Julie Winokur
“Newest Americans” reaches across media formats: documentary film, photography, fiction and nonfiction essays, podcasting and interactive storytelling.
Presenters: Mohamed Alsiadi Ashley Gilbertson Sara Grossman Ed Kashi Tim Raphael Hamna Saleem Dina Sayedahmed Julie Winokur
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park – Emily Warren Roebling Plaza
Number 1 on the official photoville map
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“Newest Americans” chronicles the immigrant experience from the vantage point of the most diverse campus in the United States, Rutgers University-Newark, according to U.S. News & World Report. Recognizing Newark as a bellwether for the demographic future of the entire country, this project generates fresh narratives about our emerging majority-minority population and the nation it is transforming.
“Newest Americans” reaches across media formats: documentary film, photography, fiction and nonfiction essays, podcasting and interactive storytelling. Since 2014, we have produced a digital magazine, mounted gallery and museum exhibits, and hosted numerous public humanities events that engage audiences in in-depth conversations about the challenges and opportunities presented by immigration. We generate both hyper-local stories and documentaries on the wider impact of people connected to the city—making this a project with both Jersey roots and a global reach.
“Newest Americans” is a collaboration between Talking Eyes Media, an award-winning social documentary production company; VII Photo, an internationally renowned collective of photojournalists; and Rutgers University-Newark (RU-N). Professional journalists, media-makers and artists work alongside RU-N faculty and students to create stories that reframe the immigration experience in America.
Ashley Gilbertson is an Australian photographer and writer living in New York City, widely recognized for his critical eye and unique approaches to social issues. Gilbertson is a member of the VII Photo Agency, a frequent contributor to The New York Times, and a collaborator with the United Nations. Gilberton’s work from Iraq earned critical acclaim from the Overseas Press Club, which awarded him the Robert Capa Gold Medal for his 2004 work in Fallujah. Gilbertson’s first book, “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot,” released in 2007 to critical acclaim, went on to become a bestseller. After Iraq, Gilbertson shifted his focus to veteran issues, drawing attention to post traumatic stress disorder, suicide, and traumatic brain injuries. Since 2014, Gilbertson has been examining global migration, with an emphasis on the arrival and integration of refugees in Europe, and the root causes for migration from Africa.
Ed Kashi is a critically acclaimed photojournalist who uses photography, filmmaking, and social media to explore geopolitical and social issues. A dedicated educator and mentor to photographers around the world, Kashi lectures frequently on visual storytelling, human rights, and the world of media.
A member of VII Photo Agency since 2010, Kashi has been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition. His early adoption of hybrid visual storytelling has produced a number of influential short films and in 2015 he was named Multimedia Photographer of the Year by Pictures of the Year International.
His work has appeared in National Geographic, Open Society Foundations, The New Yorker, MSNBC, GEO, Human Rights Watch, MediaStorm, NBC.com, The New York Times Magazine, Oxfam, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and TIME. His work has been published and exhibited worldwide, receiving numerous awards and honors, and he has published nine books of his photography.
Talking Eyes Media is a nonprofit production company whose work stimulates public dialogue and advocates for positive social change. Based in New Jersey, Talking Eyes Media has produced films, books and essays that have appeared on MSNBC, PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, The New York Times, The Washington Post and many other major media outlets.
VII is a storied photo agency, founded a few days before 9/11 to challenge the convergence in the photography business, when the trend for giant companies swallowing smaller independent agencies started. VII went small and photographer-owned, believing in the power and energy of collective effort, when everyone else seemed to be going big and corporate.
VII remains a disruptive and innovative business, unafraid to swim against the prevailing currents. VII has turned its gaze far from the frontline of its foundation. It has earned a reputation for uncompromising photography immersed in the great issues of today. VII photographers and filmmakers are as likely to be found focusing on race, gender, and identity, as they are on migration or conflict.
Amplifying local voices and addressing the complex political, environmental, and social questions facing families everywhere, VII places great value in the power of images to tell important stories. The members of VII are motivated by issues, and are proud to elevate those issues above the cult of the image, or the cult of the photographer.
The Center for Migration and the Global City (CMGC) is an incubator for multidisciplinary scholarship, public humanities and civic engagement that addresses the local and global effects of migration. CMGC is based on the campus of Rutgers University-Newark.
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