PhotoWork in Progress - Brief Article

Three photographers have been chosen to participate in the third edition of PhotoWork(s) in Progress, the international program concerned with social development and sponsored by the Nederlands Foto lnstituut and the Mondriaan Foundation. Jannes Linders (The Netherlands), Susan Meiselas (U.S.) and Fazal Sheikh (U.S.) were chosen for the commission from among 21 nominated photographers based on proposals in coherence with this year's topic of "Constructing Identity," and the effects that rapid changes in communications technologies and visual culture have on individual and cultural identity.

Linders's work centers on situations in which new communication technologies in The Netherlands influence the conduct and identity of the people. Meiselas, recently acclaimed for her book Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History [see Afterimage 26, no. 5], will explore the development and representational history of a Papuan tribe "discovered" in 1950. Sheikh will examine the culture of Islam in The Netherlands, particularly in relation to how younger generations of Muslims integrate into Dutch society. All three projects will be presented in Spring 2001.