Pitt’s University Art Gallery Hosts Conflict Zone Exhibition

PITTSBURGH—While on assignment in Afghanistan, photojournalist Kathleen Flynn captured a wide range of images—from U.S. soldiers recovering from injuries to children playing in the streets—that told the stories of daily life in a war-torn country. A selection of Flynn’s work in Afghanistan is now a part of Conflict Zone, a traveling photography exhibition that chronicles the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Flynn will share her experiences in Afghanistan during the opening reception for Conflict Zone, which will begin at 4 p.m. Oct. 16 in the University of Pittsburgh’s University Art Gallery within the Frick Fine Arts Building, 650 Schenley Dr., Oakland. The reception and gallery are free and open to the public. Conflict Zone will run Oct. 16-31. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays with special Pitt Homecoming Weekend hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 24 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 25-26. 

Composed of more than 60 images from 30 civilian and military photographers, Conflict Zone was originally inspired by New York Times photographer Joao Silva, who lost both of his legs to an explosive device in Afghanistan in 2010. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Chris Hondros, a combat photographer who was killed in Libya in 2011 and whose work in Afghanistan and Iraq also are included in Conflict Zone. 

“Conflict Zone raises awareness of the realities of war in a gallery setting. The exhibition shows you real life and death in a combat zone and the lasting impact that war creates. It brings you to these intimate scenes in a larger visual scale that allows you to truly analyze and absorb,” said Flynn, who serves on the staff of The Times-Picayune in New Orleans.

In addition to Flynn, Hondros, and Silva, Conflict Zone’s contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalists Jim MacMillan, Greg Marinovich, and Craig F. Walker. A full listing of Conflict Zone contributors with biographical information can be found here.

Conflict Zone is a project of The Independence Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of severely injured U.S. veterans and their families. Since its debut at the Chicago Cultural Center in May 2011, the exhibition has been displayed at universities and museums across the country, including the Virginia Military Institute, The Poynter Institute, and, most recently, the Richard C. Clarkson Gallery at the University of Kansas. The images within Conflict Zone originally appeared in such national news outlets as The New York Times, USA Today, and The Washington Post, among other publications. 

The Conflict Zone exhibition’s run at Pitt is sponsored by the University’s College of General Studies, which houses the Office of Veterans Services. For more information, call 412-624-6600. 

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