Synopsis:

Photographer and writer, Dick Keis, spent over six years photographing and interviewing traditional workers and artisans in Oaxaca and the outlying pueblos. His focus was on occupations and crafts that are in danger of dying out. The 31 people included in his book, Somos Oaxaca, include weavers, clay artists, silversmiths, cobblers, public scribes, mezcaleros and others whose work help preserve traditional crafts and trades, their oficios, that give their lives meaning and fulfillment. This presentation documents the work they do through black and white photographs and personal stories and anecdotes that give an in-depth look into the lives and work of hard working Oaxacans.

Speaker Bio:

Richard “Deek” Keis is a documentary photographer and writer who lives between Corvallis, Oregon and Oaxaca, Mexico. He worked on his Book: Somos Oaxaca: Retratos de Vidas, Arte y Oficios, from 2015 until it was published 2021. He has exhibited his work at La Biblioteca Henestrosa in Oaxaca in April, 2023, and at the Casa de la Cultura Oaxaqueña in 2017. He has also exhibited his oficios photographs in various galleries and art centers in Oregon where he lives part of the year. His most recent projects include Somos Oaxaca: Retratos de vidas, arte y oficios, portraits of artisans and workers in Oaxaca, Mexico, Muxes: a Dream that Never Dies: portraits of a third gender group in Juchitan, Mexico, Twenty Women: Portraits of Strength and Resilience, and Cuba: Dos Viajes.

Website: www.richardkeis.photography