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Traveling Exhibits Overview  The Palmer Memorial Institute  The Youngest Parents Oh Freedom Over Me  The Youngest Parents Photographs by John Moses and Jocelyn Lee A Traveling Exhibition of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University Last night I had a funny thought. I was toting one of the babies up the steps, and I thought, you know, I’ve been doing this since you were born. And tomorrow will be the same way. —Ruth, Orange County, North Carolina John Moses and Jocelyn Lee’s portraits of teenage parents in their homes and yards show us capable and caring young mothers and fathers who are well supported by friends and family, as well as nervous new parents who seem unprepared for the life-altering responsibilities they face. What results from these intimate portraits, and the words that accompany them, is a document of the rich complexity of lived experience, avoiding easy stereotypes about class, race, and maturity. John Moses, photography instructor at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and a practicing pediatrician, spent eleven years documenting teenage parents in North Carolina counties. Jocelyn Lee, a photography professor at Princeton University, spent six years in parts of Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Nova Scotia, living and working with young mothers. Friendships of support and caring developed between the photographers and the teens, and the trust resulting from these relationships deepens the character and meaning of their work. The Youngest Parents exhibition of twenty-five black-and-white photographs taken from 1986 to the present day includes follow-up photographs of the young parents, now adults, and their children, now teens and young adults themselves. The exhibit also includes text panels that allow us to read young mothers’ courageously candid reflections. Despite recent trends suggesting a reduction in the rates of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing, the United States continues to have one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the industrialized world. This exhibition provides an additional means for thinking about this important reality and fosters dialogue about family relationships, sex education, and the day-to-day difficulties of the youngest parents. This exhibition was organized by the Center for Documentary Studies, with initial support from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the Elizabeth Firestone-Graham Foundation, and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation. Support for the traveling exhibition was provided by the North Carolina Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. 
William, Sophia, and son, Vance County, North Carolina, 1988. Photograph by John Moses. EXHIBITION SCHEDULE May 9–June 30, 2005 Caldwell County Arts Council’s Art-in-Healing Gallery, Caldwell County Memorial Hospital, Lenoir, North Carolina. In collaboration with the Center for Adolescent Health, Caldwell County. With a workshop,"An Introduction to Documentary Work," by John Moses. April 15–June 16, 2007 Dayton Metro Library, Dayton, Ohio HOSTING THE YOUNGEST PARENTS EXHIBITION For more information about hosting a CDS Traveling Exhibition, please contact Liz Lindsey at 919-660-3663 or liz.lindsey@duke.edu.  Gorham, Maine, 1996. Photograph by Jocelyn Lee.
banner image: Partial view of the Lyndhurst Gallery, one of four exhibition spaces at CDS. Photograph by Christopher Sims. top |
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