New York, NY—Scheduled to launch February 19, 2021, Truth in Photography is an open-ended online forum for active dialogue about photography and social change. Furthermore, the site will explore issues vital to truth in image making that are crucial to our understanding of the world today.
Moreover, the interactive project questions the singular “truth of photography” by presenting multiple points of view. For instance, it will feature a diversity of curators, photographers, critics and historians. In addition, it will integrate vernacular photography, photojournalism and fine art photography.
Eugene Roquemore, Parade Float, Henderson, Texas, ca. early 1950s.
“Truth in Photography interrogates the nature and intentions of the medium and examines the relationship between the photographers and their subjects,” the organization announced.
Working with leading international contributors, Truth in Photography continues the work of Documentary Arts, a Texas and New York–based nonprofit. Contributors, including the Aperture Foundation, Family Pictures USA, the International Center of Photography, Local Learning as well as Magnum Photos, present perspectives on historical issues and contemporary life.
In addition, Truth in Photography evolved through a dialogue with Pauline Vermare (Magnum Photos); Chris Boot (Aperture Foundation); Brian Wallis, Andew Lewin, Paddy Bowman and Lisa Rathje (Local Learning); and Mark Lubell (International Center of Photography). The project is supported in part by the Communities Foundation of Texas and the Andrew and Marina Lewin Family Foundation.
The new platform will host critical thinking and a celebration of photography’s relevance and vital role in societies at this crucial time in history. It is an invitation to look into the history of the medium through archives and contemporary work of renowned artists, as well as lesser-known practitioners and vernacular photography. The goal is to question the concept of “truth” in photography by presenting a multitude of points of view.
Truth in Photography Curated Exhibits
Truth in Photography will launch new virtual exhibitions quarterly. Each edition will present different curatorial perspectives as well as include historical content. Furthermore, the content will delve into the way image making developed into what it is today.
The Winter 2021 edition features three curated exhibitions: Looking for Truth in a Digital Age; The Ethics of Truth; and Community and Cultural Identity. All exhibitions are viewable free of charge to visitors worldwide at truthinphotography.org.
What’s more, this winter, the website will features 16 photo essays: Friendship Park, from Mexican-American artist Griselda San Martin; Migration, from Mexican journalist Guillermo Arias; U.S.-Mexico Border, courtesy of Magnum Photos; Lynching Postcards: 1907; Execution for a Newsreel: 1914; Covid-19 Moscow from German-Russian journalist Nanna Heitman; Waiting: Photographs of the Terminally Ill; Homelessness; Crayon Portraits; African American Community Photographers, drawn from the Texas African American Photography Archive; Legal Aliens, from NYC-based Puerto Rican photographer Clarence Elie Rivera; American Idyll, Photographs of Paterson, New Jersey, Todd Darling; Diasporic Identities, from Korean-American photographer Mary Kang; and People of the Earth, a conversation about the photography collections of the National Museum of the American Indian between Wendy Red Star as well as Emily Moazami.
Pete injects Bonnie. 2016–2017
The exhibition also features recorded Zoom conversations with LGBTQ African-American photographer and filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris; Fred Ritchin, author of Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary and the Citizen; and also Pauline Vermare, Cultural Director of Magnum Photos.
Share Your Truth
Moreover, an important component of the project is the ability for visitors to upload their own photos. They can do so through the website’s Share Your Truth page. In addition, photographers, curators, critics, historians and the general public are invited to share ideas, essays, photographs or short videos. They can begin this process from the submissions page.
Documentary Arts
Documentary Arts was founded in 1985 to broaden public knowledge as well as appreciation of the arts of diverse cultures in all media. Under the direction of founder Alan Govenar, it has produced films, videos, radio features, public programs, educational initiatives, websites, exhibitions, catalogs, books, as well as interactive multimedia. 
Further, Documentary Arts is a global network of artists, photographers, filmmakers, scholars, curators, cultural specialists, social activists, historians, folklorists, archivists, teachers, and community educators.
