'Fields of the North' Photography Exhibit by David Bacon coming to Osborne Gallery, sponsored by OLLAS

A new exhibition chronicling the lives of contemporary migrant farm workers will be on display Friday, Sept. 1 through Saturday, Sept. 30 in the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Criss Library’s Osborne Family Gallery.

Sponsored by UNO’s Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) and Office of Multicultural Affairs, In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte features photojournalist David Bacon’s evocative, powerful photographs alongside moving oral narratives from migrant farm workers. The exhibition, fully translated into both English and Spanish, explores the food we eat and the lives of the people who harvest it.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during library regular hours. A free public conversation with Bacon is set for Monday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. in the gallery. Those interested in attending the conversation are asked to RSVP to ydoku@unomaha.edu by Monday, Sept. 11.

“I am pleased to bring this exhibition to UNO at a time when immigration and economy are at the center of a national debate,” new OLLAS Director Cristian Doña-Reveco said. “The images presented in this exhibit strongly show the working conditions and lives of migrant agricultural workers. More importantly, these images forcefully portray the difficulties, inequalities and injustices these workers endure on a day-to-day basis. These photographs can help us comprehend more deeply the plight of migrant farm workers in the United States."

From the exhibit organizers:

Traveling with migrant workers as the fruit and harvest season moves from the Mexican border to Washington State, In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte sheds light on some basic questions: How much do we know about the lives of the people who feed us? Where do they live? How does it feel to do some of the hardest repetitive labor imaginable? And, what answers do farm workers themselves have to end their poverty and endless migration?

Photographer, journalist, and activist David Bacon has spent over three decades documenting the lives of migrant workers, building upon his previous work as a union organizer. The exhibition is based upon the book of the same name, recently published by University of California Press.

In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte features the works of David Bacon; is produced in partnership with the California Rural Legal Assistance, the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, and History San José; and is touring the U.S. through Exhibit Envoy.

Sponsors:

The Sherwood Foundation, Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS), Office of Multicultural Affairs, and UNO Libraries.