Directors of the Chris Hondros Fund and co-editors of Testament, a collection of Hondros’s writing and photography which was published this year will discuss Hondros’s life and work.
Presenters: Sandy Ciric Francisco Bernasconi Mario Tama Todd Heisler
Location: Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 5 Uplands
Presented by:
As a photographer working in the world’s most difficult and dangerous places, Chris Hondros had the distinctive ability to connect his viewers with people embroiled in far-flung and sometimes obscure conflicts. He recognized the shared humanity among those affected by war, regardless of culture or beliefs, and he was determined to share their challenges to the wider world in the hope of provoking thought, raising awareness, and fostering understanding. Directors of the Chris Hondros Fund and co-editors of Testament, a collection of Hondros’s writing and photography which was published this year will discuss Hondros’s life and work.
Sandy Ciric is the Director of Photography at Getty Images News for the Americas, where she coordinates coverage for Getty’s news wire service. She was a member of the initial team of photographers and editors that helped guide Getty Images’ entry into the editorial market. Prior to her work at Getty Images, Sandy held various positions at the Gamma Liaison photo agency, including manager of the news editing division. Sandy also consults on book projects and exhibitions, and most recently co-edited Testament. She is a graduate of Tufts University and Columbia University, where she earned a masters degree in political science.
Francisco Bernasconi is currently the Vice President for Getty Images’ News where he manages a staff of award-winning photojournalists who capture the defining moments around the globe.
Mario Tama was a freelancer for the Washington Post and Agence France-Press, before joining Getty Images as a staff photographer in 2001 and has since covered global events including September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the funeral of Pope John Paul II and Hurricane Katrina. His work on Baghdad’s orphans was exhibited at Visa Pour L’Image in France and his photographs from Hurricane Katrina were featured in National Geographic, Newsweek and newspapers worldwide. In 2008 he was nominated for an Emmy for his documentary work on Coney Island and won Cliff Edom’s New America Award for his work in New Orleans, amongst numerous other honors.
Todd Heisler is a New York Times staff photographer based in New York City. His work often explores major news stories and how they affect the lives of individuals. In recent years he traveled the U.S. extensively—photographing stories around immigration and elections. During the pandemic he remained in New York, documenting the impact of the coronavirus across the city while, like all journalists, living the story himself.
Heisler’s dogged commitment to this story is evident in other major COVID-19 coverage throughout the crisis. “The New York City of Our Imagination” is a visual contemplation of city life during the pandemic; “The Epicenter” documented Elmhurst, Queens—a neighborhood ravaged by COVID-19.
In 2006, as a staff photographer for the Rocky Mountain News, Heisler received the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography, as well as other recognitions for “Final Salute,” a project that examined the life of a Marine Casualty Assistance Officer and the families of Marines killed in the Iraq War. In 2010, he won a National News and Documentary Emmy as the sole photographer for “One in 8 Million,” a New York Times multimedia project that profiled 54 New Yorkers every week for a year.
The Chris Hondros Fund was established to honor two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and Getty Images photojournalist Chris Hondros, killed on April 20, 2011 while on assignment in Misurata, Libya. The fund’s purpose is to honor Hondros’s legacy by highlighting the ways in which photojournalism brings to light shared human experiences which might otherwise go unreported or unnoticed. As part of the fund’s Education and Awareness program, we support photography and visual education for youth—particularly in underserved communities in New York City. We support individual photographers, students of photography, and nonprofits.
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