Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health Presents “Voices of African-American Health,” a Photographic Exhibit

October 20, 2006

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Maya Angelou Research Center on Minority Health at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is partnering with Winston-Salem Delta Fine Arts, Inc., to produce a photographic exhibit Nov. 5 through Dec. 22 at Delta Arts Center, 2611 New Walkertown Rd. An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The event is free, and the public is invited to attend.

In the project called “Voices of African-American Health” 24 African-Americans in Winston-Salem and surrounding areas were provided journals and disposable cameras and allowed one month to document their experiences with illness or with taking care of others who suffer from disease. A range of health conditions is represented in the exhibit, including hypertension, diabetes, cancer, mental illness and infant mortality. While the exhibit focuses mostly on photography, vignettes from each participant’s journal are also included.

Participants were trained in the basic techniques of photography and journaling by photographer Michael Cunningham and author and psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., a member of the Angelou Research Center national advisory board. Vickie Bovender of the non-profit organization, Winston-Salem Writers led writing sessions to aid participants with their journaling process. The project was funded by a $12,000 grant from General Arts in Healthcare Fund of Johnson & Johnson.

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Media Contacts: Jim Steele, jsteele@wfubmc.edu, Karen Richardson, krchrdsn@wfubmc.edu, or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, at (336) 716-4587.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.

Media Relations

Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587