I TAKE ON ISSUES that stir my passions about the state of humanity and our world, and I deeply believe in the power of still images to change people’s minds. I’m driven by the fact that the work of photojournalists and documentary photographers can have a positive impact on the world. The access people give to their lives is precious and imperative to make this important work. Their openness brings with it a tremendous sense of responsibility to tell the truth and honor their stories.
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Ed Kashi is a renowned photojournalist, filmmaker, speaker and educator dedicated to documenting the social and geopolitical issues that define our times. He has covered topics as diverse as the impact of oil in Nigeria, the protestant community in Northern Ireland, the lives of Jewish settlers in the West Bank, the impact of an aging society through his groundbreaking project, Aging in America, climate change, the plight of Syrian refugees, and the global epidemic of Chronic Kidney Disease among agricultural workers. A sensitive eye and an intimate and compassionate relationship to his subjects are signatures of his intense and unsparing work. A member of VII Photo Agency since 2010, Kashi has been recognized for his complex imagery and its compelling rendering of the human condition.
His early adoption of hybrid visual storytelling has produced a number of influential short films and in 2015 he was named Multimedia Photographer of the Year. Kashi’s embrace of new approaches to visual storytelling has led to creative social media and printed projects for a range of clients including National Geographic, Open Society Foundations, The New Yorker, MSNBC, GEO Germany, Fortune, Human Rights Watch, International Medical Corps, MediaStorm, NBC.com, New York Times Magazine, Oxfam, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and TIME magazine. From implementing a unique approach to photography and filmmaking in his 2006 Iraqi Kurdistan Flipbook, to of the moment Instagram coverage of Hurricane Sandy for TIME Magazine in 2012, Kashi continues to create powerful imagery and engage with the world in new ways.
Kashi frequently lectures on a wide range of topics for arts institutions, universities, schools and professional organizations. His work has been published and exhibited worldwide, receiving numerous awards and honors. Through his editorial assignments and personal projects Kashi has published twelve books, including Curse of the Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta, THREE, and Photojournalisms. His latest book, Abandoned Moments: A Love Letter to Photography, was published in 2022.
In 2002, Kashi founded Talking Eyes Media in partnership with his wife, writer + filmmaker Julie Winokur. The non-profit company has produced numerous award-winning short films, exhibits, books, and multimedia pieces that explore significant social issues. They are currently engaged in a 5-year storytelling project with Rutgers University in Newark focused on immigration for which they recently received a two year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities as well as Online Storytelling Project of the Year from POY. Kashi was formerly on the Board of Directors of the Catchlight Foundation.
In 2019, The Enigma Room, an immersive installation, premiered at NYC’s Photoville festival, and has since been seen in Israel, the Netherlands, South Korea, and New Mexico, USA. The Enigma Room is an experimental multimedia projection created in collaboration with Brenda Bingham, Michael Curry, and Rachel Bolańos.
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Ed Kashi is intelligent, brave and compassionate. He always understands the nuances of his subjects. He fearlessly goes where few would venture. And he sympathetically captures the soul of each situation.
– David Griffin, Former Director of Photography, National Geographi
