press release summer 2016

ORDRE & DESORDRETIME LINES

EL COSTO HUMANOPABLO ERNESTO PIOVANO

FRACTURED STATEDOMINIC NAHR

MEN, MOUNTAINS & THE SEARONY ZAKARIA

SLOW-DRAWINGHYONG-RYOL BAK

SOUNDS OF BLIKKIESDORPLAURENCE BONVIN

PRESS RELEASE SUMMER 2016

FONDATION MANUEL RIVERA-ORTIZ F O R D O C U M E N T A R Y F I L M A N D P H O T O G R A P H Y

from July, 4th to September, 25th :: everyday from 10h >19h18 rue de la calade - Arles :: www.mrofoundation.org

FREE ENTRANCE

GRANTS’ FINALISTSFOR THE DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE MANUEL RIVERA-ORTIZ FOUNDATION

GRANTS’ FINALISTS FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM OF THE MANUEL RIVERA-ORTIZ FOUNDATION

SOLAR PORTRAITSRUBÉN SALGADO ESCUDERO

TIME LAGPATRIZIA BONANZINGA

18 rue de la Calade, 13200 Arles, France+33 4 90 54 15 63mrofoundation.org

Ouverture : 10H00 à 19H00, 7j/7j1

Opening week program:

4th till 9th of July “OPEN SCREEN“, portfolio reviews from 10 a.m. 1 p.m. and projections of the selected portfolios from 8 p.m. till midnight

July 6th Press visit / breakfast coffee (10 a.m.)

July 6th Awards ceremony (5 p.m.)

July 6th Opening reception (6 p.m.)

Practical information:

From 10 am to 7 pm The exhibitions are open everyday from July 4th to September 25th

From 8 pm till midnight From the 4th till the 9th of July: projections of the selected portfolios

FREE ENTRANCE

18, rue de la calade - Arles / www.mrofoundation.org


Ouverture : 10H00 à 19H00, 7j/7j

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation offers a visual experience that seeks to document our contemporary History, to depict its complexity and to denounce its inconsistencies.

The Hôtel Blain is once again the undeniable representator of documentary photography and film in Arles. Through his exhibition “Fractured State“, the photographer Dominic NAHR, supported by the Fotostiftung Schweiz and Pro Helvetia, depicts the young history of South Sudan through sharp images. From the big hopes of the country’s creation 5 years ago to the humanitarian disaster of today, this exhibition presents a research that is an icon of its time and which, through allegories and documents, experiments with testimony and commintment, photojournalism and documentary. We are happy and grateful that this exhibition is part of the program in collaboration with the Rencontres d’Arles. Curators: Peter Pfrunder, Dominic Nahr and Nicolas Havette.

In echo to the title of our global program: “Time Lines“ we are happy yo show the last project of Patrizia BONANZINGA, “Time Lag“, which uses photography to express the different lifestyles in geographically, economically and socially contrasting countries. Pablo Ernesto PIOVANO shares with us “El Costo Humano”. A new chapter of his work that was made thanks to the help of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation 2015 grant. He brings us to take full conscience of the massive use of pesticides in Argentinean agricultures and its desastrous consequences. It is a poignant and indelible testimony of the risky political experiments of a country that took a path which nations today should run away from.

Rubén SALGADO ESCUDERO: “Solar Portraits“.The artist witnesses of an irreversible transition in these villages around the world, where people still live with no electricity. For him, the solar panels and photovoltaics energy are the natural evolution of modernity. Some of these images already show an introduction of this new energy source that makes the life of the local populations better. A modernity which is meaningful for all those populations.

The work of Rony ZAKARIA, “Men, Mountains & the Sea” which won the Prize of PHOTOLUX Festival 2015, talks about humanitarian rites, traditions marked by a spirituality and a poetic beauty that binds, on this Indonesian archipelago, Man and Nature. Curator: Dimitri Beck

TIMELINESORDRE / DÉSORDRE

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In the heritage of the Slow movement as well as in the alignment of this exploration between Man and Nature, Hyong-Ryol BAK supported by the Korean Foundation GoEun, exhibits “Slow-Drawing”. Navigating between surfaces and perspectives, the artist invites us to follow him in a personal interpretation of fractures of contemporary landscape. Curator: Sunghee Lee.

