Weber is the author of Bastard Eden, Our Chernobyl, on daily life in a post-atomic world, and Interrogations, which examines authority and power in Russia and Ukraine. His work has appeared in the Guardian, Newsweek, the New York Times Magazine, Stern, and Time, and he has had solo exhibitions at the United Nations, the Portland Museum of Art, and the Alice Austen House (New York). He is a member of the VII Photo Agency. Weber’s photographs from Interrogations are currently showing in Open Society Foundations’ Moving Walls 20 exhibition.

The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities in more than 100 countries, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education. Through grants and the Moving Walls exhibition series, the Open Society Documentary Photography Project supports photography to engage and mobilize people around issues of justice and human rights.

VII was created in 2001 by seven of the world’s leading photojournalists, and by 2005 VII was listed in third position in American Photo’s “100 Most Important People in Photography.” VII now represents 23 of the world’s preeminent photojournalists whose careers span 35 years of world history.

Paolo Woods has published four books with writer Serge Michel including “Chinafrica” on the spectacular rise of the Chinese in Africa that has been translated in eleven languages and has been acclaimed as an exemplary encounter between fine art and documentary photography.

His work is regularly featured in the main international publications. He has had solo exhibitions in, amongst others, France, US, Italy, China, Spain, Germany and Holland and his pictures are in private and public collections. He has received various prizes including two World Press Photo Awards and the Magnum Fund.

Jason Florio is a freelance photographer based in New York City. He has worked around the world for publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Men’s Journal, Outside Magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Virginia Quarterly Review (VQR). His focus has been on under reported stories about people living on the margins of society and in places of conflict. His work has been recognized with a number of international awards, including The International Photography Awards – ‘People Photographer of the Year’ 2010, PX3 Gold Medal – ‘War’ 2011, and the VQR – ‘Prize for Photography’, 2013. He was the first recipient of the JGS/Aperture Foundation grant to produce Aperture’s first ever assigned story, ‘This is Libya’. His work has been exhibited in solo presentations in the USA, Europe and China and is in a number of museum collections. Florio is a proud Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Established at the University of Virginia in 1925, the Virginia Quarterly Review has won six National Magazine Awards in the past decade—more than any literary quarterly in the nation. VQR has published work from 17 Nobel Laureates and more than 50 Pulitzer Prize winners. The magazine publishes photography, photojournalism, nonfiction, fiction, poetry, translations, art, reportage, and criticism. Its many honors include selection as a finalist, National Magazine Award for Photography, 2012; winner, Overseas Press Club Best Use of Online Video, 2011; winner, National Magazine Award for Multimedia Package, 2011; and winner, National Magazine Award for News Reporting in the Digital Medium, 2010. In recent years, VQR has published photography portfolios by Nadia Shira Cohen, Maisie Crow, Jason Florio, Aaron Huey, and Ed Ou, among others. In addition to the print magazine, VQR has online readers in more than 200 countries.

Aloys Ginjaar (1946, Amsterdam) has worked for many years as a photographer, journalist and curator. His work was part of World Press Photo 1973, 1975 & 1977 and since 2000 he’s been organizing the monthly Photographers Evening in Amsterdam. Ginjaar has curated Dutch exhibitions for the New York Photofestival 2011 (Dutch Delight) & Photoville 2012 (The Wonder of Woman). This year he’s been awarded with the Golden Age Award for his activities for the Dutch Photographic community.

In 2011 he asked Astrid Verhoef (1973, Amsterdam) to join his exhibition in New York. Her work has been part of the IJFFF Photo- & Filmfestival 2012, Photoville 2012 and The (Super)Heroes exhibition at the Manhattan Bridge. In 2013 She’s been chosen by GUP Magazine as one of the “New Dutch Photo Talents”.
Astrid started supporting Aloys in organizing the exhibition “The Wonder of Woman” for Photoville 2012 and this year she’s producing Ginjaars’ exhibition “Keep on Dreaming” for Photoville 2013.

FotoFestival Naarden is the oldest photofestival of the Netherlands. It is held once every two years in spring at the medieval and fortified town of Naarden. It is a festival that deals with contemporary and storytelling photography from professional Dutch photographers.

Laurie Jo Reynolds, who was awarded a 2013 Annenberg Prize for Art and Social Change by Creative Time, is an artist , policy advocate and the organizer of Tamms Year Ten, the grassroots coalition that successfully worked to close Illinois’ notorious Tamms supermax prison and initiated the Photo Requests from Solitary project. Jeanine Oleson is an artist, assistant professor of photography at Parsons the New School for Design, and coordinator of the New York Photos from Solitary project. Jean Casella is co-director of Solitary Watch, a web-based journalism project aimed at exposing and documenting this hidden domestic human rights issue. This exhibition is supported by the Open Society Documentary Photography Project, which explores how photography can engage and mobilize people around issues of justice and human rights.

Simply put, our mission is to educate and promote documentary storytellers.

