Traveling Exhibition: Afghanistan - Images From an Era of Peace

EXHIBITION

SPECIFICATIONS

PARTICIPATION FEE:

Call for pricing and information. Loan includes the donation of (50) special edition posters and (1) case of exhibition books

EXHIBITION CONTENTS:

(50) black & white, 16 x 20 framed photographs with captions, wall text panels, media kit, artifacts, and (50) donation posters and books for use as new membership incentives

SPECIAL EVENTS:

ArtVision can arrange for a personal appearance for your VIP reception, guided gallery tour, or special educational workshops, community presentations and panel discussions. For event ideas contact ArtVision. (Additional fees apply)

Exhibition Installation Photographs

Joseph N. Hoyt, photographer and author of Afghanistan: 1970 - 1975 Images from an Era of Peace

NEW exhibition from the archives of photographer Joseph N. Hoyt

Opening at The Coventry Cathedral, England May 8 through July 3, 2010

Nearly every day we are exposed to images of the people, landscapes and everyday life in Afghanistan. The world's press focuses its lens on the turmoil and despair of the ongoing tragedy that has been unfolding there for the past thirty years to remind us of the importance of saving Afghanistan from the forces intent on its dominance or destruction. As a young traveler, Joseph Hoyt visited Afghanistan in the early 1970s. Afghanistan: Images from an Era of Peace is the resulting exhibition and offers visitors a valuable record of what life in Afghanistan was like more than 30 years ago--a contrasting view to what has become the stereotypical press imagery: black-turbaned thugs and gun-wielding terrorists.

Through these (50) powerful black and white images and historic artifacts, we discover the fascinating history of the once peaceful Afghanistan--its people, landscapes and ancient ruins in a poor but culturally and historically rich nation.

Afghanistan

Images from an Era of Peace

"For years now, Afghanistan has become synonymous with the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and terrorism. But it wasn’t always so. For most of the previous century, Afghanistan lived in peaceful anonymity. It was a magnet for travelers who came to see the rugged beauty of the land, to walk along the old Silk Route, and to meet its kind and hospitable people. Joseph Hoyt’s lens gloriously brings back this bygone Afghanistan. In his photos, we get a glimpse of a land that was once a meeting point of cultures, a link between east and west. He captures the raw, ethereal beauty of this land, a taste of its prosperous history, and the unique spirit of its proud and resilient people. What’s more, looking at Hoyt’s photographs of this happier era, the suffering and tumult that the Afghan people have endured since is made more personal. The toll of the tragedy becomes palpable. This is testament to Hoyt’s skills as a photographer as well as his personal affection for this war-scarred land and its people."

Khaled Hosseini

March 2010

Author of two best-selling novels of Afghanistan:

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns

"It is necessary to see Joseph Hoyt’s superb Afghan photos, not just for the nostalgia of a past where peace and a “normal life” prevailed, but because they remind us of what we have all collectively – insiders and outsiders alike - contributed to damage for the past three decades – i.e. a way of life, a culture, a character, a sovereign country, and which we need to save."

Assem Akram

Dr. Assem Akram has authored four books on Afghanistan and is

currently teaching a class titled “Afghanistan: Conflict and Society”

at American University’s School of International Studies in

Washington D.C.

“The photos are a valuable record this era. By exposing them to a wider audience we may hope to encourage viewers to better understand the lives of the Afghan people and further the cause of rebuilding Afghanistan.”

Hamid Elmi, former Cultural Attache

Embassy of Afghanistan, Washington, D.C.

“… this work succeeds in preserving the memory of a cultural heritage which is disappearing today. It is astonishing to see the harmony of the various Afghan ethnic groups living according to traditions now forgotten.”

Ziai Khalid of Limoges, France

Editor of the project Afghanistan Old Photos

“…the work is reminiscent of August Sander’s great Westphalen portraits from between World Wars I and II. …one is left with powerful feelings of nostalgia and remorse.”

Professor Emeritus Michael L. Carlebach

University of Miami

EXHIBITION ARTIFACTS INCLUDE

. Concise English Afghan Dari Dictionary, published 1973

. Vintage Nikon FTn 35 mm camera used by photographer

. (3) Passport Pages & Afghan Visas with Entry/Exit Stamps

. The Art of Afghanistan by Jeannine Auboyer, published 1968

. Carved Wooden Chair & Accompanying Stool (Nuristan Region)

. Ornate Wooden Window Shutter (Nuristan Region)

. (3) 3rd - 5th Century Gandhara Sculpture Heads (Buddha/Novices)

. Ivory Necklace in the Form of a Fish

. Collection of 20 Decorative Silver Buttons/Closures