For almost twenty years, Abilene photographer Bill Wright has been photographing ethnic people around the world as they live and work in their native environment: in their homes, their offices, and in the fields. This documentation of people and their surroundings reflects the commonalities, as well as the divergences, in our world's many cultures.

The objective of this project is to illustrate and to explain these lifeways to an international population. Wright believes that photography is a universal, visual language that transcends the boundaries of states and communicates the ultimate humanity of us all to each other. In addition, he believes that understanding our fellow human beings on this small planet will contribute to world peace. Bill Wright hopes that the People's Lives study will advance insight into the similarities and differences of human cultures.

Bill Wright's People's Lives photographs have been shown internationally in Scotland, Peru, Mexico, Canada, and other countries. His exhibition on the Tigua Indians was purchased by the United States Information Agency to travel in the various consulates of Mexico. Moreover, his work is included in major museum collections in the United States and abroad, including The Newberry Library in Chicago, The Princeton Collection of Western Americana, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, and the Anthropology Archives of the Smithsonian Institution.