Hundreds attend Greek Encounter exhibition opening

     (Aug. 21, 2007) – Almost 300 people attended the Center’s opening of “Aegean Encounters on the Missouri: The Greek Community of Sioux City” on Sunday, Aug. 19.

     The exhibition foreshadows the opening of the adjoining Encounter Center late this fall as a home for dialogue among the diverse people of this area.

     “Aegean Encounters on the Missouri” comprises 24 portraits by photographer Don Doll, S.J., a DVD production by G.R. Lindblade & Co., and displays of cultural items on loan from Sioux City Greek residents and Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church.

     Displays include Greek wedding crowns, baptismal gowns, special occasion favors known as koufetta boubounaires, religious items, Greek passports and worry beads. His Grace Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Chicago, was photographed for the exhibition by G.R. Lindblade & Co.

     The Sunday opening included a gallery talk by Fr. Doll, the Center’s photo consultant, with comments by Fr. George Pappas, pastor of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, Marcia Poole, the Center’s director, and Christina McAvoy, of G.R. Lindblade & Co.

     “Aegean Encounters on the Missouri” reflects the Center’s ongoing commitment to encouraging dialogue, understanding and peace, said Marcia Poole, director. “The Center’s story began with the Lewis & Clark Expedition but it doesn’t end with the Corps of Discovery’s return to St. Louis in September 1806. It continues with encounters among people who were in this area before the Corps of Discovery and those who have come since,” she said.

     The Greek encounter was conceived by Fr. Ray Bucko, S.J., the Center’s cultural outreach advisor and chair of Creighton University’s Sociology and Anthropology Dept. The exhibition was developed by the Center in partnership with Creighton’s Sociology and Anthropology Dept., and Fr. Doll’s Magis Productions.

     The portraits show some of the members of Sioux City’s Greek community, from young children to grandmothers, yia-yias, and grandfathers, papous. Most are immigrants or are descended from immigrants who came to Sioux City beginning in the early 1900s seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity.

     Most of the first immigrants worked in meatpacking plants or with the railroad industry and lived in the South Bottoms next to the Stockyards. Today, they represent a range of professions and roles in the Siouxland community. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, at Sixth and Jennings streets, is the center of their life.

     Encounter-themed exhibitions will be a leading part of the adjoining Encounter Center, now under construction and scheduled to open in late fall. The Lewis & Clark Center and the Encounter Center are funded entirely by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc., (MRHD) a private, non-profit organization.

     The Center has hosted other exhibitions of Fr. Doll’s work, including “Vision Quest: Men, Women and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation”; “A Timely Encounter: Portraits of St. Augustine Indian Mission Students”; and “On the Lewis & Clark Trail.” His photographs have been featured in National Geographic magazine; and a number of “Day in the Life” books, including America, California, Italy, Ireland, Passage to Vietnam, and Christmas in America.

     Fr. Doll is a professor of photojournalism and holds the Charles and Mary Heider Endowed Jesuit Chair at Creighton. He has received the Kodak Crystal Eagle Award for Impact in Photojournalism in recognition of his work with Native people; and the Nikon “World Understanding through Photography” award. His work has been published in “Crying for a Vision” (Morgan and Morgan Publishers) and “Vision Quest: Men, Women and Sacred Sites of the Sioux Nation” (Crown Publishers). He appears in the “Vision Quest” CD-ROM and “Don Doll’s Vision Quest,” a Nebraska Education Television Production.

     Fr. Doll has photographed the work of Jesuits assisting Tsunami victims in India and Sri Lanka, and the educational work of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Uganda and Southern Sudan. He was named 2006 Nebraska Artist of the Year by the Nebraska Arts Council.

     The Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. It is located off exit 149 of I-29. Admission, all programs, exhibits and activities are free. For more information visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242.

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