Open Society Institute: Moving Walls 13

If you are in New York City the evening of June 12, you should stop by the Opening Reception for Moving Walls 13, presented by The Open Society Institute (OSI), part of theSoros Foundation. For more information and to RSVP, check out the invite. If you won't be in NYC that day, the exhibition is open to the public through February 29, 2008, at the OSI Headquarters, located at 400 West 59th Street. Moving Walls is a photographic exhibition series sponsored by the Open Society Institute. "The series represents the transitional condition of open societies and the promotion and maintenance of democratic values." Moving Walls 13 includes work from Robin Bowman, Edward Burtynsky, Friends of Island Academy/International Center of Photography, Margot Herster, Olivier Jobard, and Carl De Keyzer.

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Festival of the Photograph

Don't forget- The Festival of the Photograph will be taking place this weekend (June 7-9) in Charlottesville, VA. This is the first official year for the festival, which has grown out of a gathering hosted by National Geographic photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols. Most of the tickets for the three featured talks (William Albert Allard, Sally Mann, and Eugene Richards) are sold out, but there will be plenty of tickets available to the final show, "Works", which will include a special musical performance, along with work by many photographers, including Donna Ferrato, Paolo Pellegrin, David Alan Harvey, Alexandra Boulat, Alex Webb, Jonas Bendiksen, and many many others. There are also a number of exhibitions around town, including a collaborative installation, YourSpace, where everyone is encouraged to bring in digital files to print and hang, or to display as digital slide shows. If you can get to Charlottesville, go- this weekend promises to be…

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R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Forty years ago yesterday (June 3), Aretha Franklin was #1 on the Billboard Charts, with her recording of 'Respect'. The Detroit Free Press has put together a detailed look at the song, it's origins, and the era surrounding it. There are several videos, covering everything from the story of the song to interviews with other musicians, sociologists, and producers, along with photos, the article, and other features. Check out the multimedia package, then get the song.

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Media that Matters

The Seventh Annual Media That Matters Festival is now up. Sixteen short films have been selected by a jury, with topics ranging from Egypt's garbage collectors to rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina to transgendered youth. The films are available online, at screenings throughout the country, and on DVD.

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The Price of Sex

Documentary photographer Mimi Chakarova looks into the lives of young East European women trafficked into the sex trade, in "The Price of Sex", the debut story for PBS's flashPOINT series. It is estimated that between 200,000 and 400,000 have been trafficked from Moldova, to be exploited as sex workers, factory workers, maids, and other laborers. In an interview about the story, Chakarova says, "I hope that it will enable people to see this story from a different angle. I hope that the sadness it leaves will push people to find out more about what can be done." PBS introduced the flashPOINT program in January 2007, as part of their FRONTLINE/World series, which also includes documentary videos.

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