2024 Lecture Series
WESAAM AL-BADRY AND JAKE RICKER
Sunday, December 8th, 6:00 pm PDT
Bayfront Theater (BATS Improv) at Fort Mason, Landmark Building B, 2 Marina Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94123
Directions to Bayfront Theater at Fort Mason HERE
Students are always welcome to attend PhotoAlliance lectures for free, please tell our check-in volunteer you are a student and show your school ID
The PhotoAlliance 2024 Fall Lecture Series is presented in partnership with:
Mark Ryan Fine Art Services
Meticuloulsy hand crafting and finishing frame packages in Oakland CA since 2014
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Join us for a captivating lecture featuring two dynamic photographers, Wesaam Al-Badry and Jake Ricker, whose work challenges conventional narratives and opens up discussions on identity, community, and social justice.
Wesaam Al-Badry, a multidisciplinary artist and photojournalist, explores themes of displacement, conflict, and the cultural intersections of his Iraqi-American identity. His work, often rooted in deep personal experiences, offers a profound reflection on the human cost of war, migration, and systemic inequalities. In this lecture, Wesaam will delve into his approach to documenting marginalized communities and the ethical responsibilities of visual storytelling in times of crisis.
Jake Ricker, a documentary photographer, brings a raw and unfiltered view of life on the Golden Gate Bridge, capturing intimate, fleeting moments that reveal the everyday complexities of modern society. Through his lens, Jake presents an honest and sometimes gritty portrait of his subjects, often highlighting the resilience and beauty found in overlooked corners of the city. In this session, Jake will discuss his approach to photographing urban spaces and how his work intersects with themes of community, identity, and public space.
Together, Al-Badry and Ricker will engage in a dialogue that spans personal meaning, political engagements, and cultural ties, shedding light on their unique perspectives and photographic practices.This lecture is a must-attend for anyone interested in photography's role as a tool for social commentary and storytelling.
All photos © Wesaam Al-Badry
An Iraqi-American photojournalist's Brief But Spectacular take on refugees
© PBS
ABOUT WESAAM AL-BADRY
Wesaam Al-Badry is an investigative journalist, and interdisciplinary artist working in photography, video installation, sculpture, and painting through interconnected themes of identity, migration, simulated wars, and the archives. His work focuses on the social and environmental issues in the U.S. Middle East and the North African diaspora. His current projects investigate how the image-based process and text are complicit in using racialized ethnographic studies in Iraq.
His early arduous childhood experiences sculpted Al-Badry’s work, which focuses on imagining the human struggle with dignity, and love.
Al-Badry was born in Nasiriyah, Iraq, when he was seven years old, at the outset of what became known as the Gulf War, his family fled to Saudi Arabia and lived in refugee camps for 4 and half years. In late 1994, Al-Badry and his family were relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska.
Al-Badry has worked for global media outlets, including CNN and Al-Jazeera America. His photographs have been featured in the New York Times, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Atlantic, NPR, Fortune, The Nation, and Mother Jones. Al-Badry has received The John Collier Jr. Award for Still Photography, Dorothea Lange Fellowship, the Jim Marshall Fellowship for Photography, The National Geographic Society fellowship, Magnum Foundation, and The Emerson Collective, and is currently a fellow at The Center for Visual Documentation. His artwork has been exhibited internationally at museums including the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco, the Museum Angewandte Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany, Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York City, Bernstein Gallery at Princeton University, Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, and Jenkins Johnston Gallery in San Francisco.
He currently resides between Berkeley, CA, and Lincoln, NE. Al-Badry received his master’s in New Media journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, and his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. Al-Badry is represented by the Jenkins Johnson Gallery in San Francisco and New York, East Wing Gallery, and Contact Press Images, NYC.
All photos © Jake Ricker
This San Francisco Photographer Shoots the Golden Gate Bridge Every Single Day
© The San Francisco Standard
ABOUT JAKE RICKER
Jake Ricker is a documentary photographer based in San Francisco, California. With a background spanning nearly a decade as a bike messenger, he seized the unique opportunity to carry his camera wherever he went. This allowed him to capture the everyday fabric of human life, ranging from moments of comedy and romance to instances of riots, violence, police activities, graffiti, and everything in between encountered during his daily deliveries. Over the last six years, Jake has devoted his everyday time to documenting The Golden Gate Bridge for his ongoing project Strange Paradise.
Over the last six years, Jake has devoted his everyday time to documenting The Golden Gate Bridge for his ongoing project Strange Paradise.He has invested over 12,000 hours and covered more than 12,000 miles along the east sidewalk, camera in hand. Having amassed a portfolio of over 3,000 rolls of film, Ricker’s goal is to unveil his candid street-style photography, presenting the people of the bridge for the first time.
During his daily walks, Ricker seamlessly blends in as an average tourist with a camera. Unintentionally, he has played a crucial role in preventing suicides, having assisted over 90 people. This unexpected aspect of the project was never part of the initial plan, surprising even Ricker himself. With the goal of completing the project within the next year, coinciding with the installation of the suicide net, Ricker continues to capture the diverse stories embedded in the Golden Gate Bridge’s fabric.
Portrait by Anna-Alexia Basile
PhotoAlliance believes in an accessible, inclusive and supportive arts community. The income we receive from ticket sales offsets our costs and allows us to pay artists for their work. If you are unable to afford the admission cost of a PhotoAlliance event, we welcome you to join our volunteer team and attend for free, more information HERE.
ABOUT MARK RYAN FINE ART SERVICES
Established by Ryan Hendon, Mark Ryan Fine Art Services has provided custom crafted fine art finishing services using museum standard materials and conservation practices since 2014. From consultation to the design and fabrication stages of your presentation, Mark Ryan Fine Art Services fully embrace the collaborative process to find the right solution for all of artists' projects.
PhotoAlliance is thrilled to be in partnership with Mark Ryan Fine Art Services for our 2024 Fall Lecture Series! To learn more about Mark Ryan Fine Art Services, please visit: www.markryanfineart.com.
