Tonight In Washington: Conflict Zone Inspires Groundbreaking Look At War

 

WASHINGTON, DC (August 25, 2011) – In the first collaboration of its kind, 23 combat journalists and military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have pooled their photographs from the battlefield for a groundbreaking multimedia exhibit.

Conflict Zone was inspired by Joao Silva, the New York Times photographer who lost both legs in a landmine blast in October 2010 in Afghanistan. Brought together by the non-profit Independence Fund, Silva's colleagues from the press corps donated their images for an exhibit that features some of the most celebrated combat journalists and photographers of this generation.

And during a special event tonight at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, the fiancée of the late photojournalist Chris Hondros – Christina Piaia – will be there to accept a check for $1,000 from Conflict Zone for the Hondros Fund, Kathleen Flynn said.

Silva's haunting series of images made in the seconds after he was injured in the blast are included in the exhibit, features photographs, video and audio from Iraq and Afghanistan. The exhibit also includes the iconic image from Hondros of a screaming 5-year-old girl whose parents were shot and killed at a checkpoint in Iraq. Hondros, one of the key supporters and contributors to Conflict Zone, died in April while on assignment in Libya. Silva is still recuperating in Washington, D.C.

“What happened to Joao was a huge wake up call as to the real risks involved in doing this kind of work,” said Jason Howe, a photojournalist currently based in Afghanistan and one of the contributors. “We have all been very lucky for a long time, but we are only one step away from this same situation. It is a reminder never to take anything for granted. Life can change in a split second. We all need to make the most of the life and opportunities we have now, they may not always be there.”

Half of any proceeds raised through Conflict Zone will be donated to the Joao Silva Fund, 25 percent to the Fisher House and the remainder to support the Independence Fund, a volunteer organization that helps meet some of the long-term financial and equipment needs of severely injured troops and their families. Conflict Zone is the creation of the Independence Fund.

“Hopefully the awareness will translate into funds to help ease some of the suffering and spur the transition to resolve the conflict into comfort zones,” said Jerry Kykisz, a Vietnam veteran who is curator for Conflict Zone and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Veterans Art Museum.

Contributors to Conflict Zone feature the late Hondros along with award-winners Andrea Bruce, Jeff Newton, Greg Marinovich, and Silva. The work exhibited in Conflict Zone first appeared in The New York Times, Getty Images, the Washington Post, CBS News, the San Antonio-Express News, the St. Petersburg Times, and USA Today.

“The photographers and journalists who are part of Conflict Zone are scattered, some still on the battle field, which made this extraordinarily difficult to pull together,” said Jackie Spinner, a former Washington Post Baghdad bureau chief and co-director of Conflict Zone. “We have Army photographers and some of the biggest names in combat journalism. We have print, multimedia and old school photographers who remember what a darkroom is. And all of them signed on to help Joao and to help injured troops.”

The exhibit opened May 7 in Chicago and will runs through June 18. The Chicago show was sponsored by the National Veterans Art Museum and presented in partnership with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture.

The exhibit will travel throughout the United States after it opened in Chicago.

"I'm participating in this to help a colleague who has helped define compassionate photojournalism in some of the most unbelievably horrible place for the better part of two decades,” said Bill Putnam, a freelance photojournalist based in DC. “Joao's work, his ethic and his personality come through in his photographs. They help bridge a chasm between the safe world and the world that many of us live in. Photographing in war zones, hell, being in war zones changes all of us. We literally see the worst and best of humanity unfolding before our eyes. You can't be unchanged by those events.”

A gallery of images from Conflict Zone can be viewed at www.conflictzone.org. The multimedia Web site was created by Laura Sellinger, a combat veteran who was injured in Iraq while deployed for the U.S. Air Force as an intelligence specialist. Although she is still recovering from a traumatic brain injury and a subsequent mini-stroke in 2009, Sellinger has been able to work around her disabilities to design the Conflict Zone Web site.

The Independence Fund is a 501(c)3 organization. Donations to the group are tax-deductible and help provide injured troops with the tools, therapies and guidance that they might not otherwise be receiving. The Indy Fund has no paid staff and is run entirely by combat veterans.

“I don't know Joao personally, but he did donate some of his photos a few years ago for a fundraiser that the Indy Fund did for a wounded Marine,” said Steve Danyluk, executive director of the Independence Fund and U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran. “Joao Silva is the best of the best, revered not only by his colleagues in the journalism profession but by military professionals worldwide as well.”

 

NPPA Marketplace

Insure Your Equipment

You go where the action is….so should your insurance! Hays delivers comprehensive insurance for your gear - covering cameras, computers, editing equipment and rental.

Join the NPPA

NPPA members receive a wide range of benefits, from educational opportunities to mentoring, exclusive discounts, insurance options, business tips, and much more.