The beautiful black and white photography of The Alabama Project, which captures poignant moments in the lives of Alabama breast cancer survivors, is on display at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology Monday, Oct. 20, through Friday, Nov. 14.
The exhibit is open to the public Monday through Friday and is free of charge. Guests are invited to enjoy breakfast or lunch in the HudsonAlpha café and then stroll through exhibit in the HudsonAlpha atrium.
The exhibit will be on display also at the Nov. 17 Tie the Ribbons luncheon at the Davidson Center for Space Exploration.
The Alabama Project, by fashion photographer and creator of The SCAR Project David Jay, document moments in the lives of breast cancer survivors from around the state. Captured in the places survivors inhabit each day, surrounded by friends and family or during quiet moments when a survivor stands alone, the images illustrate the richness, the passion, and the struggles of each woman’s experiences.
The Alabama Project also conveys the possibilities for addressing cancer health disparities that persist not only in our state but in regions throughout the world. Some of the Alabama women who participated in this project are members of New Light, a support group organized through the University of Alabama at Birmingham that brings together those diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a particularly aggressive form of the disease that disproportionately affects certain populations. HudsonAlpha actively researches triple-negative and other forms of breast cancer and frequently collaborates with UAB.
Through the NIH/NCI-supported Deep South Network for Cancer Control at UAB’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, many of the survivors pictured in the exhibit were reached by Community Health Advisors trained as Research Partners who assisted them in recognizing the warning signs of breast cancer and accessing treatment for their disease. In turn, several responded by becoming advocates for cancer education and prevention in their own communities.
The photos offer glimpses of lives affected, but not overshadowed, by cancer.
