Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
One highlight of Atlanta Celebrates Photography, the festival of exhibits, lectures, commissions, collaborations and more at various venues across the metro area that fills October, opens Sept. 26 at Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
"Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment" is a touring exhibition of nearly 100 photographs by 11 leading female photojournalists. The images include telling depictions of far-flung cultures, illustrations of conceptual topics such as memory and teenage brain chemistry and documents of social issues such as child marriage and 21st-century slavery.
Credit: hpousner
Credit: hpousner
Exhibit visitors will view video vignettes revealing the photographers’ individual styles, passions and approaches to their work.
One of the most compelling back stories is that of Lynsey Addario. A MacArthur “genius grant” and Pulitzer Prize winner, Addario is known for her unflinching photographs from conflict zones in Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Lebanon, Congo and, most recently, Syria.
Earlier this year, a team led by Steven Spielberg secured rights to tell Addario's story, based on her memoir "It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War," with Jennifer Lawrence to portray the photojournalist.
Addario calls herself “a messenger of experiences,” and has documented the horrors that befall women in war-torn cultures where their lives aren’t greatly valued.
She has had her own harrowing encounters, such as when in 2011, while covering Moammar Kaddafi’s waning rein in Libya, she was one of four New York Times journalists taken hostage for nearly a week.
Addario will recount her experiences during an Atlanta Celebrates Photography talk at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Fernbank.
In addition to Addario, the photographers represented in “Women of Vision,” continuing through Jan. 3, include Erika Larsen, Kitra Cahana, Jodi Cobb, Amy Toensing, Carolyn Drake, Beverly Joubert, Stephanie Sinclair, Diane Cook, Lynn Johnson and Maggie Steber.
Also opening Sept. 26 at Fernbank is "Searching for the Queen of Sheba," an exhibit exploring one of history's most elusive female figures through a collection of artifacts, artwork, archaeological reconstructions and media displays.
Both shows are included in museum admission: $18, $17 seniors, $16 ages 3-12. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, noon-5 p.m. Sundays. 767 Clifton Road, Atlanta. 404-929-6300, fernbankmuseum.org.
