F I R S T  B A T C H

Opening Talk Tuesday, June 29th at 8 p.m.
Speaker: Glenn Luther from the Aïna Photojournalism Institute

Photographs on display June 29- August 3, 2004

FIRST BATCH: Images created by Afghan students at Aïna's Photojournalism Institute

Establishing and maintaining a free press is the only path to the creation of a stable democratic society; this is the belief that led Reza, a world-renowned photojournalist and National Geographic photographer to found and establish Aïna. Aïna is a non-profit organization dedicated to the revival of media and the dissemination of culture in Afghanistan. Aïna's initiatives include support for several printed publications, some specifically created for women and children, mobile cinema units that travel to remote regions projecting educational and informative films, and the regions first and only Photojournalism Institute which has brought photography that was strictly banned under the Taliban back to the people.

Through education and hands-on training, Aïna's Photojournalism Institute is helping to integrate the first generation of truly independent Afghan photojournalists and photographers into a formerly restrictive society.

First Batch is a representative sample of images created by the first group of students who began their intensive training under professional photojournalists flown into Kabul from abroad starting in 2002. The Institute’s program is headed by Manoocher Deghati and includes fourteen students, five of whom are women, ranging in age from 14 to 40.

The show's opening talk will be given by emerging photojournalist, Glenn Luther. In 2001, Glenn went to Afghanistan to document and teach during the first days of the institute. He will talk about his and his students experiences as photojournalists in Afghanistan and present a selection of the first images the Institute's students created independently.

Curated by Michelle Jackson & Sharoz Makarechi, Aïna NYC

Previous exhibitions at The Half King
THE PEOPLE OF PROTEST by PAUL PARK
JUAREZ, CITY OF MISSING WOMEN by TIMOTHY FADEK
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC by SPENCER PLATT
EYEBLINK by JAMES WENDELL
CONFESSIONS OF THE PHOTOGRAPHER by JULIA CALFEE
HARVEST by JEFFREY LAMONT BROWN
WAR IN LEBANON by PAOLO PELLEGRIN
IN THE SHADOW OF POWER by KIKE ARNAL
CYCLE OF VIOLENCE by SHAUL SCHWARZ
THE OUTCASTS OF SLOVAKIA by JULIE DENESHA
AFGHANISTAN EMBEDDED by TEUN VOETEN
NEW ORLEANS: WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE by MARIO TAMA
VANISHING GIANTS by JENNIFER HILE
ONE IN A BILLION by DAVID BUTOW
EDGE OF PERFECTION by DAVID BURNETT
MAKASUTU by JASON FLORIO
PYONGYANG DESIGN by TEUN VOETEN
SUDAN by BEN LOWY
HOMELAND by MICHAEL WILLIAMSON & DALE MAHARIDGE
WATER CULTURE by BRENT STIRTON
AÏNA PHOTOJOURNALISM INSTITUTE OF AFGHANISTAN
CAMBODIA'S LOST BOYZ by TERU KUWAYAMA
WAR ZONES by MIKE KAMBER
LIBERIA BY CHRIS HONDROS
BERLIN BY ESTHER LEVINE
LONGING BY GREG DWYER
CORN BY GREGORY THORP
CAKE & HOTDOGS and WILD WEEKEND WOMEN BY ANDREANNA LYNN SEYMORE
ATHLETES BY SCOTT McDERMOTT
HAVANA PASSAGE BY TARA SGROI
ABOVE AND BELOW THE PAVEMENT BY SERGE J-F LEVY
 

For further information on these exhibits, please go here.