Jacht Ad Lab, the College of Journalism and Mass Communications' student advertising agency, will host a First Friday event on Friday, Nov. 1, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. showcasing “Ethiopia’s Unseen,” from the work of 12 students from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The students traveled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for three weeks to photograph and report on sides of Ethiopia not typically seen by the Western world. Photojournalism professor Bruce Thorson and journalism professor Scott Winter led the class. Several months beforehand, the students began researching possible stories and building contact lists. When they arrived, they got straight to work writing and living their stories.
“Ethiopia is the home of the African Union, ancient and Biblical history and a source of water for an entire continent, wrote Winter about the trip. "However, the West has only seen stereotypical stories of famine and war that offer a limited view of this United States ally. 'Ethiopia’s Unseen' seeks to tell stories of Ethiopians who, through faith and optimism in the face of overwhelming odds, build meaningful lives and smile more broadly than people in the Western hemisphere."
The experience was made possible through the Buffett, Mangelsen and Sartore photojournalism endowment, which provides professional camera equipment and pays for the flights and other travel expenses that photojournalism trips require. The trips focus on regions of the world most affected by poverty.
The First Friday exhibit will be followed by an event on Thursday, Nov. 7 at the Rococo, 128 North 13, from 6:30 p.m., that will feature live African music and a multimedia presentation by the students at 7:30 p.m.
“At Jacht, we strive to be part of the growing community of artists, developers and creative minds in Lincoln,” said Amy Struthers, Jacht’s founder, supervisor and associate professor of advertising at UNL. “It’s special for us to be able to feature this work by students from our own college, addressing issues of global concern through visual communication.”
Jacht, founded in fall 2010 as UNL’s first student advertising agency, is passionate about developing strategic use of social media, digital production, mobile media and other emerging technologies to help clients reach their business goals. This generates a unique student “ad lab” experience that yields professional and engaging creative work.
Students who participated in the depth reporting project include:
NEBRASKA
Kaylee Everly, Fremont
Stacie Hecker, Lincoln
Adam Pribil, O’Neill
Anna Reed, Brianna Soukup and Cara Wilwerding, Omaha
Morgan Spiehs, Wood River
OUTSIDE NEBRASKA
Andrew Dickinson, Overland Park, Kan.
Allison Hess, Houston, Texas
Kay Kemmet, Bismarck, N.D.
Faiz Siddiqui, Cincinnati, Ohio
Shelby Wolfe, Owatonna, Minn.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/0gud