Sigurjón with a captured bee, Öskjuhlíðarskóli, Reykjavik, Iceland 2005

undrabörn/extraordinary child
photographs by mary ellen mark

November 5—January 10, 2010
Kreps and Lyndhurst Galleries, Center for Documentary Studies

In Undrabörn/Extraordinary Child Mary Ellen Mark portrays in intimate detail the lives of Icelandic children coping with a variety of physical and mental challenges as they go about their daily activities. Moving, poignant, sad and joyous, these photographs take us into a reality that adjoins our own but is seldom seen. The images also powerfully illuminate one of Iceland’s core values, a basic educational policy that calls for schools “without differentiation.” While parents are increasingly enrolling their children in conventional schools, there are those who continue to choose schools that specialize in teaching children with severe learning disabilities, believing that with experienced support and encouragement their children will gain independence and develop abilities that defy expectations.

This exhibit first opened at the National Museum of Iceland as part of its mission to emphasize the diverse facets of Icelandic history and society.

related film screening
alexander | a film by martin bell
public screening and q & a with martin bell and mary ellen mark

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
7 p.m. | Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

During the seven weeks that Mary Ellen Mark and her husband, Martin Bell, spent in Iceland from 2005 to 2007, Bell made Alexander, a film that focuses on an extraordinary boy and his family.