“Unembedded: Independent Photojournalism in Iraq” Wednesday, November 29 at 6 p.m Schaver Music Recital Hall, Old Main, 480 W. Hancock Wayne State University Free and open to the public.

Through the US military’s embedded journalism program, America has become accustomed to photos made from inside the US military cordon, removed from the day-to-day realities of Iraq. In sharp contrast to the sound-bite depth of most embedded news coverage, independent journalists and photojournalists, who continue to work in Iraq, run the risks associated with war coverage and spend the time it takes to report without the protection of the military.

Two award-winning photojournalists, Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson, who have collectively spent eighteen months in Iraq, will speak about their experience in the lecture/presentation “Unembedded: Independent Photojournalism in Iraq” at Wayne State University.

Their work documents issues often underreported by the mainstream media, including the insurgency as seen from inside the separate resistance movements, civilians affected by the violent battles between the U.S. and insurgent forces, growing conservatism and fundamentalism and their effects on women, and the devastating effects of civilian casualties.

Their work appears in conjunction with the exhibition UNEMBEDDED: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq, on view at the Elaine L. Jacob Gallery in Old Main from November 17 until January 12.

Kael Alford is a freelance photojournalist who has spent more than eight months in Iraq. She has worked extensively covering culture, politics and conflict in Southeast Europe and the Middle East for many major US and European magazines and newspapers. Her work was featured in the CBC documentary Beyond Words.

Thorne Anderson has been covering international news with Corbis/Sygma since 1999 and is regularly published in magazines and newspapers including Time, Newsweek, Stern, the New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Times (London), The Guardian, and others. He has spent ten months in Iraq. 

This event is sponsored by the Wayne State University Department of Art and Art History, the Academy of Scholars, the Humanities Center Working Group Word + Pictures, the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, and the Humanities Center.

For more information call the Art & Art History Dept. at 313-577-2980 or contact Dora Apel at dora.apel@wayne.edu