Visitors could also discover the work of the photographers and videographers who are shortlisted for the documentary photography and film grants of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation 2016 (selection in progress...). Be prepared for some beautiful international discoveries.

Between heritage of photojournalism and contemporary documentary engagement, the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation seeks to be a constant support to creation as well as a friendly mee-ting point for all generations, during the Rencontres d’Arles but also during the year. We are happy to generously share all these works of high etichal quality with the public of Arles this summer 2016.

Nicolas HavetteArtistic Director of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation

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He was also known for his work in Sudan at the World Press Photo 2013, in Egypt and Somaliaand in Sudan by the ”Pictures of the Year Award” in 2012 and 2013. In January 2015, he was thePhotographer of the Year at Photo15 in Zurich. His clients include TIME, The New Yorker, Wired,Outside, Stern, Schweizer illustrierte, NZZ.

Dominic Nahr was born in Switzerland in 1983 and raised in Hong Kong. He obtained a BFA in Photography from the Ryerson University in Toronto. In 2009, Dominic Nahr was the first winner of the Oskar Barnack Newcomer Award. In 2010, the artist has been chosen to participate at Joop Swart’s masterclass sponsored by World Press Photo.

Programme associé des Rencontres d’Arles

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

PAYS BRISÉ, Dominic NahrCurated by : Peter Pfrunder, Dominic Nahr et Nicolas Havette

As South Sudan got its independence in 9th July 2011, it became apparent that it was the youngestvictimes across the world (including the 193rd member of the UNO) that were most vulnerable.They are a model for peace, prosperity, friendship and cooperation between populations. Five years later, the ONU’s reports denounce the desperate situation in South Sudan: wars, violence,famine and diseases have led East African States to a true humanitarian catastrophe. As he fol-lows many families who are crossing the country in search of safety and as he spends time with the men who are causing these sufferings, Dominic Nahr seeks to show the incoherence between the original idea - generate a peaceful and united country - and the reality that people have to face today.

An exhibition produced by The Swiss Foundation of Photography (Winterthur) in collaborationwith the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation (Arles).

With the support of The Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

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A house burned after being hit by fragments of a bomb dropped by a Sudanese Armed Forces jet. Nuba Mountains, Sudan, 2012.

© Dominic Nahr

An oil worker stands near where a bomb from SAF forces had hit, while SPLA and Oil workers watch from above. Sudan, Unity, 2012.

© Dominic Nahr

Thousands of South Sudanese from the nearby region wait in line for a distribution in the otherwise empty and destroyed Leer in Unity State. Leer, South Sudan, 2015.

© Dominic Nahr

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TIME LAG, Patrizia Bonanzinga



Visions and texts: Patrizia Bonanzinga, a photographer and globetrotter, worked in Mozam-bique from 2006 to 2012.

Here, in work inspired by many meetings and documented with many negatives, she recounts her time in the former Portuguese colony. The leitmotif of this collection is a reflection on the theme of time: she uses photography to understand how time is skilled in countries that are poles apart.

Marta Dassù, a political scientist, writes in her introduction: - “We have to go faster”: Mozam-bique premier Aires Bonifacio Alì remarked in a single breath a few months ago. Faster: pe-rhaps circular time, the time in which one day follows on from the other and they are all alike, is about to run out. And perhaps one of those poor countries on the African continent is now entering linear time, our kind of time, at its own speed. Can we kid ourselves that the clocks in Africa and in Europe can carry on showing a different time forever?

Silvana Turzio, a photo-historian and curator, writes: - This work brings us face to face with the clear and urgent need to experience diversity and to integrate it into our way of envisioning the world. Today, as we try to analyze and understand the complexity of the contemporary world, this kind of thinking takes on a new life: here it is clearly visible.

Bonanzinga’s photography moves without hesitation. Relationships between people, or rela-tionships between those people and the land in which they live and die, are the most precious of lymph for her photographic project.

