Media Contact: Myrtille Beauvert, myrtille@sisterscommunications.com
April 29, 2023 | San francisco, ca
The non-profit media organization CatchLight will hold its 2023 Visual Storytelling Summit on the theme “The Change We Want to See” in San Francisco on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Organized with Elizabeth Krist, curator and formerly a longtime photo editor at National Geographic, the event will feature portfolio reviews with Houston-based contemporary arts organization, FotoFest, in the morning, followed by presenters and topics spanning artificial intelligence imagery, reporting on environmental issues, reproductive rights, racial justice, and how local journalists are holding power accountable at a time when trust in public institutions and mass media are at all-time lows.
CatchLight Global and Local Fellows—including Rafael Vilela, Harika Maddala, and Ximena Natera—will discuss their projects along with artists, founders, technologists, and innovative creatives working at the nexus of art, media, journalism, technology, and social impact.
This year’s theme, “The Change We Want to See,” reflects the unique power of photography, visual journalism, and creative practices to drive social impact. “Images are instrumental to how we understand our world,” says Elodie Mailliet Storm, CEO of CatchLight. “Not only do they connect people emotionally to issues, they also promote deeper understanding, build trust, and spark action. I want the Summit to be a place where the global community of visual storytellers, media, and technology leaders can gather, share ideas, and push the field forward through partnership and innovation.”
Additional speakers include Jonas Bendiksen, Adrian Burrell, Pamela Chen, Hany Farid, Isadora Kosofsky, Lynn Johnson, Sarahbeth Maney, Tammy Oler, Josué Rivas, Anastasia Samoylova, Nina Thompson, Ashima Yadava, and Alexey Yurenev. Returning this year as Summit MC is Zena Barakat, Emmy-nominated producer and executive design director at IDEO.
For interested members of the press, CatchLight leadership and Summit speakers will be available for interviews before the program begins. For advance scheduling, please contact Myrtille Beauvert at myrtille@sisterscommunications.com.
Location
The Summit will be held at Minnesota Street Project for an in-person audience. Recordings of each discussion will be available for viewing after the Summit. Minnesota Street Project is located at 1275 Minnesota St, San Francisco, CA 94107.
SCHEDULE (Pacific Time)
9:30 am – 12:30 pm – Portfolio Reviews
1:00 pm – Check-in opens
2:00 pm – Program begins
6:00 pm – Reception
Program Overview
Truth and Power: Local Visual Journalism and Public Accountability
Harika Maddala x Sarahbeth Maney
Trust in public institutions remains at historic lows, and confidence in mass media continues in a downward trend. Two photojournalists will explore in conversation how they are leveraging their craft to restore trust in local media while holding public officials in their communities accountable to their constituents.
‘Huq: I Seek No Favor’: Artists respond to the abortion ban
Ashima Yadava
On January 22, 1973, a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade protected the right to abortion. Fifty years later, the precedent has been overturned. Conceptual documentary photographer and printmaker, Ashima Yadava, invited 50 artists to respond in a book of their works entitled, Huq: I seek no favor.
Sustainability in Visual Storytelling
TAMMY OLER X JOSUÉ RIVAS WITH ELODIE MAILLIET STORM
What choices are individuals, nonprofits, and businesses making to sustain and grow their work and impact? What changes can we make—in our industries, communities, and as individuals—to promote an ethos of sustainability? Hear from Oler (VP of Marketing, MPB) and Rivas (founder INDÍGENA, CatchLight Global Fellow) in a conversation moderated by Mailliet Storm (CEO, CatchLight) that explores models for building creative legacies that benefit future generations.
Picturing New Frontiers: Environmental Storytelling
Anastasia Samoylova x Rafael Vilela
As extreme weather, mass extinctions, and climate displacement make headlines worldwide, photographers and visual artists can refocus conversations and unlock new possibilities. Drawing on Samoylova’s Floridas and FloodZone and Vilela’s Forest Ruins, explore the roles that cities and culture play in addressing the climate crisis.
