Five Women@Duke
March 21–May 13, 2007
Porch Gallery


In spring 2006 members of the Duke Women's Center staff "discovered" a treasure that had been hiding in the Duke University Archives: two photographs with the title "Five Women," one taken in 1946 and the other in 1976, each a group portrait of five Duke women taken near the Clock Tower Quad on West Campus. Other than the backdrop of Gothic architecture and the overall concept of a photo of five women, the images are quite different. The 1946 photo depicts five white women in pinafores, smiling and looking to the left, posed as if stepping forward; the 1976 photo shows four white women and one African American woman standing much closer together, looking at each other, and wearing clothing typical of a college campus in the 1970s.

1946, 1976, 2006: The time seemed perfect for another "Five Women" photo. To acknowledge the diverse community of women at Duke, the Women's Center and the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture decided to provide an opportunity for multiple images to be created. They invited all members of the Duke community to participate in a photo contest and exhibition, which will open at the Center for Documentary Studies on March 21. The public is invited to attend an opening reception, beginning at 6 p.m.








banner image:

Partial view of the Lyndhurst Gallery, one of four exhibition spaces at CDS. Photograph by Christoper Sims.


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