“Be the Change: Los Angeles Protest Photographs by Cindy Bendat, 2003-2017,” a photography exhibition featuring 58 timely and incisive protest photographs by California photographer Cindy Bendat, will open on Monday, Sept. 11, in the California State University, Dominguez Hill (CSUDH) University Art Gallery, and run through Oct. 10.
Opening reception, Monday, Sept. 11, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; exhibit walk-through with Cindy Bendat at 6 p.m.
Saturday exhibit walk-throughs with Cindy Bendat: Sept. 16, 10:30 a.m. and Oc. 7, 11 a.m.
Bendat’s protest photographs in the exhibition reveal the visual power of people taking action in major protest movements in Los Angeles, including marches for immigrant rights, the Occupy movement, Black Lives Matter, Arab Spring, Burma freedom, anti-Iraq war/peace, labor unions and worker solidarity, and the 2017 Women’s March. Through her photographs, Bendat seeks to “inform, engage and inspire.” She writes, “What makes our country great is our right to protest wrongs and to organize for a better tomorrow.”
Bendat is a cultural, documentary, and fine art photographer based in Santa Monica, Calif. who has photographed a diverse portfolio of work of people, places, and festivals all over the world. Her photographs also capture the diverse cultures and subcultures in Los Angeles, cultural festivals in the greater Los Angeles area, and political protests. Interested in both culture and politics, Bendat is committed to creating art with relevancy and social impact. Her award-winning work has been exhibited internationally, published in books, magazines, and newspapers, and is in the permanent collections at The Huntington Library, Yale University, and the City of Santa Monica.
An opening reception for the photographer will take place on Monday, Sept. 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the University Art Gallery. As part of the evening, guest curator CSUDH Assistant Professor of Art Ellie Zenhari will lead an exhibit walk-through with Bendat beginning at 6 p.m. Also, two Saturday exhibit walk-throughs with Bendat are scheduled for Sept. 16 at 10:30 a.m. and Oct. 7, at 11 a.m. This exhibition was also curated by Kathy Zimmerer, University Art Gallery director.
These exhibition and related events are sponsored by CSUDH’s College of Arts and Humanities and the Instructionally Related Activities Committee of the Associated Students, Inc. organization.
Open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, the University Art Gallery is in room A-107 on the first floor of LaCorte Hall. Admission is free.
CSU Dominguez Hills is located at 1000 E. Victoria St. in Carson. LaCorte Hall is on the west side of campus off Toro Center Drive/Tamcliff Street. Visitor parking in campus lots requires a parking permit, which is sold for $8 at yellow dispensing machines at each lot.
