New art exhibit
Testimony: Visions of Hope and Despair from East Africa

Metropolitan State University Third Floor Gallery is pleased to present "Testimony: Visions of Hope and Despair from East Africa ," a photographic documentary by Daniel Cheng Yang.

The exhibit opens Thursday, Sept. 13, with a reception from 4 - 7 p.m. , and the show continues through Fri., Oct. 5. Gallery hours are Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. and Fri.-Sat., 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. The gallery is located in the Library and Learning Center , 645 E. Seventh St. , St. Paul .

From 1999 through 2002, while Yang ( St. Paul , Min.) was still a teenager, the self-taught photographer began to visit the war-torn refugee camp of Kakuma Turkana in northwest Kenya . Born to the son of a Hmong refugee and a former international relief worker, Yang had the desire to tell the stories of ancient tribes helplessly caught kin the cultural and political conflicts of a contemporary civil war.

Regarding this project, Yang said, "I thought that if I could take images that stick in people’s heads, I could create change." Elaborating on his humanitarian concerns, Yang noted, "Those suffering are no different than you or me. It is simply a matter of geographical circumstance. We must view the single mother suffering from HIV/AIDS in Haiti as our own mother. We must view the young boy throwing rocks in the West bank as our own son. We must view the elderly fleeing their homes in Darfur as our grandparents. It is our duty to be a voice for the voiceless."

The resulting exhibition is a collection of hauntingly beautiful and disturbing black and white photographs that represent the struggles of the 100,000-plus refugees that have been stranded in the camp since 1992. A powerful and moving exhibition, Yang’s work has brought international attention to the plight of the uprooted peoples of Sudan , Uganda , Rwanda and Somalia , as well as the indigineous Turkana.

A video interview by Suzanne Walfoort, a communications professor, Metropolitan State , provides commentary by the photographer and Richard Bancroft, his documentation colleague.

A book of Yang’s photographs, "Kakuma Turkana, Dueling Struggles: Africa 's Forgotten Peoples" (Pangea Publishing, 2002), will be available for purchase at the exhibition. A portion of the book’s proceeds will go to fund food and supplies for the camp’s residents.