LEWISTON — In a series of 26 photographs, Jan Pieter van Voorst van Beest documents the lives of immigrants from around the world who have made their home in Maine.

His photos can be seen in the “New Mainers: Portraits of Our Immigrant Neighbors” exhibit at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College. A presentation featuring guest speaker Halima Mohamed will be held Wednesday, Oct. 20, followed by a reception with a sampling of multicultural cuisines.

The “New Mainers” exhibition is from a book of the same title published last year by Tilbury House Publishers, with text by Pat Nyhan and foreword by Reza Jalali. The stories that accompany the photographs in the book tell the immigrants’ compelling stories – where they came from, what circumstances brought them to Maine, how they are making their lives here, and what their hopes and aspirations are for the future.

The “New Mainers” come from war-torn countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Cambodia; from poor Latin American nations; and from economically vibrant places such as Hong Kong, India and Europe. They came to Maine for many reasons: a job, to reunite with family, to attend college, or to flee persecution in their homelands.

What they share is a pride in their new identity as Mainers.

Some contribute high-level skills in medicine, engineering, academia, law, public school education, hotel management and social services. Others have enriched the state’s arts and sports worlds. Several are used to going back and forth across borders, either as transnational professionals or as migrant workers. About one-third of these immigrants are successful entrepreneurs.

Van Voorst van Beest, a native of the Netherlands, moved to Maine in 1970. His work has been shown in solo, group and juried exhibits in the United States and Holland. He has published three books of photography: “San Miguel de Allende,” “Portland, Maine, in Black and White” and “Flesh and Stone.”

“In the last 15 years or so, the face of the Maine population has changed,” Van Voorst van Beest said. “Although Maine has relatively few immigrants, compared to other states, it recently has seen a remarkable increase in its immigrant population. One cannot walk around the Portland or Lewiston streets without encountering a few people who certainly cannot be categorized as ‘traditional Mainers.’”

Textiles from many of the countries will be included in the exhibit; they are on loan from the collection of Alice Spencer and Consuelo Eames Hanks.

“New Mainers” will run concurrently with the textile arts exhibition, “Altering Matters: New Work by Maine Members of the Surface Design Association,” in the main gallery.

The Oct. 20 presentation, free and open to the public, will be held from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the college’s function room. Mohamed, a student in L-A College’s social and behavioral sciences program, moved from Africa to Lewiston in 2005, and now lives in Auburn with her husband and their children. She will speak about her experiences moving from one culture to another very different culture. The presentation will also include a reading by Jalali.

Van Voorst van Beest and Jalali will sign copies of the “New Mainers” book at the reception.

Both the “New Mainers” and “Altering Matter” exhibits will be on view through Nov. 30. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Admission is free. L-A College is at 51 Westminster St. For more information, call 753-6500.