Her focus on human relationships is born also of a very specific desire to highlight the difference in the way time is experienced in cultures so distant from one another as the European culture and the culture of Mozambique. Photography, the means chosen to achieve this, makes it very difficult to describe that intention, yet the dominant feature in this work is the presence of people, of men, women, old folk and children who seem to abandon themselves to experiencing time in a manner that is poorly structured in social terms and perceived on a subjective plane.

Time Lag is a project presented in a form of a book, an exhibition, and a video. The video (8min) is assembled with a special cutting realised together with Davide Gironi.



Maputo - Infantario Premiero de Mayo - 2007 © Patrizia Bonanzinga

Maputo - Mafalala - 2007© Patrizia Bonanzinga

Maputo - Museo di Storia Naturale - 2009© Patrizia Bonanzinga



Her work has been shown in Italy, in the United States, in China, in Russia, in Poland, in Spain, in France, in Belgium, and in Portugal.

Her photos are included in the collections of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Italy, the MAXXI National Museum of Arts of XXI century, Italy, the House of Photography of Moscow, Russia, the Training and Documentation Centre Ricardo Ranger, Mozambique, the Ministry of Foreign Affair, Italy, the Basso Foundation, Italy, and also in private collections.

In May 2003, she is the curator of three exhibitions at the gallery Officina Arte al Borghetto within the framework of the FotoGrafia, 2nd International Festival of Photography, Rome, Italy: Made in China from Rhodri Jones, Shi Ma? from Bertrand Meunier, and Chinese collectivities from Gao Brothers, Han Lei, Tie Uing, Zhang Da Li and Xing Danwen.

She develops her work in two different planes: on the one hand, she travels to sensitive areas, with a clear intent to convey a message, using the analogical classic technique; on the other, she questions the relationship between photography and reality by building medium-format digital photos where she dissects and reassembles her images, forging yet another, different kind of reality.

Patrizia Bonanzinga was born in Balzano, Italy, in 1954. Mathematician and photographer she has lived in many countries: Mexico, Algeria, USA, France, China, and Belgium.

It’s in Beijing (1995-1998) where she focuses her work only in photography, dedicating to this country several projects.

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SOUNDS OF BLIKKIESDORP, Laurence BonvinSounds of Blikkiesdorp depicts the daily life in Blikkiesdorp, a new temporary housing area in CapeTown’s periphery. Set up by the municipality, it is occupied since 2008 by people with differentpasts; some lived in a camp of squats nearby, others have been moved out of the city brutally tothis hostile and isolated place some time before the world cup. In spite of the harsh livingconditions and the uncertainty regarding their future, these people that we meet randomly do theirbest to develop houses, to make a living et to keep an alerted mind. In a zone where everything isinformal, with lack of ressources, music becomes the link between the architecture, the avenuesand the people: the original soundtrack of Blikkiesdorp.

Sound of Blikkiesdorp, HD video, 25 min., image, sound, 2014 Filmed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2012Product in Switzerland by Laurence Bonvin

Image: Laurence Bonvin Sound: Ashley Walters Mix: Gilles AubryEditing: Orsola Valenti, Laurence Bonvin

GRANT WINNER OF THE FOUNDATION MANUEL RIVERA-ORTIZ 2015 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM

Still © Laurence Bonvin

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After a first year of residency in South Africa in 2009, she produced many photographic series including her second film “Sons of Blikkiesdorp” (2014). Laurence Bonvin has wildly exhibited her work in Switzerland and worldwide.

Her most recent exhibitions include Xenopolis, DB Kunsthalle, Berlin, 2015; Passing, Mamco, Ge-nève, 2013; Concrete, Fotomuseum Winterthur, 2013; Communitas, Camera Austria, Graz, 2011; In/Out, Photo Workshop Gallery, Johannesburg, 2011; On The Edges, CPIF, Paris, 2010; On Location, Museum für Photographie, Braunschweig, 2009; On The Edges Of Paradise, Center forPhotography, Geneva, 2008; L’Europe en devenir, Swiss Center Cultural, Paris, 2007; The Photo-graphers (with Juul Hondius), Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul, 2007; Global Cities, Tate Modern, Londres, 2007; Welt Bilder 2, Helmhaus, Zürich, 2007.

