Photography Faculty Michelle Bogre was has been honored with an invitation to curate a show based on her book, Photography as Activism, at the inaugural Chengde International Photographic Festival in China, held in June.  It is a major photographic festival sponsored jointly by Chinese Photographers magazine of China National Academy of Arts, Chengde city government and Hebei Photographers Association.  Bogre will also be giving a lecture on the subject to students and speaking at the festival.

In Photography as Activism, Michelle Bogre discusses the philosophy and history of how activists and social reformers have used the camera as a research tool and instrument for social reform. Beginning with the invention of the camera, the book traces the earliest instances of photographic activism through to today’s emerging practices, profiling the most prominent activists of their time and their legendary images. She includes in depth interviews with contemporary photographer activists, including:

• Eugene Richards
• Marcus Bleasdale
• Tom Stoddart
• Jonathan Torgovnik
• Edward Kashi
• Brent Stirton
• Stephen Dupont
• Walter Astrada

The book has been gaining attention again from the academic world, since it was chosen as the Common Reading at Rice University last Fall.

The trip to China will also allow her to do field research for her new book on Documentary Photography.