Inside the CIA, secretive officers showcase artworks -- and themselves.
Each spring, hundreds of CIA officers display their handcrafted works of art for all to see. Well, at least all those with the top secret clearance required to walk the halls at headquarters.
"In some cases, our officers have very stressful jobs, and they do pretty amazing things, and it offers an opportunity for them to blow off some steam," said Chuck, a volunteer show curator and active-duty CIA officer whose last name must be kept secret. There were oil paintings, clay sculptures and photographs. Needlepoint and delicate blown glass were among those awarded best-in-show. Avant-garde furniture pieces and 3D art works are among the more eclectic submissions and conversation starters.
The culture of secrecy at the CIA prevents many employees from openly sharing details about their work outside the office, and, officials said, it also limits the sharing of details about their personal lives on the inside. CIA officers were the first U.S. forces on the ground in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and it was the CIA that discovered Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan nine years later."9/11, for many people, but particularly folks within this building, in the agency, was a marker stone in time. A lot of folks were energized. We had a huge hiring boom," Chuck said.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A CIA suicide sparks hard questions about the agency’s Memorial WallOf 129 fallen employees honored with engraved stars, Ranya Abdelsayed alone took her own life.
Read more »
Ex-CIA agent gets 20-year sentence for spying for ChinaAn ex-CIA officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for spying for China in a case called part of an 'alarming trend' in the US intelligence community. Kevin Mallory, 62, was convicted under the Espionage Act for selling classified US 'defense information' to a Chinese intelligence
Read more »
The inside story of why Amazon bought PillPack in its effort to crack the $500 billion prescription marketAlmost a year after buying PillPack for $750 million, Amazon is counting on its CEO, TJ Parker, to drive an aggressive pharmacy strategy.
Read more »
Inside the Effort to Diversify Middle School in New YorkA new admissions lottery in Brooklyn delights some parents but has others scrambling to figure out where to enroll their children for middle school.
Read more »
Inside the luxurious department store founded by one of the most important figures in Mormon historyBrigham Young, one of the most important leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, technically founded a department store too.
Read more »
Inside Impossible Foods' mission to mass-produce the fake burger of the futureFake burgers are for real. The successful IPO of Beyond Meat and recent national restaurant-chain deals for Impossible Foods indicate that the cattle-based meat industry has a long-term problem on its hands. And the science of plant-based burgers keeps getting better in a way that cows are not.
Read more »
Inside opening night at the Cannes Film FestivalCannes kicks off with the premiere of 'The Dead Don't Die,' but the lead up to the screening is a lot of pomp and some very French circumstances.
Read more »