Laurence Bonvin is also the author of four publications: “Ghostown“ (Madrid Abierto, 2010), “Freizeit“ (Atelier Sch ö Nhauser Berlin, 2009), “On The Edges Of Paradise“ (edition nk, Zürich,2008), “Cahier d’artiste, Laurence Bonvin“ (Pro Helvetia & Edizione Peri eria, 2007).

In 2012, she begins to work in film et co-directs her first short film “After Vegas” with Stéphane Degoutin. She currently works on her third short film “Abidjan, avant le vol” 2015.

Laurence Bonvin teaches photography at the Ecal, Art and Design University of Lausanne, Swit-zerland since 2002. She lives and works between Lausanne and Berlin.

Laurence Bonvin was born in Sierre, Switzerland in 1967 and studied photo-graphy in Arles, France. Her work is mostly about the landscape’s transforma-tion around urban centers and other suburbs phenomenas.

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EL COSTO HUMANO, Pablo Ernesto PiovanoAfter more than a decade of struggle and protest expressed by Argentinean villagers who are affected by chemical treatments of agricultural exploitation, social organisations and doctors continue to resist to big companies that exploit Argentina. The World Health Organization has confirmed: Glyphosate can cause cancer.

Even though most governments disapprove of using chemical products in agriculture, the Argen-tinean government encourages the use of transgenics seeds for cultures, knowing that the use of chemical products for agriculture is unhealthy, like Glyphosate.

For now, none of the official personalities has said anything regarding the subject and the voices of those who are touched by it are ignored.

The documentary project “El Costo Humano” led by Pablo Ernesto Piovano since 2010, investi-gates the impact that 20 years of blind use of products issued of agrochemistry has on the popula-tion, in the rural region of the North East of the country. The work focuses on Entre Rios, Missions and Chaco, where agrumes, fruits, sunflowers, maté, tobacco and wheat are cultivated.

This research and photographic documentation has been possible thanks to the NGO “Doctors’ network in the pulverized villages”, which eased contacting families who are touched by the pro-blem in each village.

This work is not only a documentary project, it is most of all a denunciation !

GRANT WINNER OF THE FOUNDATION MANUEL RIVERA-ORTIZ 2015 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY

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Since 2006 and until today, he shows his production annually at the “Photojournalists Association of Argentina” exhibition which take place in the Palais de Glace in Buenos Aires.

In 2014, he had the solo show “Portrait 2004-2014” at the Documentary Photography Biennal of Tucuman, Argentina, introducing portraits of many influentials politic and cultural personalities in the country.

In 2005 and 2014, he received two grants of the Garcia Màrquez Foundation for New Journalism, by enriching his knowledge with Susan Maiselas and Stephen Ferry. He has also been taught by Adriana Lestido in the early years of his career.

Additionally, he documented many photographic essays, one of them being “El Chino 2007-2013” which was published in 2013 in the magazine Dulce Equis Negra.

From 2004 to 2008, he coordinated a workshop for children and teenagers in difficulties, in Isla Maciel neighborhood in Buenos Aires. This work gave birth to the publishing of a book « Ojos y votes de l’Isla [Isla’s eyes and voices] » sponsored et financed by argentian’s ministry of culture.

In 2001, he followed the tragical event of the political and social crisis occurred in Argentina and in 2002 he published the book “des Argentins d’Episodios, diciembre y después - Editoria Anagrama“ with others photographers and the texts of Eloy Martinez.

Pablo Ernesto Piovano was born in Buenos Aires in Argentina in 1981. As a photographer in the “Pàgina/12” journal since he was 18, he works on social, political and cultural themes.





SOLAR PORTRAITS, Rubén Salgado Escudero The International Energy Agency estimates that roughly 1.1 billion people in the world still live without access to electricity, more than 95% of these people are either in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia.

