The Portrait Identity Project

The Portrait Identity Project uses portraiture photography and interviews to share stories that diversify the lens through which Jewish narratives are told, stimulate reflection on intersectional identities, and drive inclusive community-building.

Julia conceptualized and produced this documentary photography series while working at Tulane Hillel, where she engaged in hundreds of conversations and spent hours spent listening to what students at Tulane care about. From these conversations one thing became clear: there is no single story about what it means to be Jewish despite what we might have learned. 

As an artist and a photographer, Julia had to do something with this realization. She began using photography to create the Portrait Identity Project as a way for students to see a part of themselves in others’ stories, to instigate radical perspective shifts about what being Jewish “looks like,” and to encourage viewers to embrace the fact that identity is multifaceted. Exploring intersectional Jewish identities, in greater depth, creates the space for students to process the full range of their experiences with Judaism, allows them to dig deep into their own personal beliefs and values, and presents viewers with the many different ways there are to be Jewish.