Photographer Pao Houa Her Receives $10,000 NEA Grant for Residency at Woodson Art Museum

Acclaimed Hmong American photographer Pao Houa Her ’09 has been awarded a $10,000 Challenge America Award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), one of 272 given nationwide, to support her upcoming residency and exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.

Her, a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, will use the grant to bring her project Belonging to life during a two-week residency in July 2025. This project explores themes of identity, community, and the refugee experience, centered around Her’s powerful portrait photography of Hmong individuals. The residency will allow Her to create an interactive space within the museum, using locally sourced materials such as flowers, fabrics, and artisan items as backdrops for her portraits.

Her’s Double Exposure: Community Portraits exhibition will showcase the portraits she creates during the residency. The project builds on her personal journey as a refugee and her ongoing efforts to engage and document Hmong communities through visual storytelling.

Double Exposure: Community Portraits Exhibition
June 7–August 24, 2025
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum (Wausau, WI)

Learn More

• Woodson Art Museum to receive $10K challenge award
  (wausaupilotandreview.com—January 17, 2025)