The Eloquent Suri of Ethiopia: Storytelling, Advocacy, and Action

Turning the lens of Earth Week to a small ethnic group in the far southwest corner of Ethiopia, Mark Overgaard will discuss his McCone Atrium Gallery exhibit and its parent project – The Eloquent Suri of Ethiopia: People, Culture, Art, Language. His portraits of Suri collaborators are complemented by touching, Suri-created illustrated stories of Suri life and their intimate communion with nature, drawn from literacy primers. A key focus of the session will be a recently launched initiative to revive mother tongue education among this people and how compelling imagery (still, moving, and verbal) can contribute to that revival.