Friday, November 6, 2009

DECOY's Photo party pick!

It's back! Photo week in DC! Our annual competition received over 3500 amazing entries from 39 states and 28 countries. As for the rest of the celebration, now just around the corner, it's going to be even bigger and better this year, filled with powerful international exhibitions, thought provoking lectures, and, of course, the chance to have your own portfolio critiqued by experts. In short, FotoWeek DC - a non-profit organization - has planned a total photographic immersion, featuring the latest in documentary, fine art, and every genre of photography - and feel free to overindulge, because most of these events are free.

The date is November 7th - 14th and the place is all around the city, from our nation's prestigious museums and institutions to embassies, cutting edge galleries, and even public schools. So browse on to find out more about our schedule -- and start planning yours.

I know it's a little difficult to pick which photo events to go to. So here's my photo pick!
david alan harvey presents....
a Fight Club/Broken Square Media Event
Featuring:
david alan harvey
michael loyd young
chris bickford
a.j. wilhelm
and selected photographs from BURN magazine
opening event saturday november 7th, 7pm-1am
fight club 1250 9th st nwdc
gallery hours monday november 9 to saturday november 14th 1-6pm
curated by anthony smallwood
brokensquare@mac.com | 202-607-1495
My great friend A.J. is showing some of his amazing photography.

Wilhelm's exhibition focuses on young men in Kabul who are living as homeless opium addicts in a structure built by the Russians to house operas, ballets and music concerts. The building was decimated during tribal fighting of the Afghan civil war and sometimes shelters as many as 400 addicts. Most of these men have the same story of addiction--they snuck into Iran to work in fields or weave carpets or do other back-breaking labor and became addicted when they started smoking opium to ease their physical pains. Deportation inevitably forces them back to Afghanistan where they travel to Kabul desperate as full blown addicts begging and stealing to buy more opium. There isn't much hope or help and many health officials fear that more addicts will start using the drug intravenously as eradication efforts threaten to drive up the street price.

AJ Wilhelm is a New York City-based photographer and filmmaker whose work has been published by New York Magazine, The FADER, Playboy EspaƱa, L'espresso (Italy), Vacature Magazine (Belgium), Washington Post, National Geographic Books, Punk Magazine, Wine Spectator, and others. Born and raised in the midwest, AJ is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

website: www.ajwilhelm.com

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