News & Events in the World of Photography, Printing and Design

Photography exhibit provokes dialogue on the Middle East

7th April 2008

In the USA there is something called "Students Crossing Boundaries", a campus club whose members traveled to the Palestinian territories in February 2008. Last week they shared their experiences, using photography as medium of expression in a photo exhibitition in the Shapiro Art Gallery.

Last Wednesday students began entering the gallery, where they were met with snacks and personalised tours of the exhibit, which covered the 10-day excursion taken by 11 students (this being sponsored in part by former President Jimmy Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize money).

The exhibit featured over 20 photographss placed chronologically, featuring streets, children and markets for the most part. The unique part was that under the photos there was space for the students to write their reactions to the photos.

"What we intended to do was to show what we did and saw. We wanted to have an event where we can talk about [the trip] in a casual non-threatening sort of way; where if you don't want to talk about it, you can express it on a piece of paper and other people can respond to it," said Alison Schwartzbaum.

One of the most thought-provoking photos featured a ten-year-old Palestinian boy whose teeth were severely damaged because an Israeli settler had ground a rock into them, according to one trip participant Lisa Hanania '11.

Another photo which elicited many comments was the photographs of a market stand where a Tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl, and a Kaffiyeh, an Arab scarf representing Palestinian solidarity, hung for sale side-by-side. Below this photograph, one student commented on their fear to speak to people who wear one of the items, but did not identify which one. Another person responded that they wear the Kaffiyeh lot and would have loved to talk to the person who had written the previous comment.

It certainly promoted discussion.

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