Stephen Shames
BIO
Stephen Shames creates award winning photo essays on social issues for foundations, advocacy organizations, the media, and museums. The Ford, Charles Stewart Mott, Robert Wood Johnson, and Annie E. Casey Foundations have all underwritten his work and he has testified about child poverty before the United States Senate. Steve is author of seven monographs: Outside the Dream, Pursuing the Dream, The Black Panthers (Aperture), Bronx Boys (FotoEvidence) Facing Race (Moravian College), Transforming Lives (Star Bright Books), and Free to Grow (Columbia University). Shames has written, directed, or produced a dozen short videos including Friends of the Children, Building Fences, A Better Education, It’s My Life, and Making History. Steve was named a Purpose Prize Fellow in 2010 for his work with L.E.A.D Uganda. The Prize recognizes social innovators in their encore careers. Steve is also the founder of L.E.A.D Uganda (www.leadugand.org), an NGO in Uganda which transforms forgotten children into leaders by giving them the best education and the entrepreneurial skills they need to help their communities. Shames was awarded the Kodak Crystal Eagle Award for Impact in Photojournalism for his book Outside the Dream. Steve's 2008 bus shelter and subway ads for the NYC DADS campaign of the City of New York received a Pollie award (silver) from American Association of Political Consultants. Steve's two solo shows at the Steven Kasher Gallery, NYC were reviewed by The New Yorker and American Photo named Steve one of the 15 Most Underrated Photographers. PBS named Hine, Wolcott, and Shames as photographers whose work promotes social change. Steve has been profiled by People Magazine, CNN, CBS Sunday Morning. Esquire, US News, Glass, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, Time.Ford Foundation Report, and Photo District News.
EDUCATION
Jobs 2005-2006: Executive Director, Outside the Dream Foundation 1999: Freelance Photo Editor, Brill’s Content; 1986-91: Staff Photographer and Photo Editor, The Philadelphia Inquirer 1984: Director, Photojournalism Workshop, New School, New Y
Artist statement
“Stephen Shames is a tremendous asset to the disadvantaged children of this nation…His photographs have helped bring the plight of poor children to the mainstream public.” --Marian Wright Edelman Stephen Shames creates award-winning photo essays on social issues for magazines, books, foundations, advocacy organizations, and museums. Aperture published Outside the Dream, Pursuing the Dream, and the Black Panthers as monographs. Friends of the Children became a video directed by Shames. Steve’s images have been exhibited at and are in the permanent collections of the International Center of Photography, the Museum of Photographic Arts, The National Portrait Gallery, The Bancroft Library of the University of California, and Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. He has received awards from Kodak Crystal Eagle for Impact in Photojournalism, World Hunger Year, Leica, the International Center of Photography, and the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Foundation.
Exhibition Dates
Selected Recent Exhibitions: 2009 Photography & Social Change Pingyao International Photo Festival, Pingyao, China; Childhood & Youth, Steven Kasher Gallery, New York; Posing Beauty (group), New York University; Danses noires, blanche Amérique (gro
Portfolio
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