D O C U M E N T A R Y    M A T T E R S  

Panel discussion with Jamel Shabazz and Joseph Rodriguez
Moderated by Lisa DuBois

Wednesday, October 13, 7:00 pm ET

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Legendary photographers Jamel Shabazz and Joseph Rodriguez will each present and talk about their photography exploring communities close to them including in New York and Los Angeles, and will also discuss their insights on making documentary images today. 

Left: Photo by Jamel Shabazz. Right: Photo by Josesph Rodriguez

Co-sponsored by Digital Silver Imaging

Joseph Rodriguez

Joseph Rodríguez is a documentary photographer born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He studied photography at the School of Visual Arts and at the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Program at the International Center of Photography in New York City. Recent exhibitions of his work have appeared at Galleri Kontrast, Stockholm, Sweden; The African American Museum, Philadelphia, PA; The Fototeca, Havana, Cuba; Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, Open Society Institute’s Moving Walls, New York; Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery at the Walter Reade Theater at the Lincoln Center; and the Kari Kenneti Gallery Helsinki, Finland. In 2001, the Juvenile Justice website, featuring Joseph Rodriguez's photographs, launched in partnership with the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival High School Pilot Program. Joseph teaches at New York University, the International Center of Photography, New York and has also taught at universities in Mexico and Europe. Rodriguez won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1993 photographing gang families in East Los Angeles. He is the author of Spanish Harlem (1994); East Side Stories: Gang Life in East Los Angeles (2000); Juvenile (2004); Flesh Life Sex in Mexico City (2006); Taxi: Journey Through My Windows 1977-1987 (2020); Still Here: Stories After Katrina (2008), and Spanish Harlem: El Barrio in the 80s (2017).

Jamel Shabazz

Jamel Shabazz is best known for his iconic photographs of New York City during the 1980s. He has authored 10 monographs, and contributed to over three dozen other photography-related books. His photographs have been exhibited worldwide and his work is housed within the permanent collections of The Whitney Museum, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Fashion Institute of Technology, The Gordon Parks Foundation and the Getty Museum. Over the years, Shabazz has instructed young students at the Studio Museum in Harlem’s “Expanding the Walls” project, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture “Teen Curators” program, and the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. He is also the 2018 recipient of the Gordon Parks award for his commitment to documentary photography. Shabazz is a member of the photo collective Kamoinge. As an artist his goal is to contribute to the preservation of world history and culture.  Photo of Jamel Shabazz by Michael McCoy.

Lisa DuBois

Lisa DuBois is a New York-based ethnographic photojournalist and curator. Her work focuses on subcultures within mainstream society. Her widely collected work on Black subculture in New Orleans is a demonstration of her deep love for history and tradition. She has exhibited her work both internationally and domestically, including at the The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and at the Gordon Parks Museum in Fort Kansas. She has been interviewed on BronxNet, Nola TV, and Singleshot about her work. Lisa received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and a degree in Metaphysical Science at the University of Metaphysics. As a freelance photographer, she has contributed to several major news publications and stock photo agencies including Getty, Post, and the Daily News. Lisa has been recognized by the Guardian and the New York Times for her work as a photographer and curator for X Gallery.  Her most recent project as creative consultant and curator for ArtontheAve helped to launch the first socially distanced outdoor exhibition along Columbus Avenue in New York City. Lisa is a member of Enfoco and a contributor to Social Documentary Network and Edge of Humanity magazine. Photo of Lisa DuBois by Eduardo Duarte.

Documentary Matters

Documentary Matters is an initiative of the Social Documentary Network and Digital Silver Imaging to provide a place for photographers to meet with others involved with or interested in documentary photography and discuss ongoing or completed project. This is a free and open meeting for anyone interested in presenting, viewing, or discussing documentary photography.

You don't need to be a professional, expert, or established--you just need to be committed to the documentary form and committed to learning from feedback from others. And you don't need to be a photographer or presenting your work to attend. Everyone is invited to join us, look, listen, and comment. Still photography, multimedia, and video encouraged. Documentary required.