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Cape Town - A photographic exhibition focusing on 30 years of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s life has opened in New York.
The work of South African photographers Sumaya Hisham and Eric Miller features snaps from his apartheid activism to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and his peace and justice work since his retirement six years ago.
The exhibition, titled Tutu: Then and Now, is a project by the US-based Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, in partnership with Trinity Church Wall Street.
Brian Rusch, executive director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation, said Hisham’s work "perfectly captures all of the qualities of the Archbishop as I know him".
"As we began planning the exhibit, we realised the need for historical context. Sumaya had a colleague, Eric Miller, who had photographed the Archbishop during much of the 1980s and 90s, so we invited him to collaborate with us on this project," he said in a statement.
"Through the beauty and history captured in these photos, it is my hope that people are inspired to go out into the world and do what they can to make it a better place."
Hisham, a freelance photojournalist based in Cape Town, has been published internationally in print and electronic media.
Her work has featured in the Washington Post, LA Times, Times UK, Irish Times, Guardian, The Mirror UK, BBC, and Newsweek.
Two years ago, she hosted her first solo photographic exhibition, #Tutu at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town.
It has since been exhibited in Leytonstone, London and in Cupertino, California.
Miller is a documentary photographer who has worked across the globe, and started his career as a photojournalist during the 1980s.
His main work zooms in on social and human rights issues, from HIV/Aids and TB, to general health, working and living conditions on farms, labour, migrant and gender issues.
The exhibition, which features 40 photographs, opened at St Paul’s Chapel in Manhattan on December 1 and runs until December 18.
This will be followed by a North American tour that includes Washington DC, Toronto, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
A special celebratory reception is planned for Friday.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu with photographer Eric Miller and a picture of him and the Dalai Lama. (Supplied)
