is a photography project aimed at creating the average faces of youth and elders within the Hmong community in California. By taking pictures of people from the 2013-2014 Sacramento and Fresno Hmong New Years, the Hmong Student Association at Berkeley (HSAB) wants to create a young and old, female and male face to raise awareness on the issues of Hmong identity and culture that are a result of the different generation gap. As a community composed of older refugee immigrants and younger first and second generations, we feel that it is important to highlight these different experiences within the Hmong-American community in order to have a better understanding of our culture and identities.
This project was inspired by the photography project “The Face of Tomorrow” which showcased the average faces of men and women from different countries around the world. Because the Hmong do not have a country and are often underrepresented, we are pursing this project to create the faces of our community as a voice for our experiences as Hmong-Americans. Through this project, HSAB hopes to empower the Hmong people and promote higher education by breaking college stereotypes and showing how fun, engaging, and beneficial a higher education can be.
The average face of California Hmong females under the age of 40. Image comprised of 46 faces of self-identifying girls and women from the Sacramento and Fresno Hmong New Years 2013-2014.
The average face of California Hmong males under the age of 40. Image comprised of 63 faces of self-identifying boys and men from the Sacramento and Fresno Hmong New Years 2013-2014.
The average face of California Hmong females over the age of 40. Image comprised of 27 faces of self-identifying women from the Sacramento and Fresno Hmong New Years 2013-2014.
The average face of California Hmong males over the age of 40. Image comprised of 18 faces of self-identifying men from the Sacramento and Fresno Hmong New Years 2013-2014.