The Away Team
Current project in collaboration with the Hmong Soccer Kids Twin Cities community and Hmong Unity Group Nonprofit Organization.
Chapter Projects
The Away Team is a photography-based history book showcasing the origins and journey of Hmong American soccer, specifically highlighting the documentation of the Hmong Soccer Kids community in Minnesota.
Interviewing families, athletes, and coaches at a youth soccer clinic and Hmong Women’s Futbol Federation Tryouts at Jenny Lind Elementary School for them to share their thoughts about Hmong representation in American sports media, experiences with the sports family life, and discuss networking within the HSK community.
The theme of the Hmong American Youth Identities photo-series focuses on the sibling relationship between Ezra Her and Elise Her; two well-known athletes in the Hmong Soccer Community who have taken on many roles in and outside of the HSK community. In this work, we recreate moments of contemplation, pride, and performance in a community space-- Hmong Village in St. Paul. As the Her siblings sport athletic-wear and “Sunday Church” attire, they portray multiple shared elements of their identities in the indoor and outdoor spaces of Hmong Village, a space filled to the brim with history and resources. This photo-series acknowledges the multiple dualities of one’s personhood. It celebrates adolescence as a pivotal point in self-exploration, development in family relationships, and the navigation of their environments and heritage with the unspoken emotional and physical support of each other.
Soccer Clinic & HWFF Tryout Conversations
Photo: Makayla Harrison
Photo: Maz Hawj
