Faces of Faith
Featuring photographs by
Daniella Zalcman
in the Smith Boardroom
November 23, 2016 –
February 24, 2017
To see more images of the exhibition visit our Flickr Gallery.
- Uganda is a deeply religious country, with diversity woven into that fabric. The majority of the population is Christian, thanks to the influence of western missionaries and British colonialism. But American-style Evangelism is quickly gaining a foothold, and there are significant populations of Muslims, Hindus, Jews and those who practice local traditional religions as well.
There is an unusual amount of religious self-determination in Kampala -- conversion is common, and in general there is a strong engagement with faith and spirituality. Because of that, religious leaders wield a great deal of power. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the national discussion of sexual and gender identity that led to the short-lived enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014. Conversations about anti-gay legislation in Uganda are often fueled by homophobic rhetoric delivered in the weekly services that are such an integral part of local life.
Photojournalist Daniella Zalcman spent several weeks interviewing religious leaders from a myriad of different faiths, asking them about their own views on sexual minorities and criminalizing laws, and how they interacted with their congregations regarding those topics. What she found surprised her. More often than not, pastors, priests, and imams were more open to discourse than one would think -- and these are some of the results of those conversations. This work is an attempt to include multiple voices, and demonstrate that the moderate voices -- often excluded from public dialogue because they don't fit into a black and white narrative of good versus evil -- are where genuine discourse can occur. - Daniella Zalcman is a documentary photographer based in London and New York. She is a multiple grantee of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a fellow with the International Women’s Media Foundation and a member of Boreal Collective.
Her work tends to focus on the legacies of western colonization, from the rise of homophobia in East Africa to the forced assimilation education of indigenous children in North America. She won the 2016 Inge Morath Award and the 2016 FotoEvidence book award for her project Signs of Your Identity. Her book was released this fall.
Daniella’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, National Geographic and CNN, among others. Her photos have been exhibited internationally and select projects are represented by LUMAS and Subject Matter. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in architecture in 2009.
- The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an innovative award-winning non-profit journalism organization dedicated to supporting the independent international journalism that U.S. media organizations are increasingly less able to undertake. The Center supports journalists to cover under-reported topics, promoting high-quality international reporting and creating platforms that reach broad and diverse audiences, including education programs to reach students of all ages.
When Joseph Pulitzer III became editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a half-century ago, he said, “Not only will we report the day’s news, but we will illuminate dark places and, with a deep sense of responsibility, interpret these troubled times.” In keeping with its deep ties to the Pulitzer family’s legacy of journalistic independence, integrity and courage, that same mission and deep sense of responsibility drives the Pulitzer Center, in times just as troubled.
Uganda is a deeply religious country, with diversity woven into that fabric. The majority of the population is Christian, thanks to the influence of western missionaries and British colonialism. But American-style Evangelism is quickly gaining a foothold, and there are significant populations of Muslims, Hindus, Jews and those who practice local traditional religions as well.
There is an unusual amount of religious self-determination in Kampala -- conversion is common, and in general there is a strong engagement with faith and spirituality. Because of that, religious leaders wield a great deal of power. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the national discussion of sexual and gender identity that led to the short-lived enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014. Conversations about anti-gay legislation in Uganda are often fueled by homophobic rhetoric delivered in the weekly services that are such an integral part of local life.
Photojournalist Daniella Zalcman spent several weeks interviewing religious leaders from a myriad of different faiths, asking them about their own views on sexual minorities and criminalizing laws, and how they interacted with their congregations regarding those topics. What she found surprised her. More often than not, pastors, priests, and imams were more open to discourse than one would think -- and these are some of the results of those conversations. This work is an attempt to include multiple voices, and demonstrate that the moderate voices -- often excluded from public dialogue because they don't fit into a black and white narrative of good versus evil -- are where genuine discourse can occur.
There is an unusual amount of religious self-determination in Kampala -- conversion is common, and in general there is a strong engagement with faith and spirituality. Because of that, religious leaders wield a great deal of power. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the national discussion of sexual and gender identity that led to the short-lived enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014. Conversations about anti-gay legislation in Uganda are often fueled by homophobic rhetoric delivered in the weekly services that are such an integral part of local life.
Photojournalist Daniella Zalcman spent several weeks interviewing religious leaders from a myriad of different faiths, asking them about their own views on sexual minorities and criminalizing laws, and how they interacted with their congregations regarding those topics. What she found surprised her. More often than not, pastors, priests, and imams were more open to discourse than one would think -- and these are some of the results of those conversations. This work is an attempt to include multiple voices, and demonstrate that the moderate voices -- often excluded from public dialogue because they don't fit into a black and white narrative of good versus evil -- are where genuine discourse can occur.
Daniella Zalcman is a documentary photographer based in London and New York. She is a multiple grantee of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a fellow with the International Women’s Media Foundation and a member of Boreal Collective.
Her work tends to focus on the legacies of western colonization, from the rise of homophobia in East Africa to the forced assimilation education of indigenous children in North America. She won the 2016 Inge Morath Award and the 2016 FotoEvidence book award for her project Signs of Your Identity. Her book was released this fall.
Daniella’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, National Geographic and CNN, among others. Her photos have been exhibited internationally and select projects are represented by LUMAS and Subject Matter. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in architecture in 2009.
Her work tends to focus on the legacies of western colonization, from the rise of homophobia in East Africa to the forced assimilation education of indigenous children in North America. She won the 2016 Inge Morath Award and the 2016 FotoEvidence book award for her project Signs of Your Identity. Her book was released this fall.
Daniella’s work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Mashable, National Geographic and CNN, among others. Her photos have been exhibited internationally and select projects are represented by LUMAS and Subject Matter. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in architecture in 2009.
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an innovative award-winning non-profit journalism organization dedicated to supporting the independent international journalism that U.S. media organizations are increasingly less able to undertake. The Center supports journalists to cover under-reported topics, promoting high-quality international reporting and creating platforms that reach broad and diverse audiences, including education programs to reach students of all ages.
When Joseph Pulitzer III became editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a half-century ago, he said, “Not only will we report the day’s news, but we will illuminate dark places and, with a deep sense of responsibility, interpret these troubled times.” In keeping with its deep ties to the Pulitzer family’s legacy of journalistic independence, integrity and courage, that same mission and deep sense of responsibility drives the Pulitzer Center, in times just as troubled.
When Joseph Pulitzer III became editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a half-century ago, he said, “Not only will we report the day’s news, but we will illuminate dark places and, with a deep sense of responsibility, interpret these troubled times.” In keeping with its deep ties to the Pulitzer family’s legacy of journalistic independence, integrity and courage, that same mission and deep sense of responsibility drives the Pulitzer Center, in times just as troubled.