Senior Thesis Exhibit Promotes Arts in Rwanda

April 15, 2005

Abram Landes, a senior printmaking major in the School of Visual Arts, will be exhibiting his thesis work, "(Never) Forget, a reaction to current situations in Rwanda,"in the Woskob Gallery at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, April 19 to May 7, with a public reception on Sunday, April 24, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Landes has conducted research on promoting self-identity through civil action using the arts. As a part of that research, he traveled to Rwanda and taught a digital photography course to orphans at Umuryango Children's Home in Bukomero, Rwanda. This experience introduced them to a new art form, allowed them to communicate through photographs and helped add to the local economy by starting a photographic business.

The show is a collection of photographs that both Landes and the children at the home took. He was able to handprint the images, giving them unique presence in the gallery. There will be prints for sale to benefit the Umuryango Children's Home in Rwanda and the photography project itself. Landes hopes to raise awareness about the situations in Rwanda, as well as promote the role of the arts in civil action and social change.

Contact: Kate Hoffman, kah39@psu.edu or 814.863.2104