Women of Vision:
National Geographic Photographers on Assignment
Exhibition Celebrates Work of 11 Inspiring Female Photojournalists
January 17, 2019 – April 7, 2019
RSVP by January 11, 2019
The Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission and parking are FREE.
Forest Lawn Museum, Forest Lawn–Glendale
GLENDALE, CA—Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment opens at Forest Lawn Museum at Forest Lawn—Glendale on January 17, 2019. Highlighting the influential photography of 11 award-winning female photojournalists, the traveling exhibition is on view in Glendale until April 7, 2019. The exhibition is a tribute to the spirit and ambition of these forward-thinking and distinguished female photographers and underscores the momentous work they have done to bring narratives from all over the world to the pages of National Geographic and into the homes of millions of people.
Women of Vision features nearly 100 photographs, including moving depictions of far-flung cultures; compelling illustrations of conceptual topics, such as memory and teenage brain chemistry; and arresting images of social issues, such as child marriage and twenty-first-century slavery. In addition, the exhibition demonstrates how National Geographic magazine picture editors work closely with the photographers to select images and tell stories. Video vignettes present first-person accounts that reveal the photographers’ individual styles, passions, and approaches to their craft.
“For the last decade, some of our most powerful stories have been produced by a new generation of photojournalists who are women. These women are as different as the places and the subjects they have covered, but they all share the same passion and commitment to storytelling that has come to define National Geographic,” said Kathryn Keane, Vice President of Public Programming and Director, National Geographic Museum. “The exhibition reaffirms the Society’s position as a respected leader in the field of photography.”
The exhibition underscores National Geographic’s history of documenting the world through photography and its ongoing commitment to supporting photographers as important and innovative storytellers who can make a difference with their work. Women of Vision curator and former National Geographic Senior Photo Editor Elizabeth Krist had the challenging task of choosing a selection of images to best represent the broad portfolios of the 11 extraordinary photographers:
- Pulitzer Prize winner and MacArthur Fellow Lynsey Addario is widely admired for her conflict coverage in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Darfur, and the Congo. Featured assignment work includes images that document human rights issues, particularly the plight of women and families in conflict zones.
- Kitra Cahana explores important social, anthropological, and spiritual themes. Cahana has won a first prize from World Press Photo, a TED Fellowship, and the ICP Infinity Award. Her work includes images taken on assignment for NGM’s important feature on the teenage brain and culture in the United States.
- Jodi Cobb has worked in over 65 countries and produced 30 NGM stories, including “21st-Century Slaves,” one of the most popular stories in the magazine’s history. Cobb was the only photographer to penetrate the geisha world, which resulted in her Pulitzer Prize-nominated book. She was the first photographer to document the hidden lives of the women of Saudi Arabia. Her numerous accolades include repeated honors from the National Press Photographers Association, Pictures of the Year, and World Press Photo, and Cobb was the first woman named White House Photographer of the Year.
- Diane Cook is a leading landscape photographer whose work is in numerous museum collections. Cook often collaborates with her husband Len Jenshel. Their NGM stories have covered New York’s High Line, Mount St. Helens, Green Roofs, the Na’Pali Coast of Hawaii, the US-Mexico border, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
- Carolyn Drake is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Fellowship, the Lange Taylor Documentary Prize, and a World Press Photo award. She has spent years documenting the cultures of Central Asia and life in western China’s Uygur region.
- A Knight Fellow and passionate advocate for visual arts education, Lynn Johnson has produced images for 21 NGM stories, including stories on vanishing languages and challenges facing people in Africa and Asia. Johnson has participated in photography camps in Africa and at the Pine Ridge reservation. She has received several awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for Coverage of the Disadvantaged.
