Oregon Humanities

Happy Hour Conversation Explores Photography and War

Curator and writer Kirsten Rian and photojournalist Thorne Anderson lead the May Think & Drink discussion.

19 April 2010 | Permalink

The spring 2010 Think & Drink happy-hour conversation brings together photography curator and writer Kirsten Rian and photojournalist Thorne Anderson for a discussion about the ethics of war photography and the role of photographs in shaping our understanding of war.

Think & Drink will be held on Wednesday, May 26, 2010, at 6:00 at rontoms, 600 E. Burnside, Portland. The happy-hour series, which sparks provocative conversations about big ideas, is sponsored by Oregon Humanities (formerly the Oregon Council for the Humanities).

Kirsten Rian is a nationally recognized photography curator and arts writer, and has coordinated more than 375 exhibitions and 65 books and catalogues. She most recently curated the permanent exhibition for the new Mercy Corps international headquarters. Rian was executive director of Blue Sky Gallery/Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts from 1991–2007. She teaches photography, artist process, and writing throughout Portland.

Thorne Anderson has spent nearly a decade photographing conflicts from the Balkans to South Asia and the Middle East while covering international news as an independent photographer. His work is regularly published in Newsweek, Time, Rolling Stone, People, New York Times, and others. He is co-author/photographer of the book and traveling exhibition Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq. He is an assistant professor of photojournalism at the University of North Texas.

Think & Drink, which invites the public to think and talk together, reflects Oregon Humanities’ emphasis on infusing public conversations with critical thinking and fresh ideas. Past presenters include Representative Earl Blumenauer, Portland State University president Wim Wiewel, writer Ursula K. Le Guin, New Seasons Market CEO Brian Rohter, ethicist and lawyer John Frohnmayer, and advertising executive Jelly Helm.

Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that transform communities. More information about our programs and publications, which include the Conversation Project: A New Chautauqua, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Teacher Institutes, Happy Camp, Public Program Grants, Responsive Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine, can be found at oregonhumanities.org. Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust.