Suzi Altman
New Show by Suzi Altman “Common Ground” with photographs from Africa to Mississippi
Suzi Altman’s passion is photography for social change. Her work concentrates on women's issues, poverty, civil rights, health care, education, climate change, and cultural heritage. Altman has photographed extensively in the Mississippi Delta for more than a decade, focusing on Mississippi’s rich cultural heritage, the deep religious roots and the music the land produces. Altman uses her camera as a tool to help others see our similarities instead of our differences and to illuminate the issues she is passionate about. She has been a photographer for more than twenty years, with the first part of her career spent in New York City. Altman started her career at the Associated Press in New York and interned with Rolling Stone magazine and renowned documentary photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Altman’s work can be found in the permanent collections of The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), Washington, D.C. and the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS. and numerous private collections. Altman’s works has also appeared in many of the worlds leading publications including The New York Times, USA Today, Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
In 2014, Suzi Altman volunteered to travel to Kenya at the invitation of The Supply, an NGO that operates a school in the Lenana slum, near Nairobi.
While in residence at the Kevjumba School, Altman taught a photography class that focused on self-identity and community identity utilizing photography as a tool. This helped the children "see" the world they live in, as well as its relation to the broader world outside their community. Together, photography and the written word were powerful instruments for the students to express themselves, while also empowering them. The students took photographs of themselves and their community, highlighting positive aspects in each. Through the workshop, the students’ voices became stronger, and they discovered commonalities with other cultures around the world, like the importance of family, shelter, education, community and religion. While in the Lenana slum, Suzi photographed the children and places she encountered in the community. The subjects are workshop participants and other community members. What became most evident among those she visited were the tremendous sense of pride in their homes, communities, and schools, and the moments of happiness, which is evoked in the resulting series of intimate images. Altman is able to capture the “Common Ground” we all share in her work.
Altman’s new Show “ Common Ground “ is printed on archival Hahnemuhle cotton rag paper.
For more information on Altman and her work, Please visit her website www.SuziAltman.com
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