Open Shutters Iraq

Though the eyes of these twelve women and one six year old girl, the exhibition reflects some of the harsh realities that face civilian women  living in war-torn Iraq today.

As part of Montalvo Art Center’s year-long program entitled Iraq: Reframe, the ICA will present Open Shutters Iraq. Open Shutters Iraq was created by Eugenie Dolberg, a British-based photojournalist who will be in residence at Montalvo during the month of November 2007. In December 2006, Ms. Dolberg brought together 12 Iraqi women with the intent to have them document their lives through photographs and the written word. During a three-week time frame, these women of diverse ages and backgrounds were trained in photography by Ms. Dolberg and also encouraged to trace the trajectory of their own lives through words. She then sent them back to their individual towns to take photographs and create journals that would be the basis for the Open Shutters Iraq exhibition. After six weeks, the group reconvened to share their images and stories. The resulting exhibition consists of a selection of the hundreds of photographs taken by these women, as well as journal entries, brief biographies and photo captions that explain the circumstances of each photograph. The content of Open Shutters Iraq reveals the deteriorating landscape of a country at war as well as the poignant portraits of some of its citizens. Through the eyes of these twelve women and one six year old girl, the exhibition also reflects some of the harsh realities that face civilian women living in war-torn Iraq today.