London Festival of Photography

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Programme

Festival Diary

The Gaddafi Archives - Libya Before the Arab Spring

Dates: 21 June to 29 June 2012
Venue: Slade Research Centre (entrance to the left of the Warburg Institute main entrance)
Address: Woburn Square, London, WC1H 0AB
Disabled Access: This event DOES NOT have wheelchair access
Map: View
Opening Times: 10am-10pm, closing 2pm on Friday 29 June
Price: £7.50

The Arab Spring brought about tumultuous change in the region, much of which was broadcast around the world, despite attempts by various regimes to blackout media communications.


THE EXHIBITION

EXHIBITION DATES: Thur 21 to Fri 29 June (9 days only). The exhibition will close at 2pm on Friday 29 June. The entrance to the Slade Research Centre is to the left of the Warburg Institute main entrance. The exhibition contains over 300 images and artefacts over six rooms.

Through carefully collated photographs, documents, artefacts and videos this exhibition will shed light on the recent history of Libya, starting with the reign of King Idris and spanning the regime of Colonel Gaddafi. The exhibition will highlight photography’s role in recording and documenting an important period in Libya’s history that we can only now begin to truly understand. Pictures and documents from state intelligence buildings and destroyed Gaddafi residences that were found by Human Rights Watch's emergencies director Peter Bouckaert, and recorded and photographed at the sites, will be presented. All original materials were left where they were found after being photographed or have been since been returned to the National Transition Council in Libya.

This archive is unique and rare and contains over 1,000 images across a wide range of topics. King Idris is seen welcoming a young Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 on her second foreign trip as monarch, the early Gaddafi years vividly show a strong relationship between Colonel Gaddafi and his hero President Nasser of Egypt.

Rare images of the period when Libya was effectively closed to the West from the mid-70's until the revolution depict social chaos, the era of the Green Book, torture and military misadventure and Gadaffi's strategic foreign trips to eastern Europe and the Middle East. The exhibition looks behind the "grip and grin" smiles of the political photo-op propaganda to reveal what was really going on.

The Gaddafi section of the exhibition will aim to re-create the feeling of an omnipresent dictator, giving festival visitors and the Libyan ex-pat community a sense of what the Libyan people have undergone over the last 41 years. Videos and essays by Human Rights Watch will contextualise the organisation's work in Libya and highlight some of the issues faced by the Libyan people today.

This exhibition is one of only two exhibitions in the entire festival programme which has an entry fee. Tickets cost only £7.50 and can be bought online or at the door (cash only). Please support the festival by buying a ticket.

ASSOCIATED EVENTS

A comprehensive programme of related panel discussions will also run alongside the exhibition, including:

Human Rights in Libya
25 June, 7 to 9pm, Slade Research Centre
A panel discussion centred around human rights issues in Libya, with topics to include the right to a fair trial and Western complicity in Gaddafi’s rule.

The Future of Libya
26 June, 7 to 9pm, Slade Research Centre
A round table discussion on the Future of Libya exploring the political, economic and cultural challenges ahead – moderated by Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor for Channel 4 News.

The Dangers and Responsibilities Facing the Media in Conflict Zones
27 June, 7 to 9pm, Slade Research Centre
A panel discussion led by Richard Gizbert (presenter of The Listening Post for Al-Jazeera) about the issues surrounding the frequent targeting of media workers in conflict zones.

The Role of Social Media in Revolutions and Uprisings
28 June, 7 to 9pm, Slade Research Centre
This debate, led by Olivier Laurent (online news editor of the British Journal of Photography), looks at social media’s heightened role in distributing information during uprisings, and the concerns about reliability and verification that these new forms of journalism raise.
 


The Gaddafi Archives - Libya Before the Arab Spring is a world-first exhibition produced by the London Festival of Photography in partnership with Human Rights Watch. The exhibition is curated by Susan Glen.



The Gaddafi Archives - Libya Before the Arab Spring exhibition is brought to you in association with Open City Docs Fest.
 


The Gaddafi Archives is brought to you in proud partnership with Frame Company. who provide frames for all of the festival's exhibitions.
 



Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organisations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For more than 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.

Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.
www.hrw.org


RELATED PUBLICATIONS:


Lindsey Hilsum: Sandstorm, Faber and Faber (5 April 2012)


Human Rights Watch: World Report 2012, Seven Stories Press (8 Mar 2012)


Human Rights Watch DVD (2009)