In these parts of the world, almost all rural labor is still unmechanized, candles - which are both expensive and dangerous - are the only source of light available once the sun sets. As building the requisite infrastructure to connect remote, rural villages to the grid will still take a long time, solar energy is a viable and much-needed solution that has the potential to improve the lives of millions immediately. Small, inexpensive photovoltaic power (PV) systems can provide households with at least 12 hours of light during the night, allowing people to do more with their waking hours at no additional cost.

Looking at the larger picture of our planet’s environment, solar energy has the potential to make a substantial positive impact on the earth’s C02 footprint. The Environmental Protection Agency shows that generating electric power causes over a third of all green house gas emissions so redu-cing the electricity we draw from the grid means reducing carbon emissions.

These portraits depict the lives of inhabitants of remote areas who, for the first time have access to electricity through the power of solar energy. Each subject was asked how having electricity has affected their life. The portraits were set up within their environment, according to what they expressed. The scenes have all been lit only by solar powered light bulbs which are contributing to the improvement in these people´s standard of living.

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Solar Portraits© Rubén Salgado Escudero

Solar Portraits© Rubén Salgado Escudero



Rubén Salgado Escudero is a photographer born in Madrid, Spain.

He lived in the United States throughout his teenage years, and graduated from the Sa-vannah College of Art and Design.

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He subsequently moved to Berlin, Germany, where he worked as a 3D character animator in the video game industry.

Ten years later, he decided to quit his job and move to Myanmar, following his passion for pho-tography.

Rubén is a member of ‘The Photo Society’ by contributing National Geographic (US) and has been exhibited in more than a dozen countries across the world.

Rubén is currently working on his first photography book and is also one of the organizers of Cuba’s first International Photography Festival which will take place in Havana in 2017.



MEN, MOUNTAINS AND THE SEA, Rony Zakaria Winner or the Roberto Del Carto Photolux Award 2015Curated by : Dimitri Beck

Divided by over 17.000 island and located at the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia is home for more than 150 active volcanoes and marked by coastlines that span over 80.000 km.

In a series of evocative images, Rony Zakaria explores the deep spirituality that can connect men to Nature in Indonesia. Shooting in rich, grainy black-and-white, he leads us from lava-spewing volcanic heights to the shores of a vast and moody sea, exploring along the way the sacred rituals and traditions observed by these islanders in their quest to tame the fury of their powerful hosts.

The images have a classic, poetic beauty to them while never losing hold of the stories they are telling.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

© Rony Zakaria © Rony Zakaria

© Rony Zakaria © Rony Zakaria

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He learned photojournalism at ANTARA Gallery of Photojournalism in Jakarta and Ateneo de Manila in the Philippines as a fellow. Since then he has worked mainly for national and foreign publications and has covered various issues in his native, Indonesia.

Zakaria has won several accolades and awards for his work, including NPPA Best of Photojour-nalism and Mochtar Lubis Award for Investigative reporting. He has exhibited his work widely in Paris, Manila, Bangladesh, Singapore, Thailand, Germany and Malaysia.

In 2013, he published his first monograph, “Encounters“, a personal work with photographs col-lected starting from the beginning of his career. He lives in Jakarta but continues to travel.

Rony Zakaria was born 1984 in Jakarta, Indonesia. He holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science. He started his career as a photographer after graduation.



Dimitri Beck, curator

Dimitri Beck is Polka’s photography director. Polka is a magazine dedicated to photography and in photo reportage in particular, based in Paris.Since 2008 he is actively contributing to Polka’s magazine, gallery and website development involved in the executive direction of Polka.

During is free time he teaches photoreportage by conferences or as teacher in different institution such as journalist department in SciencesPo Paris. He participates to many international photo juries. He has a weekly chronicle about photography on the French Radio France Info.

Before working for Polka he used to be the director of “Aina’s Photo Agency“ based in Kabul, from September 2004 to December 2006.During this time he was also chief editor pour the French English magazine Nouvelles de Kaboul - le Nouvel Afghanistan“. Before this experience he was the chief editor of Reza Deghati’s agency “Webistant”.

