Voices of Diversity was a composite photographic portrait of the Syracuse Community Choir. Composed of more than a hundred individual black & white images, it foregrounds the potential of art/singing as a powerful tool for fostering broad social inclusiveness and community building. This exhibit honored people who, as Choir founder & director Karen Mihalyi says, seek to create a space in our community “that values all people, that sees everyone as important, that creates music… Where we find our voices, sing fully, and create beauty.”

For more than 20 years, the Syracuse Community Choir has been an important voice in the Central New York community, actively promoting the ideas of social justice, peace and inclusiveness. The Choir is based on the idea that singing should be a vital part of the human experience and that everyone can sing. It is open to all people, from experienced musicians to those who have never sung. To involve all, the choir provides support such as brailing, transportation, large print words, tapes/CDs, childcare, separate teen and children’s rehearsals and special help for all who want it.

Nancy Keefe Rhodes wrote this profile for the Stone Canoe Literary Journal.

About the artist:

Lida Suchý‘s photographs have been widely exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States and Europe and published in LIFE Magazine, National Geographic, and GEO. Lida’s photographs are in the collections of the George Eastman House, the Brooklyn Museum, Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and SF MoMA. Lida is a first generation American born into a Ukrainian refugee family. She holds a BA from SUNY Albany, an MA from Syracuse University, and an MFA from Yale University School of Art.