DARFUR/DARFUR exhibition at Eastman House to illustrate genocide crisis in Sudan through powerful photographs

Images to be projected onto gallery walls; candlelight vigil set for Jan. 21

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film presents the multi-media photography exhibition DARFUR/DARFUR Jan. 20 through April 22, 2007, to prompt international support for the prevention of further destruction of life. Events in Darfur, Sudan, since 2003 have resulted in the death or injury of more than 400,000 civilians and displacement of 2.5 million. DARFUR/DARFUR was created to depict the genocide crisis and place the atrocities occurring in Darfur in context with its vibrant courageous people, while advocating for immediate and lasting peace. The exhibition will be at the center of an interfaith candlelight vigil in Rochester on Jan. 21.

In cooperation with the DARFUR/DARFUR organization, George Eastman House is launching this large-scale exhibition that features digitally projected photographs by former U.S. Marine Brian Steidle and internationally acclaimed photojournalists Lynsey Addario, Mark Brecke, Helene Caux, Ron Haviv of VII, Paolo Pellegrin of Magnum, Ryan Spencer Reed, and Michal Ronnen Safdie. The photography displays will be accompanied by Sudanese music. Also on view in the Eastman House gallery will be feature-length documentaries about the crisis.

"George Eastman House has always been a vehicle of ideas and a champion of social change," said Dr. Alison Nordström, Eastman House curator of photographs. "DARFUR/DARFUR assembles the work of the world's best photojournalists to inform and mobilize the public. We count on the courage and passion of our viewers to take this project beyond our walls." Within the exhibition, visitors will have an opportunity to respond and voice their concern about circumstances in Darfur by writing to government representatives.

The exhibition was launched in New York City in September 2006, with plans to travel to 24 cities in 24 months. Locations include Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Toronto, Berlin, Milan, and Capetown, South Africa, in addition to Rochester. DARFUR/DARFUR was created to educate viewers about the multi-cultural population, demonstrate how the violence and mass killings have devastated the region, and raise funds for humanitarian organizations that provide ground relief in Darfur.

Rochester's Response
DARFUR/DARFUR is part of the Eastman House series of exhibitions and programs titled "Witness: Know War/Know Genocide." In partnership with numerous cultural, educational, and faith-based organizations, George Eastman House is leading a community-wide conversation on genocide and war. The kick-off program is a candlelight vigil at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, organized by Rochester's Interfaith Darfur Coalition. Eastman House invites the Rochester community to join in support of the Darfuri people, contemplation of the exhibition, and witness to the need for immediate, lasting peace. Beginning at Asbury First United Methodist Church, (1050 East Ave.) the vigil will continue to George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) and conclude with a viewing of the DARFUR/DARFUR exhibition. Both the vigil and the exhibition viewing are free and open to the public. Learn about all the community-wide events at witness.eastmanhouse.org.

Additional Eastman House Programs

6 p.m. Thursday, March 1
Photographer Ron Haviv, whose work is featured in the exhibition DARFUR/DARFUR, will present an illustrated lecture in the Dryden Theatre, titled "On the Front Lines of Today's Wars." Haviv will present work from around the world from 1989 until today. Themes dealing with the ideas of witness, evidence, and the responsibility of the audience will be explored with work that document recent genocides, civil wars, and United States military intervention around the world. Lecture will be followed by a booksigning. Haviv is a member of the nine-member photo agency VII (which formed in 2001 with an original seven members). The photojournalists of VII document conflict — environmental, social and political, both violent and non-violent — to produce an unflinching record of the injustices created and experienced by people caught up in the events they describe. Included with museum admission (free to members).

6 p.m. Thursday, March 8
Photographer Michal Ronnen Safdie, whose work is featured in DARFUR/DARFUR, will present an illustrated lecture in the Dryden Theatre, titled "Nature/Human Nature." Safdie's photographs are noted for their unusual range, Encompassing subjects from the natural world (studies of ice, anthropomorphic trees) and the human subject in the center of socio political events (refugees from Darfur, Gacaca trials in Rwanda, The Western Wall and the Israeli Palestinian fence). Lecture will be followed by a booksigning. Included with museum admission (free to members).

About the Crisis in Darfur The trouble in Darfur began in February 2003 when the Sudanese government, in response to conflict with Darfurian rebel groups, began sponsoring wholesale ethnic cleansing of all non-Arab Darfurians, almost all of whom were civilians and had no direct affiliation with the rebel groups. In Darfur today nearly 4 million rely on humanitarian aid and 90 percent of Darfurian villages have been looted or destroyed. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives unanimously adopted in 2004 a joint resolution declaring the atrocities in Darfur to be genocide. And as the genocide continues, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Africa declared in October 2006 that 50 percent of formerly accessible Internally Displaced Persons camps are no longer accessible due to insecurity. Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation, and displacement.

DARFUR/DARFUR was conceived by Leslie Thomas, a 42-year-old mother and architect, who was motivated in July 2006 to provide national awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis and to raise necessary funds. The exhibition has been co-curated by film producer Alexander Kerr, gallery owner Daniela Hrzic, and architects Kevin Martin and Jane Sachs. DARFUR/DARFUR is fiscally sponsored by Global Grassroots, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that invests in entrepreneurship to advance women's well being in poor countries.

For more information
For more information about the Eastman House exhibition, lectures, the candlelight vigil, or other related programs in the community, please visit www.eastmanhouse.org or call (585) 271-3361. Admission to George Eastman House is $8 for adults; $6 for senior citizens (60 and older); $5 for students; $3 for children (5 to 12); and free for children 4 and under and museum members.

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