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Muslim Self Portraits Exhibit Opening at Duke

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, will be on display thru Nov. 19

Nushmia_tn.jpg
'Nushmia' is one of the self portraits in the 'Esse Quam Videri' exhibition on display in Rubenstein Hall.

An exhibition of 20 self portraits of Muslims living in Bahrain and in North Carolina by photographer Todd Drake will open Thursday, Sept. 8, at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.

The reception and artist's talk for "Esse Quam Videri: Muslim Self Portraits" begins at 4:45 p.m. on the first floor of Sanford's Rubenstein Hall, and is free and open to the public.

Drake collaborated with the portrait subjects to create the images and text, which will be displayed through Nov. 19. The photographs show Muslims from a variety of backgrounds and communities, including an image of a Muslim women's basketball team celebrating a victory and to a young man in traditional dress striding confidently on a street in Bahrain.

During the opening, Drake will talk about the project and how he worked with each individual to find the images and words to express the reality of being a contemporary Muslim.

Currently an artist in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for Global Initiatives, Drake developed this project for the center as a 2004-2005 Rockefeller Fellow.

The exhibition is part of a series of events for the "Reflecting on the 10th Anniversary of September 11" conference being held by organizations at Duke, UNC and North Carolina State University.

Immediately following the reception, Juan Zarate, the former national security adviser for counterterrorism, will give the Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture, "9-11: After a Decade and After Bin-Laden," at 6 p.m. in Sanford's Fleishman Commons.

Co-sponsors of the exhibition include the Duke Islamic Studies Center, the Duke University Middle Eastern Studies Center, the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, The Duke Program in American Grand Strategy, and UNC's Center for Global Initiatives.