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More than a Number

The Connection Between Diaspora Palestinians & The Homeland

This presentation explores collective memory, belonging, and ties to the land through a guided exhibition tour, inviting dialogue on identity, memory, and life in the diaspora. Please Register

Bridgeview, Illinois, is home to the largest Palestinian population in the United States, with over 18,000 residents in the area affectionately known as Little Palestine, which stands as a vibrant center of diasporic life and memory. This program explores the experiences of Palestinians across the broader Chicagoland area and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where many have also settled, creating interconnected Midwestern diasporas only a short two-hour drive apart.

More Than A Number is a multimedia exhibition featuring portraits and personal narratives of Palestinians in the diaspora. Each portrait is accompanied by a brief caption capturing memories, aspirations, and reflections on home, displacement, and belonging. Together, they offer an intimate look into the resilience and humanity of Palestinians—reminding us that they are not merely statistics or headlines, but individuals with complex lives and enduring ties to their homeland.

Iman Snobar is a writer, poet, artist, educator, archivist, and photographer whose interdisciplinary practice engages image, collective memory, and narrative storytelling to illuminate the experiences of marginalized communities. Her work focuses in particular on the Palestinian and Puerto Rican diasporas.

She is a two-time alumna of the University of Chicago, where she earned her Master’s degree in the Program of the Humanities with a concentration in Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, and her Bachelor’s degree in Critical Race and Ethnic Studies with double minors in Middle Eastern Studies and Human Rights. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she has called Chicago home for the past four years, where she herself is now an educator, guiding new generations of students through her interdisciplinary approach to writing and education.

Her exhibition More than a Number debuted at Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago, with subsequent activations including WHERE ARE YOU AND WHY? Univer/City at the Reynolds Club on the University of Chicago campus. She has also presented her work at the inaugural Indigeneity and Arts Conference at the University of Chicago in 2025.

Her current work explores the intersections of diaspora, memory, and resistance through visual storytelling, oral history, and community-based archival practice. She is looking forward to expanding her project both with Middle-Eastern and Latinx populations. 

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