Award-winning Photographer Returns to Bluegrass
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 20, 2009) - The Art Museum at the University of Kentucky will open the 2009-2010 Robert C. May Lecture Series with a presentation by Jahi Chikwendiu, an award-winning photojournalist for the Washington Post, UK graduate and native son of Lexington. Chikwendiu's free public lecture begins at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at Worsham Theatre in UK's Student Center. An exhibition of Chikwendiu's photographs, which is free and open to the public, is on display at the museum through Nov. 1.
In 1998, Chikwendiu was on a summer break from teaching high school math when he began providing freelance photography to the Lexington Herald-Leader. By the end of the summer, he was offered a full-time position at the Herald-Leader and three months later was named photographer of the year by the Kentucky News Photographers Association.
Chikwendiu has been on the staff of the Washington Post since 2000. His work has taken him to some of the world’s most troubled spots. He has photographed a dust storm rolling across a refugee camp in Darfur like a biblical plague and chronicled a Lebanese woman’s struggle with the loss of a leg after being injured by a cluster bomb attack, a type of warfare that inflicts a high rate of civilian casualties. He followed 13- and 14-year-old Sudanese Liberation Army recruits as they trained in the desert and documented the lives of Sudanese refugees trying to make a new life in Egypt, where they are unwelcome and frequently attacked. In 2008, his skills were recognized when he was named photographer of the year by the White House News Photographers Association.
Chikwendiu has a great passion for revealing the injustices he sees in his travels. He is particularly sensitive to the struggles of children at home and around the world. “I can't give up on youngsters,” he says. “I would be in a different place right now if a lot of people had given up on me.”
His unusual name—he was born James Clay Fishback—is one he created for himself at age 25 to reflect his approach to life. Jahi means "dignity" in Swahili, and Chikwendiu means “life depends on God” in the Ibu language. He states, "I wanted to start a new legacy and I liked what that meant."
The May Lecture Series, in its 13th year, is sponsored by the Robert C. May Photography Endowment, an art museum fund established in 1994 for the support of acquisitions and programs relating to photography. The 2009-10 Robert C. May Lecture Series will also feature photographers Mike Smith, Lily Almog and Sarah Hoskins.
For more information on the Jahi Chikwendiu lecture or exhibition, contact the Art Museum at the University of Kentucky at (859) 257-5716.