Volume 12, Number 3, 2004
An exhibition of Argentine poetry and photography was a highlight of the College of Arts and Sciences' Homecoming events in the fall, coinciding with Hispanic Heritage Month at the University.
Buenos Aires: A Tale of Two Cities, Mapping the New Reality Through Poetry and Photography, a traveling exhibit presented by the College's Latin American Studies Program, was housed in the Gallery of the Perkins Student Center for 12 days in October. A related speakers forum about crisis and change in Latin America featured visiting scholars, journalists and political activists.
The Argentine exhibition, which traveled in November to Georgetown, Del., and in March to the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington, Del., showcases the work of visiting photojournalist Silvina M. Frydlewsky, a native of Argentina. Her photos capture the devastating power of economic collapse in that country, as well as the resilience of the people of Buenos Aires and the beauty of the city. Frydlewsky is photography director of the Buenos Aires magazine La Primera, a photographic correspondent for The Washington Post and a photojournalism instructor in Buenos Aires.
The photography exhibit was curated by Priscilla Smith, associate professor of photography in UD's Department of Art. The poetry exhibit featured the work of numerous poets, including Gladys Ilarregui, assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, who also served as its curator.
Buenos Aires: A Tale of Two Cities included an open reception throughout Homecoming day, at which Frydlewsky and Ilarregui discussed their work with visitors to the gallery.
The exhibition was organized by Cynthia Schmidt-Cruz, associate professor of Spanish and director of the Latin American Studies Program. That interdisciplinary program offers both a bachelor of arts degree and a minor in the field, focusing on comprehensive training in Spanish language and literature as well as Latin American history, politics, geography, anthropology and Portuguese.
Other special events at the University in October included a poetry translation workshop and a bilingual poetry reading, both led by Ilarregui and visiting Argentine poet and translator Delfina Muschietti.
In November, the Buenos Aires exhibition traveled to Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown, where it was on display for 10 days. It was complemented by a panel discussion, "Politics, Poetry and Photography," featuring Ilarregui, Smith and John Deiner, professor of political science and international relations.
The exhibition programming was made possible, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Delaware Division of the Arts and the Delaware Humanities Forum. Other sponsors included the Embassy of Argentina, the Embassy of Spain's Office of Education and Science, the UD Center for International Studies and numerous other College and University units.
More information about the Buenos Aires exhibition, including a virtual photo gallery, is available on the web site [www.udel.edu/AreaStudies/latam.html].