RIT to host conversation featuring two photographers who have documented extraordinary moments in history

Two renowned photographers of extraordinary moments in history—Rochester Institute of Technology Assistant Professor Joshua Rashaad McFadden and Matthew Willman—will co-present their captivating work during an event on campus this week.

“Cultural Lens—Experiences and images from documenting extraordinary moments across the United States and South Africa” will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, inside Golisano Hall’s Golisano Auditorium on the RIT campus. The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by RIT Global, the College of Art and Design, and the College of Liberal Arts.

Willman is a South African-based documentary photographer, author, and professional speaker. In 2003, he was commissioned to archive and document the life and times of Nelson Mandela—the anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999—for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Willman’s collection of work is now central to the Mandela Centre of Memory and Presidential Library in Johannesburg. He also has had the opportunity to photograph individuals from a cross section of the global community, including former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, seven South African presidents, former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Scottish singer-songwriter and political activist Annie Lennox.

McFadden, an internationally recognized and award-winning assistant professor of photography in RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences, is a visual artist and social justice advocate who possesses a unique vision of the Black American experience. His artwork transcends the genres of social documentary, reportage, portraiture, and fine arts to bring forward powerful stories about the realities of the injustices Black people in America still face today. McFadden’s work has been featured in publications such as The Atlantic, Smithsonian Magazine, Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and National Geographic. He has been named one of the top emerging talents in the world by LensCulture. McFadden recently marked the release of a new book cataloging his major solo exhibition at George Eastman Museum titled “Joshua Rashaad McFadden: I Believe I’ll Run.”