Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies will host the U.S. launch of former Hart Fellow Eric Gottesman’s first book, Sudden Flower.

Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies will host the U.S. launch of former Hart Fellow Eric Gottesman’s first book, Sudden Flower.

Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies will host the U.S. launch of former Hart Fellow Eric Gottesman’s first book, Sudden Flowers, on February 26th from 6pm to 8pm. During his Hart Fellowship in 1999 and 2000, Gottesman collaborated with Sudden Flowers, a collective of children living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (mostly AIDS orphans) to reimagine the harsh realities they experienced on the streets and in their homes in the wake of their parents’ deaths—including the trauma of grief, physical abuse, and AIDS-related stigma. Over the 15 year span of the project, Sudden Flowers and Gottesman have produced exhibitions, short films, and installations in Africa, the United States, and Europe. In Sudden Flowers, this work comes together for the first time as a book, composed of photographs by Gottesman and the children in the collective, as well as their essays and letters, family stories and autobiographies, and dreams for the future. Gottesman will present photographs and give a brief history of Sudden Flowers, the project and the book, and then will be joined by Sudden Flowers collaborators Biniyam Mesfin and Yamrot Alemu in a conversation moderated by CDS cofounder and longtime instructor, photographer Alex Harris. A book signing will follow.

 

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