TOWN HALL #001
Re-imagining the Future of Visual Journalism
On June 24, 2020 FOTODEMIC hosted its first Town Hall panel discussion: Re-imagining the Future of Visual Journalism with Nina Berman, Brian Palmer, Bayeté Ross Smith and Fred Ritchin.
THE PANEL
At this pivotal moment of social disruption, our understanding of what it means to bear witness is changing. How can we have greater impact with our work? What can we do to explore and uproot systemic racism and other injustices in our societies? How can we do so ethically, without re-victimizing people? What are our responsibilities as image-makers and concerned citizens? The speakers, all of them innovative image-makers with extensive experience confronting these questions, shared ideas on ways to move society forward.
THE SUBJECTS
This series of curated segments taken from a larger discussion cover topics ranging from structures of identity, how people who are stepping out of the status quo should be photographed, photographing with transparency, and ways of using photography to challenge preexisting beliefs and dismantle stereotypes.
#01
The Right To Photograph
#02
Photographing the Invisible
#03
How can the image be a tool for healing?
#04
Challenging Implicit Biases
#05
Proactive vs. Reactive Photography
#06
White Male Gaze
FULL PANEL →
speakers
nina berman
Nina Berman is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, educator and author of three books: Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq, Homeland, and most recently, An Autobiography of Miss Wish. Her work has been recognized with awards in art and journalism from multiple foundations and institutions. She is a professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a member of NOOR images.
brian palmer
Brian Palmer is a Richmond, VA-based journalist whose work has appeared in various publications including the New York Times. He has received numerous awards including the Peabody Award. Before going freelance in 2002, Palmer served in a number of staff positions at organizations like US News & World Report, Fortune, and CNN. With Erin Hollaway Palmer, he is producing Make the Ground Talk, a book and video documentary about the displacement of historic black Virginia communities.
Photo credit: Erin Hollaway
Bayeté Ross Smith
Bayeté Ross Smith is a photographer, artist and educator from New York. He is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and has work in prestigious collections such as The Smithsonian Institution. His work has been exhibited internationally and shown at the Sundance Film Festival. He created a series of public art projects and has been published numerous times including Question Bridge: Black Males in America (2015) and Dis:Integration: The Splintering of Black America (2010). In addition to his creative work, Bayeté helped launch the Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI) in Brooklyn.
Photo credit: Robert Acosta.
MODERATOR
Fred Ritchin
Fred Ritchin is Dean Emeritus of the International Center of Photography and formerly professor of Photography and Imaging at New York University. Ritchin served as picture editor of the New York Times Magazine and co-founded PixelPress, an experimental online publication. He created the first multimedia version of the New York Times, and the online project “Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace” nominated by the Times for a Pulitzer Prize. His books include After Photography and Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary, and the Citizen. He has curated many exhibitions, including An Uncertain Grace: The Photographs of Sebastião Salgado and has received the NPPA John Long Ethics Award.
Photo credit: Maria Cherdantseva