After more than a year of preparation, Dublin Arts Council is revealing its newest exhibition – one so highly anticipated it’s expected to generate a record-breaking turnout.
From May 25 to Sept. 11, the council will feature photographs by Pulitzer Prize winner Eddie Adams, a photojournalist widely acclaimed for his gripping photography of the Vietnam War. Adams’ widow, Alyssa, will oversee the exhibition and help with the curatorial process.
“They’re rarely seen photographs,” says David Guion, executive director of the Dublin Arts Council. “The gallery that had the exhibition closed in 2009. The 50 photographs of the Vietnam War went into storage and have now been brought out to Dublin. It’s unusual that the work is available and can be seen by the public.”
Adams covered 13 wars in his more than 50 years of photography work, including three tours in Vietnam. Many of his photographs, such as Boat of No Smiles, induced social change by showing the American public how dire the situation in Vietnam was at the time. He is most well known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Saigon Execution, which shows a Viet Cong prisoner being shot in the head by a South Vietnamese general.
The opportunity to view this moving collection is largely possible because of Sandra Puskarcik, director of communications for the City of Dublin, whose family has ties to the Adams family. Puskarcik was able to contact Alyssa directly to locate the photographs and bring them to Dublin, Guion says.
Dublin Arts Council has been eager to display this exhibition for quite some time.
“We first had conversations back in February 2014,” Guion says. “The crates arrived over the summer, and we’ve been cataloguing the work, making sure it’s prepared and ready to hang properly.”
Patrons are encouraged to immerse themselves in the experience of the Vietnam War through additional activities the council has organized. A downloadable playlist and workshops for school children and general attendees based on Tim O’Brien’s award-winning war novel, The Things They Carried, will be available. In addition, there will be a video feedback booth created in conjunction with Roto.
“We’re encouraging individuals who’ve seen the exhibition to provide their feedback and thoughts,” Guion says. Participants uninterested in being on camera can express their thoughts and emotions via a letter-writing station.
All programming for the Eddie Adams exhibition is free and open to the public, with extended hours that can be found at Dublin Arts Council’s website, www.dublinarts.org.
Taylor Weis is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
