Ed Kashi

I take on issues that stir my passions about the state of humanity and our world, and I deeply believe in the power of still images to change people’s minds. I’m driven by this fact; that the work of photojournalists and documentary photographers can have a positive impact on the world. The access people give to their lives is precious as well as imperative for this important work to get done. Their openness brings with it a tremendous sense of responsibility to tell the truth but to also honor their stories. – Ed Kashi

Ed Kashi is a photojournalist, filmmaker, speaker, and educator dedicated to documenting the social and political issues that define our times. A sensitive eye and an intimate relationship to his subjects are signatures of his work. As a member of VII Photo Agency, Kashi has been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition. Through his photography and filmmaking, along with his work as a mentor, teacher and lecturer, Kashi is a leading voice in the photojournalism and visual storytelling community.

Kashi’s innovative approach to photography and filmmaking has produced a number of influential short films and earned recognition by the POYi Awards as 2015’s Multimedia Photographer of the Year. Kashi’s full embrace of technology has led to creative social media projects for a range of clients including National Geographic, The New Yorker, and MSNBC. From implementing a unique approach to photography and filmmaking in his 2006 Iraqi Kurdistan Flipbook, to revolutionary Instagram coverage of Hurricane Sandy for TIME Magazine in 2012, Kashi continues to create compelling imagery and engage with the world in new ways.

Along with numerous awards from World Press Photo, POYi, and other prestigious institutions, Kashi’s images have been published and exhibited worldwide. He has produced eight books, including Photojournalisms, Curse of the Black Gold, Aging in America, and THREE.

In 2002, Kashi in partnership with his wife, writer + filmmaker Julie Winokur, founded Talking Eyes Media. The non-profit company has produced numerous award-winning short films, exhibits, books, and multimedia pieces that explore significant social issues.

Hijabi World (2016)

Hijabi World shares the stories of a group of young Muslim women speaking out about the day-to-day challenges of observing hijab in America. This Talking Eyes Media film was created as part of the Newest Americans collaborative project, and originally appeared in issue #3.

This film was published in the New York Times Lens Blog and The Atlantic.

Under Cane (2015)

In Nicaragua, the average lifespan of men who harvest sugarcane is 49 years. At the root of these early deaths is an epidemic known as Chronic Kidney Disease of nontraditional causes (CKDnT). In the town of Chichigalpa, often called the “Island of Widows,” 1-in-3 men, mostly cane workers, have end-stage renal failure from this fatal occupational disease that is both a public health crisis and a social injustice. In Central America alone, over 20,000 sugarcane workers have died from CKDnT in the past ten years.

Research on the subject of CKDnT indicates that repeated dehydration, severe heat, and environmental toxins might play a huge part in the rising death toll among sugarcane workers. These clues need further investigation and increased media coverage to find solutions to this critical problem that exists in Nicaragua, elsewhere in Central America, and globally. From southern Mexico to Ecuador, Sri Lanka, India and other tropical/subtropical countries, battling CKDnT is of global concern.

The film was originally published on National Geographic News on January 29, 2015.

 

Selected Honors and Distinctions:

America Photo Images of the Year
American Photography
Applied Arts
Artivist Film Festival
Communication Arts
FotoWeek DC Awards Multimedia
IPA Editorial
Open Society Institute Grant, Soros Foundation
PDN Editor’s Choice Award
PDN Photo Annual
The Photographers Giving Back Award
POYi Documentary Journalism 1st Place
POYi Multimedia Award of Excellence
POYi Multimedia Photographer of the Year
Prix Pictet Commission
Px3
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant
UNICEF Photo of the Year
USA Book News National Best Books Awards
World Press Photo

Selected Recent Exhibitions:

SOLO
2016 – In the Hot Zone: CKDnT in Sri Lanka, PhotoReporters Festival, St. Brieuc, France
2016 – Syria Before the Storm, Les Yeux du Monde Art Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
2015  – Profiling: Equality Betrayed, La Place de la République, Paris, France
2015 – Sugarcane: Fuel for Change – Commissioned by Solidaridad, Melkweg Expo, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2014 – Unresolved Dreams: Azerbaijan’s Refugees & IDPs – The European Azerbaijan Society, Berlin, Germany; Paris,  France; London, England
2013 – Saigon on Wheels, Anastasia Photo Gallery, New York, NY
2012 – Eye Contact, Colorado Photographic Ar ts Center (CPAC), Lakewood, Colorado
2011 – Aging in America and Madagascar, The World Financial Center Courtyard Gallery, New York, NY

GROUP
2017 – Lucie Foundation at C40 Mayors Summit, Chapultapec Park, Mexico City,  Mexico
2017 – Dispatches, VII Photo Agency, SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC
2016 – Millennium Villages Project, Ron Haviv, Ed Kashi, Gary Knight, and Danny Wilcox Frazier, United Nations Visitors Lobby, New York, NY
2016 – Made of Sugar & Salt
CBK Galler y, Groningen, Netherlands
2016 – Smile! A Photo Anthology by VII, Gulf Photo Plus, Dubai, UAE
2016 – Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, Somerset House, London, England, Photokina, Cologne, Germany

2015 – #EverydayClimateChange, Photoville, Brooklyn, New York, NY
2015 – #ReframeClimate, Magnum Foundation and Dysturb, Paris, France
2015 – Viral: Photography in the Age of Social Media, Cambridge University, Cambridge, England
2014 – Pingyao International Photo Festival, Pingyao, China

Collections:

@tlas, Permanent Collection, SF MoMA, CA
George Eastman House
International Center of Photography, NY
Middle Tennessee State University
Museum of the City of New York
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
New Orleans Museum of Art
San Jose Museum of Art, CA
Southeast Museum of Photography, FL
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland
University of Louisville Special Collections
Private Collections

Selected Lectures and Workshops:

Anderson Ranch Ar ts Center, Snowmass, CO
Documentary Seminars at PhotoExpo, San Francisco, CA, and New York, NY
Eddie Adams Workshop, New York, NY
Eyes On Progress workshop in Paris
FotoVision Workshops, San Francisco, CA
International Center of Photography, New York, NY
London College of Communications online teaching program
National Geographic Photo Camps
Palm Beach Photographic Workshops, Palm Beach, FL
Palm Springs Photo Festival Workshop
Photographic workshops in Greece, Spain and Italy
San Francisco Academy of Ar t University, online Mentor Program
Syracuse University, Master Photojournalism Workshops, London, England
The Friends of Photography, San Francisco, CA
TPW – Toscana Photographic Workshop, Calcutta, India