His passion for traveling, in particular in the caucasian mountains and in central Asia began in the late 90’ as he was working as independent photo journalist.

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SLOW-DRAWING, Hyong-Ryol Bak

“Figure Project” is an artwork made from aerian shots, after the artist physically altered nature. Nature in which the artist has intervain, change into a sculpture given an ideal straight line and a the division in two parts perfectly equal. Through the process, Hyong-Ryol Bak apply simulta-neously two differents methods: first he shows the work that is suggested by the field on which he physically interven and present a character within that sculptural form. then the sculptural object, aerian shot without any one in it, it looses his perspective and is overall sculpture that hide the entire extended. Since then it’s another photography characteristic which is given value: it makes a illusion of a two dimension medium as a painting.

In “Figure Project”, the photography’s role is an esthetic device wich recompose the artwork.Spatial exclusion and two dimension compostion, without any perspective or overall perception would be the typical exemple.

This fonctionality maximise sculptural composant intergrate in the plan and, moreover, challenge the new photographic experience inside the in situ artistic installation. As well, Hyong Ryol Bak shows a new way to express the human desire over nature through the many experiment explored.

Hyong-Ryol Bak was born in Seoul, South Corea in 1980.

In 2012, he obtains the M.F.A Department of Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts, Korea National University of Arts. He participate to many collective exhibitions as CONCRETOPIA at the Photo-graphic Museum of Seoul in 2016.

He produced several solo shows as Slow-Drawing at the BMW photo space Busan for the photo-graphic GoEun museum in 2015. In 2015, he receive the DAUM price from Gunghi foundation. His work is a part of the National Contemporary Art Museum of Gwacheon as well as the GoEun Photographic Museum.



IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

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Figure Projet_Earth#18,Pigment print, 2013 © Hyong-Ryol Bak

Figure Project_ Earth#19, Pigment print, 2013 © Hyong-Ryol Bak

Figure Project_Earth#21, Pigment print, 2013 © Hyong-Ryol Bak

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The Captured Nature_Snow#1,Pigment print, 2010 © Hyong-Ryol Bak

Figure Project_Water#3, Pigment print, 2013 © Hyong-Ryol Bak

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Foundation GoEun

Based in Busan, South Corea, the GoEun’s Photographic Museum was created in 2007 by the GoEun Foudation. This museum is dedicated to photography. There are exhibits during the all year. publications and workshops are also the museum’s activities. The role of this private institu-tion is also to find and promote international photographer to the Corean public.

Sunghee Lee, curator

Sunghee Lee was born is Busan, South Corea in 1974. In 2008, he gratuated from l’Ecole Natio-nale Supérieure de la Photographie (ENSP-Arles). His work was exhibited mutiple time, at Ren-contres Internationales de la Photographie, Arles, 2012. Side way from his work as an artsist he created in 2012 the Atelier SHL, which is specialized in exhibition’s organisation and production.

Atelier SHL

The numeric image Atelier suggest an entire service of Fine Art prints. Used to specific considera-tions linked to the artistic production, the Atelier helps as much in the creative alteration as editing conception or exhibits. The Atelier is based in Arles, in the city center and work with national and international clients.

18 rue de l’hôtel de ville13200 [email protected] +33(0)4 90 49 71 02



A jury will be invite to select the winner. The final meeting takes place on the 5th of July from 8:30 am

The award ceremony and the openning will take place on the 6th of july at 5pm.

The foundation also award every year a photographer, whom has a impact on the world. This award is a statuette from an american sculptor from the Ryan Rivas.



GRANTS AND AWARDS

The purpose of the foundation since his creation is to award every years, two 5.000 $ grants, one for a photographer ans the other for a documentary film director.

An open call is made every years through our website www.mrofoundation.org, in order to be helped for a current or future work. Handle by Manuel Rivera-Ortiz himself, about 400 submitions per year are checked by him and 12 finaliste are selected.

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The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for photography and documentary film aspire to encourage a new generation of filmmakers and photographers only armed with a camera and a better vision for the world to go and testify the humanity. Gratifying this photographers and filmmakers’ determiniations. the foundation has the mission to support photography and repport as catalyst for changement and social justice in communities where needs are urging.

