Photojournalist Peter Magubane Exhibit May 13, 2010

Show coincides with honorary degree from Columbia College Chicago
to Mandela’s former official photographer

WHAT:It has been 20 years since South African leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison. This exhibition features 103 photos documenting South Africa’s emergence from apartheid rule, starting with the 1990 release of Mandela. The exhibit is timed with the noted photojournalist being in Chicago to receive an honorary doctorate from Columbia College Chicago during commencement ceremonies on Saturday afternoon (May 15).

WHO: Peter Magubane has spent most of his life documenting the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. His work has appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, and Time magazine. Magubane was detained in prison on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape town, at various times between 1969 and 1972, being kept in solitary confinement for 586 days. After South African leader Nelson Mandela was released from Robben Island in February 1990, Magubane, who had visited him there during his imprisonment, was selected as the official photographer to document the country’s transition to democracy. Magubane served in that post from 1990 through 1994 and has continued to document the post-apartheid culture of South Africa.

WHEN: Opening Reception, Thursday (May 13), 5:30-8 p.m.
Exhibition runs through May 22