April 4-5, Saturday and Sunday -- More than 30 of the world's foremost American Indian, Australian Aborigine and New Zealand Maori photographers will gather to discuss their work and the role of art in establishing "visual sovereignty" in the 21st century at a two-day conference at UC Davis on April 4 and 5. The conference is free and open to the public.

Artist panel sessions will take place at the Sciences Lecture Hall on the UC Davis campus. On Saturday, sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and cover documentary works by pathbreaking photographers, political perspectives, and indigenous studio photography and portraiture. On Sunday, sessions will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and cover "visioning landscapes and communities" and "altered realities."

An exhibit of works by international indigenous photographers, "Visual Sovereignty," will open on Friday, April 3, and remain on view through Sept. 3 at the C.N. Gorman Museum at UC Davis.

The conference and exhibit are supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, University of California Humanities Research Institute and UC Davis, and sponsored by the Gorman.

Founded in 1973 by the UC Davis Department of Native American Studies, the Gorman is one of the few museums in the world that specializes in contemporary indigenous art. It is one of three public art museums on the UC Davis campus.