The foundation, his founder and the board of directors, have a look on the positive change on the forgotten lives, ravaged by wars, famine, pauverty, exploitation, and global distress path.

Our attention deserves to be focused on this communities that the treatments of the media rarely exceed 24h in the daily cycle of mediatic informations, often replace too quickly by new world-wile problems that focus our attention elsewhere.

Favoriting the new photographers’ emergence, the Foundation seeks to give a voice to this vulne-rables and unfavorized population, that media don’t want to put in their journals. Moreover, the documentry investigation work furnish by the photographers, is on the long term and not satis-phied by “scoops“ this engagement from the Foundation asks supports and a membership from all the one who feels conserned by this cause.

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Manuel Rivera-Ortiz is an American photographer, author and writer born as the oldest of ten in a family of migrant farm workers in Guayama, Puerto Rico. He is best known for his social documentary photography of the living conditions under bridges, in slums and other less developed areas of the world. Rivera-Ortiz himself grew up poor in a barrio on the shores of the Caribbean, living with his family hand-to-mouth in shacks. Both his father and grandfather worked the sugar cane plantations throughout southern Puerto Rico. It was during the ‘60s and ‘70s that the once vast Puerto Rican sugar industry began to decline and the rise of greater need for government subsidy programs such as La PRERA (the Puerto Rico Emergency Relief Administration), an early version of welfare and a essential first step towards feeding the hungry Islanders, including Rivera-Ortiz’ own family.

“I was six-years-old when Mamá y Papá took me to La PRERA” he recalls vividly, “to stand in a long line of other mothers, fathers and children. The streets were crowded with the faces of the needy, all bearing the dry unbearable heat for a meager box of rations (two if you were lucky, depending on how many children you had). In it, you’d find giant silver cans stamped in bold black letters USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) - filled with peas, peanut butter, canned fruit, small Sello Rojo bags of rice shut at the top with cheap cotton string and sometimes a hunk of bread. If you came early, you even got some powdered Carnation milk and Rovira crackers. Although we had to buy our own sugar from the big factory nearby Aguirre, with borrowed money.“ These are the humble beginning’s that color Rivera-Ortiz’s world and this Foundation today.

Rivera-Ortiz is author/co-author of four books, including “Voices in the First Person: Reflections on Latino Identity” (Simon & Schuster, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, NY), “Percepciones en Blanco y Negro (Adeer Linad, Bogota, Columbia), and his most recent “India: A celebration of Life (Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany). His work is in private, corporate and museum collections, including The George Eastman House Museum and The Nelson Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Rivera-Ortiz studied photography at the ICP in NY and holds a Masters degree from Columbia University’s Joseph Pulitzer Graduate School of Journalism also in the City of New York; his Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Literature/Linguistics and Rhetoric if from Nazareth College of Rochester, formerly a private catholic college for girls in the City. Rivera-Ortiz has worked in newspapers, magazines and television. He currently spends his time between New York, Zurich, Arles and Paris and Rochester, NY, and is currently working on several new book projects.

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz is an American photographer, author and writer born as the oldest of ten in a family of migrant farm workers in Guayama, Puerto Rico.

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FRACTURED STATE /Dominic Nahr dominicnahr.com

TIME LAG /Patrizia Bonanzingapatriziabonanzinga.com

GRANT WINNER FOR DOCUMENTARY FILM 2015 /Laurence Bonvin laurencebonvin.com

GRANT WINNER FOR DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY 2015 /Pablo Ernesto Piovanopablopiovano.com

SOLAR PORTRAITS /Rubén Salgado Escuderorubensalgado.com

MEN, MOUNTAINS & THE SEA /Rony Zakaria ronyzakaria.com

SLOW-DRAWING /HyongRyol Bakbakhr.com

For further information or documentation, please contact :

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Fondator : [email protected]

André Pfanner, [email protected]

Nicolas Havette, Artistic Director : [email protected]

Gaëlle Vielajus, Assistant : [email protected]

CONTACTS

press release summer 2016

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