Announcement
August 17, 2011


Iraq | Perspectives

In a new exhibition at the Columbia University School of Social Work entitled “Iraq Perspectives,” award-winning photographer Benjamin Lowy captures the people and landscape of Iraq while following American soldiers in an Army Humvee.  His unique visual technique in photographing the country through inches-think bulletproof windows represents a barrier that impedes dialogue. The images reveal a distant and detached perspective of a desolate country and dire situation, yet in the midst of such chaos and destruction, children play, women shop, men continue to work in their community.  Lowy hopes these glimpses of the Iraqis’ daily lives, so routine and mundane, and so similar to ours in the West, will evoke not only empathy but a sense of kinship.

The exhibition is part of the Open Society Institute's "Moving Walls" series. The exhibit is located on the fourth floor of the School of Social Work building (1255 Amsterdam Avenue) and is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00am–3:00pm. For more information about the exhibition, please visit www.movingwalls.org.

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About the Photographer
Benjamin Lowy began his career as a photographer the next year covering the Iraq War for Time magazine. Since then he has covered major stories in Afghanistan, Darfur, Chad, Haiti, Indonesia, and other countries. In 2004 Lowy attended the World Press Photo’s Joop Swart Masterclass and was nominated for the ICP Infinity Award. Photo District News (PDN) named him to its list of 30 emerging photographers to watch and chose his images of Iraq as some of the most iconic of the 21st century. Lowy has received awards from World Press Photo, Pictures of the Year International, PDN, Photographers Giving Back, Communication Arts, American Photography, and the Society for Publication Designers. His photographs from Iraq and Darfur have been collected into several gallery and museum shows, and his work from Darfur appeared in the SAVE DARFUR media campaign.

About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)
For 112 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been a leader in the education of professionals for careers in practice, policy, and administration. Located in New York City, the School offers a master’s and a doctoral program which are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With a signature curriculum that features multidisciplinary courses taught by leading scholars and practitioners and rich field education, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical and community practice, social policy, and social enterprise administration education, research and innovation in the 21st Century.