About
“Although my work has been published internationally, my process is rooted in community and education. My work is founded on deep relationships with a network of trusted messengers, including community leaders, organizers, cultural bearers, and educators. This network is essential in understanding the needs of the community and amplifying the work.”
—Adam Perez
Project proposal
Tierra Mia film, the predecessor for Perez’s upcoming work “Of the Fields”
“Of the Fields” is a storytelling fellowship for California Central Valley farmworkers, who will document their lives for a year through photography and video.
These farmworkers represent a cross-section of ethnically and culturally diverse communities. The project will follow the harvest season, which spans freezing winter mornings, torrential floods in the spring, and 110-degree summers. The project will also document participants in their communities as they navigate illnesses, grief, and new opportunities. The region, which spans 450 miles, is also at the forefront of the impact of climate change, a shifting demographic, a digital divide, a housing crisis, and a potential mass deportation. California’s $50-billion agriculture industry is underpinned by low-wage, immigrant communities, who come from across the globe
I’ll facilitate in-person workshops that teach basic photography and storytelling skills. Final projects will consist of multimedia stories that explore their connection to grassroots movements, environmentalism, ancestral knowledge, and cultural expression. The projects will be curated into a traveling presentation, public art display, and zine. I will also create a collection focused on documenting participants’ journeys. The Catchlight fellowship will help elevate and amplify these stories.
“Of the Fields” is a continuation of a two-year narrative change project, entitled Tierra Mia, a community-built art festival honoring farmworker communities. The goal is to create a pathway for farmworkers to move out of the shadows, into the public and own their narrative.
Biography
Adam/n Perez is an independent director and photographer born and raised in California’s rural Central Valley. His work spans genres and mediums–– all rooted in intimate storytelling.
The Emerson Collective, The Center for Cultural Power, The California Arts Council, and the Academy of Arts and Sciences have supported his work on farmworker communities.
He graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Southern California, where he’s also worked as an adjunct professor.
He’s a member of Diversify Photo and The National Associate of Hispanic Journalists.
