A multimedia exhibition called "Bekoji" was presented by VSCO New York on Thursday, November 3rd, 2016. (Photo: Tadias)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Friday, November 4th, 2016
New York (TADIAS) — In the highland town of Bekoji, Ethiopia — where some of the country’s best known long-distance athletes and Olympic medalists come from — running is also a matter of survival especially for young girls who face a high prevalence of school interruption due to expected labor to help their rural families make a livelihood. This was the subject of a multimedia experiential storytelling exhibition at VSCO’s New York space in Manhattan on Thursday evening that included a photo journal, movie screening and a panel discussion moderated by writer, runner, and coach Knox Robinson and featuring a Q&A session on Bekoji with Kayla Nolan, Executive Director of Girls Gotta Run Foundation, the only charity operating in Ethiopia that provides academic and athletic scholarships for young women in the country.
Below are photos from the event:
In addition to the studio installation, which was curated by Robinson, a film by Joel Wolpert and a photography essay by Kent Andreasen was shown in large scale format “to consider the life of young women using the inspiration of world class running to escape the cycle of poverty in rural Ethiopia. The work explores running as a source of personal creativity for the young women; as a flashpoint for designing and realizing a self-empowered future — and as an avenue for reaffirming their human rights and redefining gender roles in the process.”
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Related:
In Sodo & Bekoji, New GGRF Athletic Scholarship Keeps Girls in School
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