This article appeared in the Feb. 05, 2004 Jewish Advocate.

Northeastern senior captures global settings

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

“As a photographer, you start seeing the world in squares,” says Northeastern University senior and photographer Emily Keeler. “Tree stumps, storefronts, solitary apples, and half-drunk cups of coffee appear in frames, the light hitting the object in such a way that it seizes the photographer’s eye.” Her current exhibit, titled: “Hallowed Ground: Photography from other lands to benefit Project Global Village,” will be on display from Jan. 30-Feb. 12 at the Out of the Blue Gallery in Central Square, Cambridge.

Although Keeler, who is studying English, philosophy and religion, claims to be an amateur photographer, the young chronicler is quite experienced in unique global settings and personal causes. 50 percent of the proceeds from this show will go to Proyecto Aldea Global (Project Global Village), a Honduran NGO the American Jewish World Service works with to build adequate schools. AJWS, along with Hillel, sponsored a trip to El Salvador Keeler and ten other students took two years ago. Photos are also culled from a four-month residency in Italy, as well as another trip Keeler went on this past summer, with International Jewish College Corps (IJCC), to Honduras and Ukraine.

“I've been involved with many social action issues and events, especially in the Jewish context, in college,” says Keeler, who began working with AJWS when she organized the 2002 “alternative spring break” to El Salvador. There, her group spent a week in Ciudad Romero working on varied agricultural projects alongside village inhabitants. Following this summer’s trek to Honduras and Ukraine, she is planning another alternative break to Mexico for this spring. “These programs essentially integrate sustainable development, Jewish learning and advocacy,” she explains.

Keeler grew up in Mystic, Connecticut; her family belonged to Temple Emanuel in nearby Waterford. Her father is a systems analyst at Pfizer, and her mother directs the historic Bill Memorial Library. “I came to Northeastern hoping to find a strong Jewish community in Boston, and joined Combined Jewish Philanthropies as a freshman to get involved with social action/community service projects,” she recalls. She went on to join the Northeastern Hillel board, and has planned social action programs ever since, while working to increase both the organization’s accessibility to Jewish students and involvement with other faith groups at the university. “I organized the 2002 alternative spring break to El Salvador with AJWS because I was interested in Central American issues and Judaism's tenet of social justice,” she said. “For me, tikkun olam defines Judaism.”

Many of Keeler’s scenes are of Italy, which she claims is the ultimate place to photograph with its bevy of colorful scenes and unique character, as well as indescribable energy in the way the light hits scenery and the overall spirit of the country. In Honduras this past summer with IJCC, Keeler spent a month with 15 others in the remote village of Santa Ana, where the group helped build a potable water system. In Ukraine, they stayed in the city of Kharkov for three weeks, where they cleaned up a desecrated Jewish cemetery. “In this exhibited format, the former Soviet Union, struggling Central America and vibrant Italy don’t appear so antipodal,” she says, noting that her photographs have become less of a documentation of a good time and more of a diary by which to process her experiences.

“Hallowed Ground” is based upon my dedication to tikkun olam,” explains Keeler. “This repair extends beyond the vital, physical repair of our world and transcends to spiritual repair. Through giving time, money, energy and raising awareness, we can individually and collectively contribute to the survival and well being of our earth and our neighbors.”

Keeler is currently applying to graduate school for religious studies, and is considering future work in the non-profit sector with Jewish community development. Prior to the exhibit, she was making greeting cards with her photos to sell at fairs and give as gifts; these will be on sale at Out of the Blue.

IJCC is one of the many trips abroad offered by AJWS, a non-profit organization which seeks to help alleviate poverty, hunger, oppression and disease worldwide. The group encourages American Jews to “act upon a deeply felt obligation to improve the chances for survival, economic independence and human dignity for all people.”

Please visit www.ajws.org for more information on AJWS projects. For information on “Hallowed Ground: Photography from other lands to benefit Project Global Village,” appearing Jan. 30-Feb. 12 at the Out of the Blue Gallery, 106 Prospect St. in Central Square, Cambridge (across from Whole Foods Market), please call 617-354-5287 or email ootb@worldnet.att.net.