| Please join us for two events in September: Transformative Lenses: Four Contemporary Brazilian Photographers Featuring the work of Rogério Assis, João Farkas, Rosa Gauditano, and Edu Simões Exhibit Opening and Reception Thursday, September 18, 5-7 p.m. The Doris Z. Stone Latin American Library and Research Center4th floor, Howard-Tilton Memorial LibraryTulane University Transformative Lenses: Four Contemporary Brazilian Photographers features the work of four internationally renowned contemporary Brazilian photographers, Rogério Assis, João Farkas, Rosa Gauditano, and Edu Simões, recently acquired by the Doris Stone LAL and Research Center. The exhibition also includes rare books, maps, and other material from the special collections relating to Brazilian iconography from the 16th to the 20th century. Conversatorio/Presentations/Discussion with Rogério Assis, João Farkas, and Edu Simões Moderated by Christopher Dunn Friday, September 19, 2-3:30 p.m. The Doris Z. Stone Latin American Library and Research CenterSeminar Room4th floor, Howard-Tilton Memorial LibraryTulane University The conversation will be in English and Portuguese with English translation. Sponsors: Spas and Bruce Christian and Kathleen ChristianThe Department of Spanish and PortugueseThe Newcomb Art Department All events at the Doris Z. Stone Latin American Library and Research Center are free and open to the public. We welcome faculty, students, staff, and our many friends in the New Orleans community. |
| Rogério Assis (b. 1965, Belém) Rogério Assis is a Brazilian documentary photographer whose work centers on Indigenous cultures, traditional communities, and the environment, with a strong focus on the Amazon. Beginning his career in 1988 with the Emílio Goeldi Museum, he has since worked with major media outlets and produced acclaimed long-form projects. His photobook ZO’É offers a rare, ethically grounded glimpse into the lives of the Zo’é people, capturing their cultural resilience and daily life in the rainforest. In Esse Rio É Minha Rua, he turns to the Boa Esperança riverside community, documenting the interplay of memory, place, and survival in a threatened ecosystem. Through projects like these, as well as others addressing land conflict and marginalization, Assis blends journalism with poetics and remains a passionate advocate for the Amazon and its peoples. His work, featured widely in exhibitions and publications, plays a vital role in shaping visual narratives about the region and advancing Indigenous and environmental advocacy. Edu Simões (b. 1956, São Paulo) Edu Simões is a documentary photographer whose five-decade career addresses Brazil’s social issues, including racial inequality, environmental destruction, and Indigenous rights. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Simões worked in photojournalism and became a key figure through collaborations with major publications and independent projects focused on human rights. He was part of the F4 photo agency and served as photo editor for several magazines. His work has earned notable awards like the Vladimir Herzog Prize (1980) and the Marc Ferrez Photography Prize (2012).His acclaimed series 59 – Retratos da Juventude Negra Brasileira (2020) presents portraits of 59 young Black Brazilians from favelas, highlighting their dignity and individuality while challenging systemic racism. Recently, Simões has documented Indigenous leaders defending their lands and cultures in collaboration with communities. His work is held in major collections in Brazil and abroad. Based in São Paulo, Simões remains committed to photography as activism and cultural memory. Edu Simões lives and works in São Paulo, where he remains deeply engaged in projects at the intersection of photography, activism, and cultural memory. Rosa Gauditano (b. 1955, São Paulo) Rosa Gauditano is a documentary photographer, journalist, and activist known for her powerful visual chronicling of Brazil’s social justice movements. Beginning her career in the late 1970s during the final years of the military dictatorship, she documented grassroots struggles for democracy, racial justice, gender equality, and land rights. Her landmark series A Mesma Luta (“The Same Struggle”) (1978–1983) captures the convergence of Black activists, feminists, and striking industrial workers who challenged authoritarian rule. Gauditano’s intimate images reveal collective energy and individual dignity without sensationalism. Alongside urban protests, she has documented Indigenous peoples since the 1980s, emphasizing cultural resilience and land defense amid environmental threats. A founding member of the photo agency Imagem da Terra, Gauditano has published widely, exhibited internationally, and taught photojournalism. Her extensive archive remains vital for understanding Brazil’s intersections of race, gender, class, and resistance throughout recent history. João Farkas (b. 1955, São Paulo) João Farkas is known for his vivid explorations of Brazil’s landscapes, cultural traditions, and social realities. Trained at the International Center of Photography and the School of Visual Arts in New York, he began his career as a photojournalist and photo editor for major Brazilian magazines in the early 1980s. His work has been featured in over forty exhibitions in Brazil and abroad and is held in prominent public and private collections, including the major museums of Brazil, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, and the International Center of Photography. Descended from a pioneering family of Brazilian photographers—his father, Thomaz Farkas, was a modernist icon—Farkas brings a distinctive, color-rich approach to documentary photography. Major projects include Amazônia Ocupada, on gold mining in the Amazon, and the Carnival series featured here, which captures diverse, expressive, and sometimes endangered festival traditions. Through his lens, Farkas offers both artistic vision and cultural preservation. |