An exhibit of 207 photographs depicting traditions and holy days of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths is on display through July 31 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The exhibit, “Families of Abraham,” concerns the three religions that derived from the Old Testament figure. The photos depict a year in the life of 11 families in Charlotte as they celebrate faith rituals. The occasions include Yom Kippur, Easter and Ramadan.
The exhibit is free to the public in the art gallery of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union off South Road. Hours are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. today (May 8), Friday (May 9) and Monday (May 12); 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (May 10); 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday (May 11). Summer hours beginning Tuesday (May 13) will be 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays; closed Saturdays and Sundays.
Carolina alumna and documentary producer Eleanor Brawley of Charlotte curated the exhibit, which features her photos those of seven other Charlotte photojournalists: Byron Baldwin, Donna Bise, John Daughtry, Donna Foster, Chris Keane, Tina Manley and Nancy Pierce.
Brawley will speak at a free public opening reception for the exhibit at 4 p.m. May 20. Some of the other photographers are expected to attend.
“People today are overwhelmed by the enormity of violence around the world in the name of religion,” Brawley said. “With headlines of escalating tensions in the Middle East, distrust and even hatred is building among Jews, Christians and Muslims. And yet these religions historically originated from the same part of the world, and all claim the same ancestor, Abraham.
“‘The Families of Abraham’ uses this commonality as a starting point for engagement,” Brawley said. “The exhibit seeks to increase cross-cultural understanding, reduce fear of the other and inform us about the day-to-day life and faith practices of these three monotheistic faiths.”
Transcriptions of comments by the family members appear in the exhibit, which also features a recording of sacred music from the three faiths. Three interviewers recorded the families’ descriptions during the year of photography: playwright Judy Simpson Cook; Linda De Castrique, a former producer and director at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.; and producer and photographer Linda Newcomb.
“The exhibit has six kiosks,” Brawley said. “There is one for each of the three religions, with statements about the origins of each faith and its holy days, and how those are observed. “The other three kiosks look at what is shared from the beginning of life to the end.”
A grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. of Indianapolis funded publication of a book of text and photographs from the exhibit, also titled “Families of Abraham.”
Previously at Meredith College in Raleigh and the Levine Museum in Charlotte, the exhibit was viewed by an estimated 31,000 people at the Levine, said Brawley, who, as a student, was active with the Campus Y student group. She also worked at the Y and the Carolina Union. The Y is sponsoring the exhibit with the union, the Office of New Students, Carolina Parents’ Programs, the UNC Difficult Dialogues Initiative and Carolina Student Arts Grant.
“While the exhibit doesn’t preach at you, it makes the obvious point that we have more things in common than things that divide us,” said Y Director Virginia Carson. She said that the exhibit fits the Y’s mission of cultivating tolerance and respect of those different than oneself. The pictures also reflect the demographics of North Carolina, showing families of different races, she said. “The exhibit is strictly informational, and you interpret it as you feel you should.”
Brawley won a Silver Medal from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a TV documentary, “Children: Everybody’s Business,” and an Obie for a public service announcement about sign language. She also wrote the poetry book “A Short History of Music” (St. Andrews College Press) and produced TV poetry programs.
Brawley earned a master’s degree in radio, television and motion pictures at Carolina in 1957. “It means so much to me as a graduate to show this exhibit at UNC,” she said.
After leaving Carolina, the exhibit will travel to the University of Wisconsin in Madison.
Exhibit Web site: http://www.artvisionexhibitions.com/FamiliesofAbrahamExhibit.html
Note: Brawley can be reached at (704) 376-2795, (704) 575-3489 or edbrawley@carolina.rr.com; Carson, at (919) 962-2333 or vcarson@email.unc.edu.
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589