We also exhibit documentary work in our gallery and host documentary-related events.

Schaer has worked on several long-term projects, completing a portfolio of images of the Hudson River Park for the HRP Trust, and documenting the construction of Jane’s Carousel for Jane Walentas. Over the last five years her continued work photographing the build of the Brooklyn Bridge Park has produced over 6,000 images that chronicle the transformation of the 1.3-mile of Brooklyn’s industrial waterfront into New York City’s most exciting new public space.

Schaer received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), but has said it was her years in forensic work, learning to photograph with a recorded neutrality the documentation of a crime scene, its victims and evidence, that influenced her photographic style today.

Teaching Artists’ Bios:

Russell Frederick is a photographer from Brooklyn, NY whose global worldview and keen understanding of the human condition informs his compelling photography. He works with film in medium format and shoots predominantly in black and white. Through his lens he subverts and disengages the current status quo and stereotypes of people of color internationally. He has photographed men, women and children from Bed Stuy, Brooklyn to Kingston, Jamaica. He has photographed the Lower Ninth Ward and the Bloods in Brooklyn.

Russell Frederick tells the story while elevating and exposing the inherent beauty, dignity and honor in his subjects. 

A self-taught photographer with little formal training, Frederick has catapulted from an unfamiliar name to being sought after for his signature photographic style. In a decade he has become a celebrated public speaker, commissioned photographer and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. He was a recipient of a media fellowship sponsored by the Open Society Institute to document the after effects of Hurricane Katrina and he was a winner of the esteemed Gordon Parks International Photography Competition. In addition to these honors, Russell has received grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council and the Urban Artist Initiative as well. From thousands of entries Mr. Frederick was chosen as one of NYC’s outstanding artists of 2010 for Curate NYC. Russell is a member of Kamoinge, a select group of African American photographers whose work collectively chronicles close to five decades of the African Diaspora. Russell’s work has been showcased and published at the New York Times, The Associated Press, The Open Society Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, La Lettre De La Photograpie.com, Photoville, Columbia University, NYU, Columbia College, The Gallerie Galleberg in Norway, The Open Ateliers Zuidoost Gallery in Amsterdam, Netherlands, The University of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, The Goethe Institute in Accra, Ghana, The Reginald Lewis Museum of Baltimore, Maryland, The Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, 25 CPW Gallery, The Aljira Gallery of Newark, New Jersey, The Rush Arts Gallery, The Rotunda Gallery, The Empire State Building, Nordstroms, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Uptown magazine, Ebony magazine, Hycide magazine, Pixelpress.org and many others.



Russell dedicates his time to volunteering and mentoring young adults at the Kings Against Violence Initiative in Brooklyn, NY.

Serving as United Photo Industries’ Creative Director, Sam Barzilay is also the co-founder of Photoville, a new pop-up photo destination that made its debut on the Brooklyn waterfront in the summer of 2012.

Prior to founding United Photo Industries and launching the United Photo Industries Gallery, he was the Director of the New York Photo Festival. In his dual capacity as curator and festival organizer, he has had the pleasure and privilege of curating photo exhibitions and lecturing on current trends in contemporary photography as far as China, Greece, USA, and Japan.
Over the past few years, he has served as juror, nominator, and reviewer for the Prix Pictet, Les Rencontres d’Arles, Houston FotoFest, the New York Photo Awards, Artists Wanted, the Google Photography Prize, the SilverEye Fellowship, and the FotoVisura Grant, among many others.

Brenna McLaughlin is a photographer and educator who believes the camera is an important pedagogical instrument. Her work has been published in New City Magazine and The Chicago Tribune. In addition to exhibiting widely in Chicago and New York, Ms. McLaughlin has provided imagery for several non-profits including the Brooklyn Food Coalition and the South African Development Fund.

Photography is a constant record of history and a way to tell inventive stories. Through both analog and digital photography Ms. McLaughlin’s work gives an interesting perspective on ordinary life. She appreciates the imperfections in her photographs and has been working in analog still photography for over ten years. Ms. McLaughlin serves as the Teaching Artist for the JustArts: Photography program. She helped develop the curriculum for the program and provided daily instruction to the participants. Brenna received her graduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her undergraduate degree from Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.

Janay McNeill is a Photography Assistant for The Photo Voice Summer Program. She has a great interest for photography and enjoys working with the youth. In the past she has worked with Episcopal Social Services as an Activities Specialist and resident artist, teaching cooking classes along with basic kitchen skills to adolescents. Currently Janay is an aspiring chef at New York City College of Technology, pursuing a career in the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. Although her passion is food, assisting and working for The PhotoVoice program has heightened her interest for photography. She loves the idea of capturing her art and personal style through a lens and thrives off of creativity and individuality. Her short-term goal is to create a program for teens that will merge the worlds of food, photography, and education providing an outlet for teens to express their creativity through cooking and photography.