- Beverly Joubert is a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, filmmaker, photographer, and co-founder of the Big Cats Initiative. With her husband, Dereck Joubert, she has been documenting the plight of African wildlife for over 30 years. Her images have appeared in over 100 magazines worldwide, and the Jouberts have co-authored several books and scientific papers and produced over 25 television documentaries and a feature film, The Last Lions (2011). Their films have received international recognition, including seven Emmys, a Peabody, and Panda Awards, as well as conservation accolades, including the World Ecology Award, an induction into the American Academy of Achievement, and the Presidential Order of Meritorious.
- Erika Larsen studies cultures with strong ties to nature. She published a 2009 story in NGM on the Sami reindeer herders of Scandinavia, which grew out of her own documentary work. Larsen is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship and a New Jersey State Arts Council Fellowship. Erika’s photography has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery and the Sami Ájtte Museum in Sweden.
- Stephanie Sinclair’s decade-long project on child marriage has earned global recognition, including three World Press Photo awards, and prestigious exhibitions on Capitol Hill, at the United Nations, and at the Whitney Biennial in New York.
- A celebrated figure in the photographic community, Maggie Steber has worked in over 62 countries, and her images have earned several prestigious honors, including the Leica Medal of Excellence and World Press Photo awards. NGM has published her essays on Miami, the African slave trade, the Cherokee Nation, Dubai, and the science of memory.
- Amy Toensingbegan her prolific career covering the White House and Congress for The New York Times. She has created portraits of unforgettable people around the world while shooting NGM stories in Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, the Jersey Shore, and Tonga. She spent three years documenting Aboriginal Australia for a 2013 NGM story. Toensing is also committed to teaching photography to children in underserved communities, including to Somali and Sudanese refugees in Maine.
“It is an honor to bring photographs by these remarkable female photojournalists off the pages of the world-renowned publication and onto the walls of the Forest Lawn Museum,” said Rodolfo Saenz, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Forest Lawn. “Having the work of these photographers on view in person, on a large scale, and as a collection brings the stories of these trailblazing women and their subjects to life in a new way, transforming the narratives from National Geographic and from around the globe into a fresh and powerful viewing experience.”
Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment is traveled and organized by the National Geographic Society. The exhibition is open to the public January 17, 2019 through April 7, 2019 at Forest Lawn Museum, Forest Lawn—Glendale, 1712 S. Glendale Blvd., Glendale, California. The Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission and parking are FREE. Call 323.340.4545 or visit www.forestlawn.com for more information. Full details on the exhibition, including photo galleries and links to related National Geographic magazine content, are available at www.wovexhibition.org.
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For additional information about the exhibition, Forest Lawn Museum, or Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Glendale, or to request images or interviews, please contact Tom Smith at 323.340.4742 or tsmith@forestlawn.com.
About Forest Lawn–Glendale
Founded in 1906, Forest Lawn has been a Southern California landmark for more than a century. With rolling hills, sweeping landscapes and a magnificent view of the Los Angeles skyline, Forest Lawn–Glendale is one of Forest Lawn’s most picturesque locations. It features a world-renowned art museum, extraordinary statuary and the Hall of the Crucifixion-Resurrection, home to Jan Styka’s immense painting, The Crucifixion, and Robert Clark’s Resurrection, two of the largest religious paintings in the western hemisphere.
About Forest Lawn Memorial–Parks & Mortuaries
For more than a century, Forest Lawn has been an integral part of Southern California. Since its founding, Forest Lawn has committed itself to providing outstanding service and beautiful environments for family outings, remembering loved ones and commemorating holidays. Forest Lawn’s locations in the Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties serve all faiths and cultures, and offer a wide range of celebrations and special events with competitively priced cremation and traditional funeral services throughout Southern California. Glendale – FD 656
About the National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society is a leading nonprofit that invests in bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling and education. Through grants and programs, the society aspires to create a community of change, advancing key insights about our planet and probing some of the most pressing scientific questions of our time while ensuring that the next generation is armed with geographic knowledge and global understanding. The goal is measurable impact: furthering exploration and educating people around the world to inspire solutions for the greater good. For more information, visit www.nationalgeographic.org.