| About Bobby: |
Robert Sukrachand is currently a senior at
New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, pursuing a degree in the Department of
Photography + Imaging. Robert’s exploration
as an image-maker lies in the intersection of
social documentary photography, the poetics
of witnessing, and international human rights,
with a specific interest in the burgeoning community-based media
movement.
As a child, Robert began making yearly trips to visit his family in
Thailand. There he was exposed to the hardships of people living
in the developing world, but also noted the ubiquitous beauty,
hope, and resiliency of the people in all places he traveled. These
experiences were reinforced during service opportunities in his local
Massachusetts’s community, as well as during service trips in Boston
and Tijuana, Mexico. These opportunities to bear witness and develop
solidarity with his brothers and sisters have served as an endless
source of motivation.
In 2005, Robert began working as Studio Manager for award-winning
social documentary photographer Joseph Rodriguez, and since has
been exploring innovative ways to use social media as advocacy. For
almost a year he has been producing a photographic documentary
about a community of people who are struggling to survive on the
streets of Jackson Heights, Queens.
Along with 3 other photography students, Robert co-founded
imMEDIAcy, an organization whose mission is to amplify the reach
and influence of the community-based media movement. In 2007,
he taught a photography class to a group of high school students from
Norman Thomas High School in New York City. Robert believes that
any movement for social justice must first begin with a collective
effort to listen to all of the world’s voices. imMEDIAcy has conducted
several initiatives, including classes in Queens, New York, and
Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as a website and blog that will
aggregate and feature these urgent and necessary voices. imMEDIAcy
believes that in order to respond to the suffering and tragedy of
others, it is first necessary to listen, converse, and empathize
with them. |
|
