Graham MacIndoe & Susan Stellin

Graham MacIndoe is a photographer and Susan Stellin is a writer and researcher who earned a master’s in public health from Columbia University in 2019. They have collaborated on many projects combining interviews and photography—including exhibitions, events, and a memoir, Chancers, about MacIndoe’s addiction, incarceration, and recovery. Their 2021 Photoville exhibition, Preventing Overdose Deaths: How to Save and Uplift Lives, features photos and quotes from staff, volunteers, and participants at community-based health and social justice organizations—sharing their ideas about how to reduce overdose deaths and improve the lives of people who have been harmed by punitive drug policies, discrimination, and poverty.

MacIndoe and Stellin specialize in collaborative storytelling, working with participants to challenge stereotypes and broaden understandings about complex issues and stigmatized groups. In 2019, they co-curated the exhibition Beyond Addiction: Reframing Recovery at the Aronson Galleries in New York City, which then traveled to RIT’s City Art Space in Rochester, New York in 2020—including new work by local artists and participants in a workshop MacIndoe and Stellin. Their series, American Exile, documenting the stories of families divided by deportation, debuted at Photoville in 2015 and was selected for the Head On photography festival in Sydney, Australia in 2016.

Born in Scotland, MacIndoe earned an MFA from the Royal College of Art in London, moved to New York City, and has worked as a photographer since 1999—publishing and exhibiting his work widely, including solo exhibitions at the National Arts Club in New York City, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery—which exhibited images from his series “Coming Clean”. He teaches photography at Parsons School of Design and recently published Light Years, a book of photographs of the Grammy award-winning band The National.

Stellin earned a B.A. in political science from Stanford University, moved to New York City in 1998, and was a regular contributor to The New York Times for more than 15 years. Her articles and essays have also appeared in New York Magazine, the Guardian, the Atlantic, and many other publications. Stellin teaches courses on media ethics and collaborative storytelling. As a research and communications consultant, she has worked on projects about ways to reduce overdose deaths, reform criminal justice practices, and decrease stigma that can be a barrier to seeking help. MacIndoe and Stellin live together in Brooklyn.

Vital Strategies

Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. In November 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $50 million investment to address the country’s overdose crisis. The initiative—a first-of-its-kind partnership between Vital Strategies, Pew Charitable Trusts, CDC Foundation, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health—is helping up to 10 states implement solutions over three years. Its goal is to strengthen and scale up evidence-based, data-driven interventions to reduce risks of overdose and save lives.

www.vitalstrategies.org