This year marks the Carolina Global Photography Exhibition’s 15th anniversary, which was celebrated with a reception Wednesday. Fifteen notable photographs, from first place winners to honorable mentions, are displayed throughout the Global Center.
The exhibition will run until July 31 at the Global FedEx Center, where anyone can take a look at the photographs that range from familiar European landscapes to more abstract depictions of African and Asian natural beauty to the diversity of life right here in Chapel Hill.
“The opening reception is titled, ‘Picture Yourself Abroad,’ as we’d like to use the exhibition as an opportunity to encourage more students to pursue international opportunities, such as study abroad or international internships and fellowships,” said Ingrid Smith, manager of events and exhibitions, in an email. “We want students to picture themselves abroad after seeing the exhibition.”
Niklaus Steiner, the director of the Center for Global Initiatives, said the “broader picture” of the competition was to show the convergence of human experiences.
“It’s partly against photo competitions that too often portray the rest of the world as exotic,” he said, “The more you travel, you realize there’s so many similarities — that’s why the overarching theme is really to bring home the commonality of humanity.”
Students, staff and graduates entered photos taken all over the world, each of which carried the message about unity in the world.
Kathryn Clune, a master’s student in folklore at UNC, was awarded an honorable mention for her photo, “The Monks of Morganton,” of two Buddhist monks in rural North Carolina. She entered it into the contest because she thought it had a deep sense of irony.
“I guess I chose this photo because when you see it, you can‘t really believe it’s in North Carolina,” she said. “I like the fact that you look at the photo, and it might be in Southeast Asia, then you read the caption, and you realize it’s in Morganton.”
