W. Eugene Smith Talk | Aperture Conversations: Daniel Castro Garcia

Aperture Foundation, in collaboration with the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund, is pleased to present an artist talk with Daniel Castro Garcia. Based in Sicily, Italy, Castro Garcia is the 2017 recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his project Foreigner: I Peri N’Tera—a Sicilian colloquialism that translates as “feet on the ground.” This project is a new chapter that explores the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. This work in particular focuses on the reality of life in Sicily, Italy, for unaccompanied minors who survive the journey to Europe across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. Through his body of work, Castro Garcia poses the question, “How do the individuals at the centre of this crisis locate themselves within their ‘new’ landscape and what effect do these experiences have on their daily lives?” He uses photography not only to document his subjects, but also to collaborate with them, allowing these individuals an opportunity to tell their story without the guise of the media.

Daniel Castro Garcia is a Sicily-based photographer and filmmaker. Concerned by the images coming from the Mediterranean Sea, he started the project Foreigner in May 2015, with the aim of contributing a more human response to the visual landscape that was defining the crisis. In 2017, Castro Garcia was named as the recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, and received a Magnum Foundation Fund as well as the British Journal of Photography International Photography Award. This support has enabled the continuation of his ongoing multimedia project, I Peri N’Tera, which follows the lives of unaccompanied minors living in Sicily, Italy, and the impact of trauma endured by each individual.

The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography was established in 1978 following the death of W. Eugene Smith, the legendary American photo-essayist. Today, it is one of the most prestigious honors in documentary photography. Every year it recognizes a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follow the tradition of Smith’s concerned photography and the dedicated compassion exhibited during his forty-five-year career. The application deadline is in early June. More information can be found at smithfund.org [www.smithfund.org].

The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund is supported by generous contributions from The Incite Project, Herb Ritts Foundation, Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and Canon USA. Additional support is provided by Photo District News, International Center of Photography (ICP), School of Visual Arts (SVA) BFA Photography, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media departments, MediaStorm, Brilliant Graphics, Synergy Communications, and Aperture Foundation.











When: Tue., Oct. 9, 2018 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Aperture Gallery and Bookstore
547 W. 27th St., 4th Floor
212-505-5555
Price: Free
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Aperture Foundation, in collaboration with the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund, is pleased to present an artist talk with Daniel Castro Garcia. Based in Sicily, Italy, Castro Garcia is the 2017 recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography for his project Foreigner: I Peri N’Tera—a Sicilian colloquialism that translates as “feet on the ground.” This project is a new chapter that explores the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe. This work in particular focuses on the reality of life in Sicily, Italy, for unaccompanied minors who survive the journey to Europe across the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. Through his body of work, Castro Garcia poses the question, “How do the individuals at the centre of this crisis locate themselves within their ‘new’ landscape and what effect do these experiences have on their daily lives?” He uses photography not only to document his subjects, but also to collaborate with them, allowing these individuals an opportunity to tell their story without the guise of the media.

Daniel Castro Garcia is a Sicily-based photographer and filmmaker. Concerned by the images coming from the Mediterranean Sea, he started the project Foreigner in May 2015, with the aim of contributing a more human response to the visual landscape that was defining the crisis. In 2017, Castro Garcia was named as the recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography, and received a Magnum Foundation Fund as well as the British Journal of Photography International Photography Award. This support has enabled the continuation of his ongoing multimedia project, I Peri N’Tera, which follows the lives of unaccompanied minors living in Sicily, Italy, and the impact of trauma endured by each individual.

The W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography was established in 1978 following the death of W. Eugene Smith, the legendary American photo-essayist. Today, it is one of the most prestigious honors in documentary photography. Every year it recognizes a photographer whose past work and proposed project, as judged by a panel of experts, follow the tradition of Smith’s concerned photography and the dedicated compassion exhibited during his forty-five-year career. The application deadline is in early June. More information can be found at smithfund.org [www.smithfund.org].

The W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund is supported by generous contributions from The Incite Project, Herb Ritts Foundation, Phillip and Edith Leonian Foundation, and Canon USA. Additional support is provided by Photo District News, International Center of Photography (ICP), School of Visual Arts (SVA) BFA Photography, MFA Photography, Video and Related Media departments, MediaStorm, Brilliant Graphics, Synergy Communications, and Aperture Foundation.

Buy tickets/get more info now