DURHAM, NC.-The complex lives and uncertain futures of South Africans living in a government-subsidized settlement are documented by photographer Kate Joyce in an exhibition opening October 14 at Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. An opening reception begins at 4:30 p.m. Joyce presents a body of work that is as much about land and housing policies, and the post-apartheid government's efforts to curb urban poverty, as it is about home and belonging, bridging territorial barriers, and compassionate interaction with surrounding communities -- whether they are next door, "across the tracks," or several thousand miles away.

The exhibition, "Grassland Phase II: Residents and Government Reshaping South Africa's Informal Settlements," is a selection of photographs created over the five months Joyce spent with residents in a government-subsidized settlement named Grassland Phase II, located on the fringe of an expanding township in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

The exhibition is co-sponsored by the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, the Concilium on Southern Africa and the Duke University Center for Documentary Studies (CDS), and was curated by Alex Harris, professor of public policy and documentary studies.

"Kate is a very talented photographer and her images genuinely capture the humanity of the people living in this settlement, and cause us to think about the actual effects of government policies aimed at improving housing and economic opportunity," Harris said.

Joyce, a native of Santa Fe, New Mexico, traveled to Bloemfontein in 2003 through a Lewis Hine Documentary Initiative Fellowship awarded by the Center for Documentary Studies. She worked for 10 months with the nongovernmental organization Diketso Eseng Dipuo Community Development Trust (DEDI), whose programming revolves around the development, education, and care of young children living in impoverished conditions.

Joyce's previous work includes collaborations with artists, photographers, historians, and writers on various projects, among them SiteOverTime, a project that re-photographs landscapes found in nineteenth-century images of the American West, and "Hollow City: The Siege of San Francisco and the Crisis of American Urbanism," a book that examines the relationship between the "dot-com boom" and the cultural life of the city center.

The opening reception and exhibition are free and open to the public. The exhibition will remain on view from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of 2005. Limited visitor parking will be available (on October 14 only) in the Sanford Institute parking lot at the corner of Science and Towerview Drives. Additional visitor parking is available for a fee on Science Drive and in the Bryan Center parking deck.