In the Room with David Hume Kennerly Featuring Jon Meacham
Presented by Bank of America
TUCSON, October 4, 2019- The Center for Creative Photography, UA Presents, and Arizona Arts present In the Room with David Hume Kennerly Featuring Jon Meacham Presented by Bank of America, a one-night-only free event on Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. in Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus.
The event brings together two Pulitzer Prize winners: photographer David Hume Kennerly and his friend and former Newsweek colleague Jon Meacham. Together, they will probe the dynamic effect that photography can have on the way we feel and understand our world through a presentation exploring Kennerly’s more than 50-year photography career.
“Bringing David Hume Kennerly and Jon Meacham together to explore with us the impact of photography on our world and how we understand it – and making this extraordinary experience accessible to our campus and regional audiences – exemplifies our commitment to making the University of Arizona an arts destination,” said Andrew Schulz, vice president for the arts and dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Arizona.
“What a thrill it will be to sit down with Jon Meacham to discuss photography,” said Kennerly. “Jon and I worked together for more than 10 years at Newsweek, and he not only knows a good picture when he sees one, but can talk with authority about their importance.”
Kennerly has been a photographer on the front lines of history for six decades. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Feature Photography at age 25, and two years later became the chief White House photographer during former President Gerald R. Ford’s administration. His body of work includes probing examinations of everyday life and intimate explorations of global political events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Middle East Peace process and Camp David Accords, Jonestown, and the Pentagon after being attacked on 9/11.
Kennerly was a friend and colleague of Center for Creative Photography co-founder Ansel Adams. In 2018, Kennerly was named the university’s first Presidential Scholar, based at the Center for Creative Photography. The honorary appointment exemplifies the university’s commitment to advancing the meaning and understanding of interdisciplinary work in the arts, humanities and social sciences – disciplines that are seen as critical to success in the emerging global economy.
“David Kennerly’s photography provides a unique perspective on history that helps create greater insight of iconic events,” said Anne Finucane, vice chairman of Bank of America, which is sponsoring the event. “David Kennerly has been a longtime partner of Bank of America, and we are honored to help share his historic work with the university community and beyond.”
Meacham, a presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator who appears regularly on CNN and MSNBC. Known as a skilled orator with a deep knowledge of politics, religion and current affairs, Meacham brings historical context to the issues and events impacting our daily lives.
Meacham’s No. 1 New York Times bestseller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. His presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.
As a complement to the lecture, a pop-up exhibition of Kennerly’s work will be featured on the University of Arizona mall. The exhibit, David Hume Kennerly: Witness to History, features more than fifty Kennerly photographs at larger-than-life sizes, allowing visitors to get up close and personal with the photographer’s work. The exhibition is presented with support from the Marshall Foundation and Bank of America. A smaller exhibition of Kennerly’s work will also be on display in Old Main.
Tickets are free and are available at Centennial Hall on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 6 p.m. on October 11, the evening of the event.
