A cutting-edge and inspiring group of artists share their perspectives to provoke thought and action, driven by their innovative catalogues of documentary photography and photojournalism.
Speakers: Noelle Flores Théard Lynsey Weatherspoon Dee Dwyer Marilyn Nance
Presented by:
Supported by:
Featuring Noelle Flores Théard, Lynsey Weatherspoon, Dee Dwyer and Marilyn Nance
This cutting-edge and inspiring group of artists share their perspectives that transcend mere documentation to provoke thought and action, driven by their innovative catalogues of documentary photography and photojournalism.
Noelle Flores Théard has been the senior digital photo editor at The New Yorker since 2021. She’s also the producer for Photo Booth, the magazine’s online photography column. She was the program officer at Magnum Foundation from 2016 to 2021, and is a co-founder of FotoKonbit, a non-profit organization created in 2010 to engage and support Haitians telling their own stories through photography.
Lynsey Weatherspoon is a portrait and editorial photographer based in both Atlanta and Birmingham. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, ACLU Magazine, USA Today, NPR, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, and ESPN. The fingerprint of heritage can be found on assignments and personal projects featuring Black Lives Matter, Gullah Geechee culture, unsung players in the Negro Baseball League, and the last of a dying breed—a shoe cobbler. Her work has been exhibited at The African American Museum in Philadelphia and Photoville NYC. She is an awardee of The Lit List in 2018 and featured in American Photography 37. Her affiliations include Diversify Photo, Authority Collective, and Women Photograph. She was named a Canon Explorer of Light in 2020.
Headshot by Allen Cooley
Dee Dwyer is a powerful force in the world of photography, curation, and directing raised in the roaring Southeast, Washington, D.C. Known for her inspiring images, Dwyer’s dedication to collecting and sharing stories has earned her the well-deserved title of “The Visual Voice for the People” in her community. Her commitment to showcasing the full spectrum of human existence, with humanity at the forefront, has become her driving force. Dee’s visuals are a window into the souls of people, revealing their adversities, truths, beauty, and culture. In 2024, the National Gallery of Art released a documentary showing the parallels between Dee Dwyer and renowned photographer Dorothea Lange’s photography work. In 2021, she delivered a thought-provoking TEDx talk in collaboration with the University of Washington, titled, “Putting Humanity First within the Media Industry.” Her work has graced the walls of prestigious institutions, including The Phillips Collection, The National Building Museum, PhotoSCHWEIZ, Catchlight, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, and The MLK Library, among many others. Her visuals are in esteemed publications such as Vogue, Rolling Stone, National Geographic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, BET, The Guardian, Bloomberg Businessweek, NPR, and more. She continues her journey of storytelling focusing on humanity.
Photo by Amber Aisha
Marilyn Nance has produced images of unique moments in the cultural history of the US and the African Diaspora. While serving as the photographer for the US delegation of FESTAC ’77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture, Nance made one of the most comprehensive photographic accounts of this landmark Pan-African festival of arts and culture. Marilyn Nance: Last Day in Lagos, published 2022, is a focused study of Nance through an archival encounter with her documentation of FESTAC.
Nance is a two-time finalist for the W. Eugene Smith Award in Humanistic Photography. Her work is in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Library of Congress, and has been published in A World History of Photography, A History of Women Photographers, and The Black Photographers Annual. She lives in New York.
Headshot of Marilyn Nance©️RaFia Santana.
MFON: Women Photographers of the African Diaspora is an independently published anthology edited by Laylah Amatullah Barrayn and Adama Delphine Fawundu. MFON features photographic works created by 118 African and Diasporic women artists representing 27 nations. It will soon be relaunched as an online platform. Our goal is to promote an international representative voice of women photographers from continental Africa and its diaspora.
Founded in 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, Photoville was built on the principles of addressing cultural equity and inclusion, which we are always striving for, by ensuring that the artists we exhibit are diverse in gender, class, and race.
In pursuit of its mission, Photoville produces an annual, city-wide open air photography festival in New York City, a wide range of free educational community initiatives, and a nationwide program of public art exhibitions.
By activating public spaces, amplifying visual storytellers, and creating unique and highly innovative exhibition and programming environments, we join the cause of nurturing a new lens of representation.
Through creative partnerships with festivals, city agencies, and other nonprofit organizations, Photoville offers visual storytellers, educators, and students financial support, mentorship, and promotional & production resources, on a range of exhibition opportunities.
For more information about Photoville visit, www.photoville.com
MPB transforms the way that people buy, sell and trade photo and video gear. As the largest global platform for used photography and videography equipment, MPB is a destination for everyone, whether you’ve just discovered your passion for visual storytelling or you’re already a pro.
Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB has always been committed to making gear more accessible and affordable, and helping to visualize a more sustainable future. MPB recirculates more than 485,000 used products every year, extending the life and creative potential of photo and video equipment for creators around the world.
Headquartered in the creative communities of Brooklyn, Brighton and Berlin, the MPB team includes trained camera experts and seasoned photographers and videographers who bring their passion to work every day to deliver outstanding service.
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