Healing from the Past and Summoning the Future
Adrian Burrell
Drawing from historical archives and familial history, Adrian Burrell’s documentary short films, The Game God(S) and The Saints Step in Kongo Time examine the extractive, unjust relationship between capitalism and Blackness. Explore how Burrell is building a visual language that uses modes of call and response and repetition within his films to shape new narratives that aim to heal from the past and summon a new future.
Navigating Care: Empathy in Image-Making
Lynn Johnson x Isadora Kosofsky
What responsibility does a photographer have to the people whose lives they are documenting? What are the practical and emotional impacts of that responsibility? Johnson and Kosofsky reflect on the intimacy of documentary photography and what they’ve learned from shadowing people they collaborate with in projects often spanning years.
Don’t Ask for Permission: New Visions for Creating Change
XIMENA NATERA X NINA THOMPSON
“When we wanted to start a harm reduction group, we didn’t go to the teachers or fight with the administrators, we just organized ourselves and did it,” says Nina Thompson. The 17-year old reporter for YR Media and student activist at Berkeley High School is using visuals and digital platforms as tools for change in her school and community. Thompson will join CatchLight Local Fellow, Ximena Natera, for a conversation about visual storytelling for social impact.
Generative AI: Opportunity and Threat
Jonas Bendiksen x Pamela Chen x Hany Farid x Alexey Yurenev
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are emerging from obscurity as powerful tools for the masses. We are now experiencing a monumental paradigm shift in how we create, consume, and validate visual information. What could it mean for the photographers and visual artists whose proprietary works are feeding the machine? How do we prevent the weaponization of these technologies for disinformation? As we adapt to this new era, what opportunities and challenges lie ahead for visual professionals?
Portfolio Reviews
CatchLight and FotoFest invite photographers to apply at no cost for a unique opportunity to meet with photo editors at leading media and tech organizations, curators, publishers, and gallery owners for one-on-one portfolio reviews. Selected photographers will receive three one-on-one portfolio review appointments, each lasting 20 minutes, between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30pm. Participation is juried, and limited to 30 photographers. It is free to apply.
ABOUT CATCHLIGHT
CatchLight is a nonprofit media organization which believes in the power of visual storytelling to foster a more nuanced and empathetic understanding of the world. Borrowing from the practices of art, journalism, and social justice, it leverages the power of visuals to inform, connect, and transform communities. CatchLight brings resources and organizations together to discover, develop, and amplify visual storytellers at all levels. The organization invests in the future of visual storytelling through two fellowship programs. The CatchLight Global Fellowship annually provides three visionaries in the field grants to develop long-form storytelling projects, engage audiences, and continue their work as innovators and leaders defining the future of the field. The CatchLight Local Fellowship seeks to establish the long-term sustainability of visual journalism by pairing partner newsrooms—with little or no visual storytelling capacity—with community-based visual journalists, Local Fellows, to provide inclusive, in-depth, accurate, and locally contextualized information to the public. CatchLight Local Visual Desk in California, launched in 2021 to address the decline of visual journalism in the Golden State, is partnering with 6 local newsrooms, with two more collaborations starting in spring 2023.
Presenting partner
MPB transforms the way that people buy, sell, and trade in photo and video kits. The world’s largest online platform for used photography and videography equipment, MPB is a destination for everyone, whether you’ve just discovered your passion for visual storytelling or you’re already a pro. Founded by Matt Barker in 2011, MPB has always been committed to making kit more accessible and affordable, and helping to visualize a more sustainable future. They recirculate more than 300,000 items of used kit every year, extending the life and creative potential of photo and video equipment for creators around the world. Headquartered in the creative communities of Brighton, Brooklyn and Berlin, the MPB team includes trained camera experts and seasoned photographers and videographers who bring their passion to work every day to deliver outstanding service.
Education and cultural partners
