|
Featured Exhibits /November 5, 2009
Carry Me Ohio The foothills of Appalachia in time of recession Photographs by Matt Eich
Lisa Russel, 20, and other teens hang out on the street corners in Glouster, OH. Photo by Matt Eich
Once known for its bounty
of coal, salt, clay and timber, Southeastern Ohio was stripped of its resources
by the mining corporations that thrived from the 1820s to the 1960s. When
they had mined all that they could, the corporations left and the residents remained.
For the past three years, Matt Eich has been documenting the people of this
region. Now, the same lack of opportunity that has plagued the residents of
Southeastern Ohio for decades has forced him to move.
Rampant unemployment, poor housing conditions, drug abuse and sub-standard
schools have left many families here in crisis. In 2006, Athens County, one of
the poorest counties in the state, had a poverty rate of 27.4 percent and a per
capita income of just $14,171. With the economic downturn of the United States,
these numbers have only gotten worse.
Click here to view the exhibit.
Vanishing China Photographs by Jiri Tondl
Photo by Jiri Tondl
The photographs in this exhibit provide evidence of the
vanishing traditional world in China-rolled back, mostly in big cities-by the
dynamic pace of development. The exhibit is also about a change of
lifestyle. Many people, especially the elderly, strive to preserve their
traditions. Click here to view the exhibit.
Beauty Queen A beauty contest for immigrant workers in the Tel Aviv bus station Photographs by Michael Steindel
Photo by Michael Steindel
Newly-enacted immigration policies have caused fear among foreign workers in Tel Aviv. Now immigration officers are patrolling
the streets looking for illegal migrants, threatening to evacuate them out of
Israel. Under this black cloud, a beauty contest for foreign workers from
southeast Asia took place at the central bus station of Tel Aviv. This
seemingly event took place in the lowest floor of the station.
Getting ready in a dark corridor, helping each other dress up, the girls and
their loving crowd felt moments of glamour for one night, trying to put behind
their daily survival problems.
Click here to view exhibit.
Amazon Footprints The frontline in the battle to save the rainforest Photographs by Colin McPherson
A young girl holds up a bowl of freshly caught fish from the Tapajós river in the Amazonian basin. Photo by Colin McPherson This exhibit shows life on Brazil's highway BR-163. This
1000km dusty strip of road next to the mighty Tapajós river has become the
frontline in the battle to save the Amazon rainforest from exploitation and
destruction by loggers, cattle ranchers, soy farmers and multinational
companies. The photographs document the daily lives of people who live on or
near the highway and whose way of life is changing as rapidly as the
environment around them. Each year thousands of acres of irreplaceable forest
is lost forever and the impact on the local and international climate is
incalculable. Click here to view exhibit.
Baseball in the Dominican Republic
Photographs by Billy Weeks
San Pedro de Macros, Dominican Republic. Photo by Billy Weeks.
This exhibit focuses on baseball in the Dominican Republic
and the social issue of recruiting teenage boys to play an American sport. In a
country where most families live on a few dollars a day, a new baseball
prospect can get a signing bonus of upwards of $100,000. This kind of salary
has tested the ethics and standards of major league baseball. Many Dominican
families find themselves in a position of choosing between dishonesty to gain
wealth, or work in sugarcane fields for meager pay. Therefore the money in
baseball drives the passion of this sport in the Dominican Republic. View exhibit.
Documentary News
Three Concerned Women Photographs by Susan
Bank, Stella Johnson, and Rania Matar
Griffin Museum of Photography 67 Shore Road, Winchester MA November 12 through January 10, 2010 An
opening reception with the artists and panel discussion November 12
"What these three women share is a devotion to a kind of photography
which celebrates the dignity of the human condition, no matter what the
circumstances might be," says Constantine Manos, Magnum photographer and
curator of the exhibit. "Each, in her own way, has found people and
situations which have moved her to make photographic statements which reflect
love and compassion." A panel discussion with the photographers and Manos, facilitated by SDN founder, Glenn Ruga, is November 12, 5 p.m. The
topic is the societal role and responsibility of photographers. A book signing
follows. Members, free; non-members, $7. Click here for details.
About SocialDocumentary.net SocialDocumentary.net is a new website for photographers, NGOs, journalists, editors, and students to create and explore documentary websites investigating critical issues facing the world today. Recent exhibits have explored oil workers in the Niger River Delta, male sex workers in India, Central American immigrant women during their journey north, and Iraqi and Afghan refugees in Greece. Click here to view all of the exhibits. |
|
|