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Centre for Civil Society Seminar (CCS): Photo Exhibition - Durbanity |
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Centre for Civil Society Seminar (CCS): Photo Exhibition - Durbanity Speaker: Peter McKenzie Date: Thursday 9 March 2017 Time: 13:00-14:00 Venue: CCC Seminar Room A726, Level 7, Shepstone, Howard College, UKZN
Topic: The photo exhibition Durbanity is currently on loan to the CCS from the Durban Centre for Photography (DCP). This exhibition is the result of 10 student photographers who embarked on a month long project to create a ‘visual audit’ of the Ethekwini Municipality Region. This entails the photographic documentation of various aspects of the city and its peripheries to better understand the dynamics of contemporary urbanization patterns and emerging urban cultures. The Durban metropolis has realized significant development in infrastructure, urban mobility, civilian movement, transport nodes and entrepreneurial evolution which are driven by newfound challenges in redressing inhibiting historical realities. Photographs by their nature could inform a myriad of urban initiatives by exposing different aspects of the city for urban planning, architecture, development initiatives, cultural endeavour through public art and civil society awareness. Given the vital government infrastructure initiative announced recently by President Zuma this project will be a timely intervention for reflection on Durban’s urban realities. Importantly the project will demonstrate the possibility for art to inform all aspects of development and confound the perception of its elitist, gallery based past. The idea of functional art will be explored through mobile exhibitions for public access, low cost publications and professional engagement with city stakeholders.
Speaker Bio: Peter McKenzie is the Director of the Durban Centre for Photography (DCP) an innovative project that teaches photography from an African perspective. The DCP’s latest offering was the landmark exhibition Ngale (to see beyond) at the KZNSA Gallery, the ‘Social Cohesion conference at the ICC and the Rivertown Beerhall. 'Footsak' on the Ball 2010/11/12 entailed a journey across 5 African countries with artists Doung Jahangeer and Guy- Andre Largesse. The journey was reflected in a 7 projection video installation at the Durban Art Gallery. McKenzie was chief photographer, SADC region for the Pan African press agency Panapress. McKenzie has also been published and has exhibited both locally and internationally. Confronting the binaries of Africa, the exotic and the tragic with nothing in between, images are that in between. Liberating realities, the unknown made stark, given voice, shouting but not screaming – yet!
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