FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Cindy Deppe, media relations, 641-269-4834

September 6, 2007

Grinnell Alumnus to Discuss Iowa Photo Exhibit

GRINNELL, IA - Grinnell College alumnus Andy Kropa, a freelance photographer based in New York City, will discuss an exhibition of his photographs, Little Allende, America, on Sept. 11 at 4:15 p.m. in Joe Rosenfield '25 Center, Room 209, on the Grinnell College campus.

The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Center for Prairie Studies and the Faulconer Gallery, explores immigration reform and daily life among the Hispanic population of West Liberty, Iowa, and is on view in Grinnell's Burling Gallery. Beginning in the 1990s, the Latino population around West Liberty, Iowa, increased as a result of the meatpacking industry. Today, West Liberty's population is nearly 40 percent Latino, and nearly all from Allende, in the state of Durango, Mexico.

Kropa, a 1998 Grinnell College graduate from Iowa, returns frequently to follow new social and economic developments through photography. He also shoots news, politics, business, and lifestyle images for a number of internationally known publications.

Little Allende, America is on exhibit through Oct. 15 in Burling Gallery, on the lower level of Grinnell College's Burling Library, 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call 641-269-4660 or visit .