Advocacy, Super-Sized

Published October 27, 2009 @ 04:26AM PT

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is it worth if it's 7 feet tall and 10 feet wide?

The New York Times photojournalism blog, Lens recently did a feature on the project Congo/Women, a traveling exhibit created by the Art Works Projects. This exhibit, currently housed at the United Nations in New York, displays the devastating impact that decades of conflict, HIV/AIDS and rape as a war tactic have had on women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The difference is that the pictures are far from your traditional gallery size -- they are larger than life.

In the article, "Behind the Scenes: Suffering Writ Large," Leslie Thomas, the founding executive director of Art Works Projects explains that the massive images of the Congo/Women exhibit were meant to "grab the attention of those not normally concerned with human rights."

In 2006 and 2007 the Art Works Projects released another traveling multimedia exhibit called Darfur/Darfur that included huge projected photographs and music, documenting the lives of people experiencing the conflict in Darfur. The images were digitally displayed on walls of the venue spaces.

Though I have not had the opportunity to see these exhibits in person, after going through the Lens article and the Art Works Project websites for both projects, seeing the images was both moving and haunting. I can only imagine the effect they can have when they are wall-sized and impossible to miss. According to Lens, one of the current Congo exhibit portraits is placed right outside of the General Assembly chamber, and I cannot think of a more appropriate place for it.

I know that the Darfur exhibit made its way to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. and that the Congo exhibit was shown at Senate and House office buildings earlier this year, but a part of me wonders if maybe a semi-permanent installation should go up in the Capitol Hill area of this nation's capital -- a daily reminder to both those who work and visit that the decision we do (or do not) make have a monumental impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities across the world.

[Photo of the Darfur/Darfur exhibit in New York by the Save Darfur Coalition, used with written permission from the organization.]

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Comments (2)

Hi Michelle!

If you feel like taking a little trip, the Congo/Women Exhibit will be at Yale from November 09-19 at 286 Park Street, New Haven.

Opening reception and program will be held on Tuesday, November 10. In attendance with be Leslie Thomas, Carroll Bogert, Jocelyn Kelly and others to speak about the current humanitarian crisis in Congo.

A policy-oriented discussion will be held in the gallery space on November 18th, featuring Congolese journalist and activist Chouchou Namegabe, Elisabeth Wood, professor of Political Science at Yale and Jason Stearns, Ph.D. Student in Political Science and former senior analyst for International Crisis Group in Congo.

Free Admission

Gallery Hours:

Monday-Thursday: 10am-midnight

Friday: 10am-10pm

Saturday: noon-5pm

Sunday: 9am-midnight

Come on up!! :-)

Thank you again for your much-appreciated posts.

Hi to your dog, please.

Take care, Nell

Posted by Nell Okie on 10/29/2009 @ 11:52PM PT
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Hi Kelly! Guess it's time for an eye/head examination. In any case, hope you will join us, and thank you for your post! All the best, Nell

Posted by Nell Okie on 10/29/2009 @ 11:59PM PT
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Kelly's interest in issues affecting children in conflict and post conflict societies developed while she did post-graduate coursework at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. She has worked with several South African NGOs that focus on children's rights as well as those addressing migration and refugee rights.