“Legacy: Agent orange in modern day vietnam”
Michelle Cornejo spreads awareness and elicits social activism through her photographs
Michelle Cornejo has been selected to exhibit her documentary-style photography in an exhibition entitled “Legacy: Agent Orange in Modern Day Vietnam” as part of Desotorow Gallery’s Creative Action series. The exhibition will be held in TruSpace, March 27 – April 1. An opening reception will be held on Friday, March 27 at 7pm. The artist’s work documents Agent Orange victims who now live in the Vietnam Friendship Village in Hanoi, Vietnam, a community that is funded by the Vietnam Friendship Village Project and the Vietname
se Government.
During the Vietnam war, between 1962 and 1971, the United States military sprayed 77 million liters of chemical defoliants in South Vietnam as part of a defoliant program. According to Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. These numbers continue to rise due to the fact that the physical and mental defects caused by Agent Orange are genetic.
Cornejo’s images serve to explore and expose this horrendous social issue, hoping to change attitudes, behavior, and policy through education. The photographs are 30x40 digital prints, and 100% of sales will benefit the victims of Agent Orange and other dioxins used during the Vietnam War.
About the Artist
Michelle Cornejo is a documentary photographer who strives to explore and expose social issues in our world. She is hopeful that her images will serve as a stepping-stone in the process of achieving change.
Michelle has been photographing for 10 years and has had experience in the field as a photography assistant, a university-level photography professor, an assistant photo editor intern for National Geographic Society, and a freelance photographer. She is currently an MFA candidate at the Savannah College of Art and Design. While she is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana and Quito, Ecuador, she has also traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, England, Peru, Colombia, Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam (so far). Her work consists of mainly documentary-style photography but also includes nature, travel and fine art work.
About the Series: Creative Action
Desotorow’s Creative Action series explores and celebrates the use of film and photography as a medium for social activism. The exhibit will be on display for the final film viewing of the series, The World According to Sesame Street, which is a documentary film directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan that explores the intricacies behind producing international versions of the most popular children's television program. The film will be screened on March 28th, 7pm in TruSpace Gallery. All film viewings and the exhibition are free and open to the public.
Please direct questions to the gallery, info@desotorow.org or 912-335-8204.
Desotorow Gallery is located in Savannah’s Starland Arts District at 2427 De Soto Avenue. For more information, please email info@desotorow.org, or visit the gallery’s website www.desotorow.org. Hours of operation are Sunday-Wednesday and Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday 10am-2pm.
Desotorow is an art gallery that fosters an awareness and appreciation of the arts by providing affordable exhibition space for emerging and professional artists and by offering educational outreach programming open to artists and the community.
