Photography by Heidi Bradner, Stanley Greene, Mikhail Galustov, James Hill and Thomas Dworzak

Curated by Anna Lopriore

Every single photograph in this exhibition testifies to the suffering of the people of Chechnya. Families are wiped off the face of the earth and the earth itself is destroyed by the overwhelming force that has been used against the people who live there. Human rights violations - killings, rapes, "disappearances", secret detentions - are committed with impunity in this "dirty war."

Over the past few years, international concern for human rights abuses in Chechnya has virtually disappeared. Tens of thousands of civilians are dead and hundreds of thousands are displaced, yet the international community continues to look the other way. The muting of this concern has not been lost on the Kremlin, which has used the "war on terrorism" to justify its actions in Chechnya.

The Russian government has gone to great lengths to persuade the international community that the situation is steadily "normalizing," even as the conflict has shown no sign of abating. Russian federal forces continue to engage in a brutal campaign against civilians while Chechen fighters commit unspeakable acts of violence in Chechnya and other parts of Russia. The human rights violations being committed on both sides have not only brought untold suffering to countless people but also have undermined the goal of fighting terrorism.

For more than a decade, Heidi Bradner, Thomas Dworzak, Mikhail Galustov, Stanley Greene, and James Hill, have tirelessly documented the death and destruction that took place, is taking place, and will go on unless the international community refuses to be deceived any longer.

With Chechnya 1994 to 2005, an exhibition of images, these dedicated photographers expose the dire human rights crisis taking place in Chechnya and provide us with a compassionate glimpse into the reality of people trying to live their lives in the midst of relentless violence and fear. This event was developed in coordination of the Chechnya Advocacy Network (CAN). In line with CAN's goal of reflecting the priorities of residents of Chechnya and the North Caucasus, the four expert panels or workshops will cover topics that are central to the lives of people in the region:

- Public health
- Human rights and war crimes
- Grass-roots peace building
- Inter-ethnic tensions/discrimination
- The panels will bring together international and regional experts and activists to analyze the current situation and discuss ways forward.