“East West South North,” an exhibit on display through June 26 at the Charles Addams Fine Arts Gallery, showcases photos taken by Penn students as part of the inaugural Silverstein Abroad Studio in Photography.

A dozen PennDesign undergraduate and MFA students traveled to Beijing, China in March to explore, through photography, the contradictions and significance of China’s radically shifting contemporary cultural climate.

Prior to their departure, students studied Chinese language, history and culture. Once in Beijing, they prepared individual work and an assigned research project. Back at Penn, students selected and printed photographs for display in the show, including images of China’s baby girls, buildings in various stages of construction and an old Islamic temple.

Penn President Amy Gutmann visited the show on June 16 (pictured above), along with Julie Saecker Schneider, director of the Undergraduate Fine Arts Program and program director for the Silverstein Studio course; Gabe Martinez, director of graduate photography and the Silverstein course instructor; and a few student photographers who participated in the course.

Funding for the trip was provided by Howard A. and Patricia Bleznak Silverstein. The next trip, which is scheduled every other year, is set for Mumbai, India.