Sara Naomí Lewkowicz, a graduate student studying photojournalism at Ohio University, began photographing Shane and Maggie in September of 2012. She had set out to document the difficulties Shane faced as a convicted felon trying to rebuild his life. One night, after several months of intermittently documenting the couple, the mounting tensions in their relationship exploded into violence, which Sara documented. During this artist talk, Sara will walk the audience through the events of the evening and her experience that transitioned her life and career from a student to a photojournalist and advocate against domestic abuse.
Presenters: Sara Naomi Lewkowicz
Moderators: Donna Ferrato
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 5 Uplands
Presented by:
Sara Naomí Lewkowicz, a graduate student studying photojournalism at Ohio University, began photographing Shane and Maggie in September of 2012. She had set out to document the difficulties Shane faced as a convicted felon trying to rebuild his life. One night, after several months of intermittently documenting the couple, the mounting tensions in their relationship exploded into violence, which Sara documented. During this artist talk, Sara will walk the audience through the events of the evening and her experience that transitioned her life and career from a student to a photojournalist and advocate against domestic abuse.
Sara will go on to talk about how the photos have impacted her life as a female photojournalist and student. She will address her new goal to develop an educational/training program that police departments, victims’ advocacy organizations and battered women’s shelters can use, as well as, her interest in documenting a variety of issues, particularly those that center on gender and sexuality. Finally, during a Q&A period moderated by Donna Ferrato, Sara will discuss domestic violence and the role that visual and social media.
Sara Lewkowicz is a native New Yorker with a master’s degree in visual communication from Ohio University in Athens. She received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Sara is a two-time World Press Photo winner, she was awarded first place in Contemporary Issues in 2014, and third place in the same category in 2016. She was the 2014 L’Iris d’Or winner, and has won several other grants and awards, including the 2013 Alexia Student Grant, and the 2013 Ville de Perpignan Rémi Ochlik Award, and she has been named the 2013 College Photographer of the Year by POYi.
Her work has been published in National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, TIME Magazine, Der Spiegel, L’Espresso, and numerous other magazines and newspapers.
Donna Ferrato is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist, known for her groundbreaking documentation on the hidden world of domestic violence. Her seminal book, Living With the Enemy (Aperture 1991), went into four printings and, alongside exhibitions and lectures across the globe, sparked a national discussion on sexual violence and women’s rights. In 2014, Ferrato launched the campaign, I Am Unbeatable, to expose, document, and prevent domestic violence against women and children through real stories of real people.
Ferrato has contributed to almost every major news publication in the country, and her photographs have appeared in nearly 500 solo exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide. She has been a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the W. Eugene Smith Fund and was president and founder of the nonprofit Domestic Abuse Awareness Project (501-c3). She has been a recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant, the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Outstanding Coverage of the Plight of the Disadvantaged, the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, the Missouri Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service in Journalism, the Tribeca Film Festival’s Artist of the Year award, and LOOK3’s Insightful Artist of the Year award. In 2008, the City of New York proclaimed October 30 “Donna Ferrato Appreciation Day,” and in 2009, she was honored by the judges of the New York State Supreme Court for her work on advancing gender equality.
Ferrato’s most recent project focuses on the spirit and evolution of TriBeCa. She has just released her fourth limited edition TriBeCa portfolio, and will soon publish a book on the recent history of the neighborhood.
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