UW Certificate in Photography: Alumni Spotlight

Alum Kim Hawk explains how the UW Certificate in Photography helped boost her photography skills and gave her the confidence to share her story with the world through images. To learn more, visit: https://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/p...

Video Transcript:

[Kim Hawk]
I've lived in Suquamish, Washington for the last 22 years. My husband is a Suquamish tribal member, and for 13 of those years I took care of my mother in law, who is a tribal elder. After she passed in 2013, I began to search for a way to honor her legacy and honor my relationship with her. And that really inspired me to pick up a camera again.

I wanted to bring myself up to date. I wanted to learn how to use this new digital technology, and I wanted to learn how to process my photos. So I started to look online at what was available, and the University of Washington was one of the first things that came up. And when I looked at what they offered, it was—I applied the same day.

The instructors who are there want you to not only capture great images, but want you to access your emotional core and bring that forward in those images. They want you to tell your story. And that got me digging in my own life. As far as, what do I have to say? What can I bring forward? What do I love?

My project is the Lineage Project, and it is portraits of tribal elders who are each holding a portrait of one of their own beloved ancestors. And they are taken in a sacred place, a place that is meaningful to that elder and to their family.

I finished my certificate in the summer of 2022, when my instructor, David Julian, sent me the link to a contest more or less, and King County was looking for images that said something about culture and about the photographer's connection to the culture around them. I would say within two or three days I got a very enthusiastic response back from King County. I was hoping maybe they would like one image or two. They wanted all six images, and those will appear on murals throughout King County, in Metro stations. And this project is now getting attention. Public attention.

I don't think in any other situation that I can possibly imagine, I would have had the opportunity to build a relationship with someone who would be eyes on the ground out in the world looking for opportunities for me. I mean, I can honestly say I entered this program and I have realized a dream. And it was really their passion in their students and their belief. And I'm completely grateful to all of them for showing me, you know, what I can do and to not hold myself back.

Seeing my work in public? Surreal, wild, exciting. My subjects, the wonderful people who sat for me, deserve that spotlight. And so do their ancestors.