Facilitators’ Bios:

Jessica Colon – Ms. Colon is the Deputy Project Director at the Red Hook Community Justice Center. She currently oversees the planning, implementation and management of the Justice Center’s programs and operations. Ms. Colon has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit management and public policy. She has a B.S. from Seton Hall University and an M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University. Ms. Colon will provide general supervision to program staff and manage coordination between the program’s sites and partners.

Viviana Gordon – Ms. Gordon is the Coordinator of Operations at the Brownsville Community Justice Center. She currently helps to oversee the Justice Center’s day-to-day programming and operations as well as strategic planning and implementation. Ms. Gordon has 6 years of experience in program coordination and clinical work in both criminal justice and community-based settings. Ms. Gordon has a B.A. from Whitman College. Ms. Gordon will supervise the PhotoVoice program’s operations in Brownsville including the recruitment of eligible court-involved youth participants.

Sabrina Carter – Ms. Carter holds a BA in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and has been involved in youth programming for five years at the Red Hook Community Justice Center. In her career she has overseen and supervised Teen Peer Education programs, Youth Court, facilitates trainings and has acted as a mentor and role model to the youth she has come into contact with. She has been featured in the January 2011 New York State Bar Association Journal and is a long time resident of the Red Hook Community. Sabrina believes engaging youth in a positive way through the arts and after school programs is an essential part of keeping them focused on a positive path for their future.

Kathleen Christie – Kathleen A. Christie, LCSW joined BAC in November 2006 and is the Arts in Education Director. She earned her M.S. in Social Work at Columbia University and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). She has more than l4 years of professional experience in the education field. Prior to formally joining BAC, she taught elementary and middle school students; she also worked with the criminal justice and social welfare systems of NYC, most significantly with women, children and adolescents. She has worked extensively with NYC public schools and has particular expertise in working with challenging educational situations. In addition to BAC, Ms. Christie currently consults for educational institutions, such as Harlem Children’s Zone and Story Pirates, and as a therapist in private practice. She has also taught photography and ceramics, is in multiple book clubs, frequents museums and galleries, and can be found pushing shutter buttons on occasion. She will provide administrative and creative direction to the program.

The Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) fights the cycle of poverty in New York City through innovative programs that build human capital and improve financial security. Launched by Mayor Bloomberg in 2006, CEO works with both City agencies and the federal government to implement successful anti-poverty initiatives in New York and partner cities across the United States.

Launched in June 2000, the Red Hook Community Justice Center is the nation’s first multi-jurisdictional community court. Operating out of a refurbished Catholic school in the heart of a geographically and socially isolated neighborhood in southwest Brooklyn, the Justice Center seeks to solve neighborhood problems using a coordinated response. The courthouse is the hub for an array of unconventional programs that contribute to reducing fear and improving public trust in government.

Currently in planning, the Brownsville Community Justice Center seeks to reengineer how the justice system works in Brownsville, Brooklyn. In particular, the Justice Center is dedicated to building multiple off-ramps for young people who come into contact with the justice system. The ultimate goal is to reduce crime and the use of incarceration, while at the same restoring local faith in the justice system.

BAC’s Arts in Education (AIE) program provides a wide array of educational arts experiences for students, teachers, parents, and community members in digital, literary, performing, and visual arts. Our collaborative process allows for personalized programming, enriching hands-on experiences, and enhanced depth of knowledge. We instill skills and positive attitudes about the arts that are designed to be retained for a lifetime.

The mission at United Photo Industries is to promote and showcase emerging photographers through curated exhibitions around the world. Working in partnership with local galleries and key media partners, they concentrate on producing site-specific exhibitions that explore new thematic directions in photography. Drawing upon an international network of curatorial partners, they are able to provide unique exhibition opportunities for emerging photographers and facilitate their entry into foreign art markets.

Prints by McNair Evans, Erica McDonald, Matt Eich, Michael Jang, Lacey Terrell, and Eliot Dudik, as selected by Gwen Lafage.

Larissa Leclair is the Founder of the Indie Photobook Library.

Darius Himes is the Director of Fraenkel Gallery and Co-Founder of Radius Books.

The Indie Photobook Library (www.indiephotobooklibrary.org) is a U.S. based archive that collects and showcases self-published and indie published photobooks, and facilitates discourse on trends in contemporary publishing and scholarly research now and in the future. Since May of 2010, the iPL has organized over twenty pop-up library spaces, events, and feature-length exhibitions in the United States, Canada, Guatemala and China.

J A Mortram is a documentary photographer, environmental portraitist and member of the Aletheia Photos collective. Jim’s work is centred on creating an expansive long-form photographic essay “Small Town Inertia,” which explores the intimate and untold stories of marginalised individuals in the small rural community in which he lives in East Anglia, UK. His photography and stories have been awarded and published widely.

aCurator is a full-screen photography website and award-winning blog, edited and published by Julie Grahame in New York since 2010. Showcasing emerging and established photographers, aCurator provides a clean, elegant platform to display images. Julie has a 20+ year history working with photographers.