APRIL 2006

SPECIAL EXHIBITION OPENS APRIL 22

The special exhibition Thy Brothers' Keeper, will run from April 22, 2006 through July 30, 2006, and will be the last large show to be presented before the FIA’s closing for the summer of 2006 for its Phase II renovation.

Thy Brothers’ Keeper is an exhibition of approximately 140 photographs of people from around the world who suffer as a consequence of religious beliefs, greed, prejudice, natural disaster, and issues related to the environment and technology. Each image serves as a reminder of our responsibility to our fellow man.

Although we live in a time that should be filled with advances for mankind throughout the world, we are instead living in one that is increasingly divided by religious, economic and ethnic strife; it is also a world where too many of its inhabitants are living in abject poverty, hunger and isolation, and dying from epidemics that have no cure, despite medical advances. These situations are all the more tragic because the basic tenants of global human rights have gone unfulfilled, a betrayal that not only affects wealthy nations but devastates the poorer ones who are unable to gain advantage from 21st century economic, technical and medical advances.

This exhibition presents a story of diverse peoples who have endured, and continue to endure, intolerable conditions that violate the basic principles of humanity, and shows us, through photographs, that we are all citizens of the world. The photographers ask us to contemplate our own roles in taking responsibility to ensure that the conditions under which our fellow citizens live are humane on all levels, and to remind us that we are all interconnected – we are, in biblical terms "our brother’s keeper." The men and women who took these photographs are deeply committed to the concept of 'compassion, and hope that through their images viewers will be motivated to act and create a better world.

The list of critically acclaimed photographers represented in Thy Brothers’ Keeper includes Nina Berman, Andrew Lichtenstein, Stephen Shames, Fanie Jason, Guy Tillim, Humberto Mayol, Wang Yishu, Noel Jabbour, Ilan Mizrahi, Sharon Paz, David Binder (a native of Flint, Michigan), Alexandra Boulat, Heidi Bradner, Raul Cañibano, Peter Essick, Philip Jones Griffiths, Carol Guzy, Geert van Kesteren, Gary Knight, Fernando Moleres, Lucian Perkins, John Stanmeyer, and Vida Yovanovich, Andres Carrasco Ragel, and Encarna Mozas. Most of these 25 photographers have received international recognition and awards, including Pulitzer Prize and other awards of the highest excellence.

The photographers, who live and work around the globe, were selected by Senior Curator, Geno Rodriguez, Director of The Alternative Museum, an online museum, and five Contributing Curators selected by Mr. Rodriguez, including Diana Edkins, Director of Exhibitions, Aperture Foundation (NYC), Kathy Grundlingh, Curator, Michael Stevenson Galleries (Capetown), Wu Jiabao, Director, Fotosoft (Taiwan), Katherine Slusher, Independent Curator (Barcelona), and Nissan N. Perez, Curator, The Israel Museum (Jerusalem).

To delve deeper into the subjects and issues raised in this special exhibition, the Flint Institute of Arts will offer a variety of related programs. The FIA will present, in its newly renovated theatre, selections from The Human Rights Watch traveling film festival, including Private, State of Fear and Living Rights. Videos by Nina Berman, Sharon Paz and Lucian Perkins will be on view during the run of the exhibition in the FIA’s Fleckenstein Video Gallery. On Saturday, April 22, the FIA will host a panel discussion moderated by exhibition Senior Curator, Geno Rodriguez, with panelists Lucian Perkins, renowned photographer, Colin Bossen, Human Rights Activist and Theologian, Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach (California), and Bonnie Bucqueroux, Michigan State University School of Journalism Coordinator, Victims and the Media Program.

The FIA Library will be established during the exhibition as a quiet place for FIA visitors to sit, reflect and respond to the issues addressed in the show, through writing or drawings. Educator Workshops will also be offered by the FIA, so that teachers may learn how to identify and discuss the big ideas and enduring themes with their students.

During the run of Thy Brothers’ Keeper, the FIA will also present the exhibition The Human Condition: After Effects. This exhibition contains 57 photographs, featuring award winning photographic essays by outstanding photographers who explore the many physical and psychological issues related to the after effects of war on children.

In conjunction with Thy Brothers’ Keeper, a number of colleges and universities in the region have collaborated with the FIA in developing programs for students and members of the general public. Michigan State University’s School of Journalism will offer two courses related to photography and images of social injustice. The Michigan Interscholastic Press Association will hold a one-day workshop at the FIA. Mott Community College will host student field trips to view the exhibition, and offer two related courses in communication design and fine arts. Mott Community College will also present an exhibition of work submitted as artistic responses to Thy Brothers’ Keeper.

Mary Panzer, whose new book "Things As They Are," a history of the last 50 years of photojournalism, has just been released, will speak at the FIA on July 24 and conduct a workshop for college students on July 25, 2006. A curator and cultural historian who lives in New York, Panzer will be returning to her native Flint for these programs.

This special exhibition, its catalogue, and the FIA’s related programs were generously sponsored by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation.

The Flint Institute of Arts is a museum and art school located in the Flint Cultural Center in Flint, Michigan. Visitors can enjoy an active program of changing exhibitions, masterpieces from the permanent collection, studio classes, and a variety of educational programs and special events throughout the year.