Abu Ghraib at AU

Tonight from 5:00-7:30p.m., the AU Museum, Center for Social Media and Washington College of Law's Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law will present the acclaimed documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib in conjunction with the exhibition Fernando Botero: Abu Ghraib.

The film, featured on HBO and in the American Documentary Competition at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, is an in-depth look into the psychological and political contexts of the torture in the Iraqi prison. Producer Liz Garbus will be in attendance to discuss the making of the film.

Fernando Botero: Abu Ghraib marks the first complete showing in the U.S. of the artist’s seventy-nine paintings and drawings depicting the infamous torture at the prison. The exhibition is part of AU’s ART of CONFRONTation: AU Exploring Human Rights through Art series that emphasizes the overarching themes of political and social protest in artistic expression.

AU was chosen to display the works for its long-standing commitment to international human rights. The film and exhibition are important to the public discourse. As AU Museum Director and Curator Jack Rasmussen claims, “Our students, faculty and, especially, the Washington, D.C. community will be able to discuss human rights and war not through a political lens, but through art. Art cannot change the war but it can bear testimony.”

The screening of Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, will be held at the Katzen Arts Centertonight at 5:30 p.m. and Fernando Botero: Abu Ghraib will begin at 6:00pm.

Sources: http://www.american.edu/cas/katzen/event_description.cfm?event=500
http://www.american.edu/cas/katzen/museum/exhibitions.cfm
http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/events/2007_hrfs/695

Photo Source: http://www.artinfo.com/articles/story/21231