Kickstarter

**UPDATE** I just reached my goal with about 11 hours to go! A huge thank you to everyone who donated. I cannot wait to get back to Kazan. If anyone would still like to support the project, please know that EVERY PENNY will go toward funding this project. There will be much to do when I return including publication, distribution and printing for exhibitions. Thank you all!***

Dissolving Borders is a documentary photography project that examines how the Muslim Tatars and Orthodox Christian Russians of Kazan not only live peacefully side-by-side, but are also working to create a more tolerant society.

Summary:
Kazan is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, one of 21 semi-autonomous ethnic republics in the Russian Federation. It is located at the convergence of the Volga and Kazan Rivers about 700 kilometers east of Moscow. The dismantling of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s kindled a slow but steady religious movement in the Republic of Tatarstan and across Russia. In Kazan, churches and mosques were rebuilt, the Tatar language became an official language of Tatarstan alongside Russian, and ancient traditions kept alive in small villages began seeping back into the city. The 2000s brought a safer and more stable environment for the city’s inhabitants and with that came a stronger resurgence of religious and cultural expression, particularly among the youth. In a city divided almost equally between Tatars and Russians, Muslims and Christians, this process has unfolded not only with a marked lack of tension, but also with a spirit of mutual respect and exchange. At its heart, this is a story of rediscovery. Tatarstan has a long history of tolerance and Russian society in general is imbued with a very deep sense of humanity. In the religious and cultural reawaking both Tatars and Russians have been experiencing over the past 20 years, they are also honoring the open-minded attitudes of their ancestors.

What I’ve Done:
After researching for almost a year, I traveled to Kazan in 2011 to begin photographing. This idea of tolerance is really seen and felt at every level in the city. In 2005, the Tatarstan government rebuilt their Kremlin to incorporate both the Orthodox Church and a new mosque. Religious leaders periodically gather to discuss ways in which the groups can work together. Most important to me, however, were the personal stories. Time and again I heard how thankful people are to live in such a safe community where they don’t fear expressing their religious identities. But, I’ve only scratched the surface…

What’s Next:
With the money raised on Kickstarter, I will travel back to Kazan for three months to expand and deepen my work in the city. I will continue to photograph in both the Muslim and Christian communities to explore the relationships that people have to religion, culture and each other. I will document how the two groups overlap in the city and the daily exchanges that occur between people, as it is these exchanges that make a tolerant society viable. Every society has struggles and rough edges that stress the balance, and the level of security of a particular community depends on how they navigate these stressors. As such, I will also look at areas of discord and how Kazan handles incidences of intolerance.

Behind the Scenes:
Although I am a third-generation American, both sides of my family emigrated from Russia at the turn of the last century. I grew up with a sense of wanting to understand my heritage, but I also had just a pure curiosity about the Russian people and their way of life. As an undergrad, I studied Russian language and literature but it wasn’t until I spent three months traveling and photographing in Russia from Moscow to Lake Baikal that I truly felt a deep connection to the land. 

A lot of the photographic work I’ve done in the States has been with the Muslim community. I was profoundly affected by seeing such negative representations of Islam in the media, particularly after 9/11. When I started developing this project in Kazan, I was interested to look at Islam in the context of Russia, a country that was just starting to rediscover religion after 70 years of Communism, but once I started working on the project, I realized that there was so much more to the story. My deepest desire is for this story to serve as an example from which we, Tatars and Russians included, can all learn. Regardless of a region’s history or government, it is the people who ultimately choose cooperation over conflict. 

Photography projects such as this take time and resources that are unfortunately increasingly scarce in today’s world. Kickstarter has created an invaluable resource for photographers to engage in these long-term projects that have an incredible impact in the world. The platform of Kickstarter is such that you’re not just donating money to a project, but you also receive a great reward for your generosity. Remember that I only receive the donation if my goal is met by the deadline. If I happen to go over my goal amount, please know that every penny will go towards this project. There will be much to do when I return to the US, including publication and distribution.

Thank you so much for learning about my project!

To see my past work, please visit www.alisonshuman.com.