© Misha Friedman
Walter E. Washington Convention Center 801 Mount Vernon Place NW 20001 Washington, DC États-Unis
Misha Friedman is a documentary photographer who has worked for various NGOs, including Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), documenting the humanitarian crisis in Northern Uganda, urban violence in Nigeria, Kala Azar in India, and civil war in Darfur. Born in Moldova, while it was still a part of the Soviet Union, Friedman moved to NYC in 1991. His recent projects deal with the AIDS/tuberculosis epidemic in the former Soviet Union and illegal migration into the EU through Ukraine. Friedman’s prizes include Picture of the Year International, Forward Thinking Museum and PDN 30. He lectures at the International Center of Photography and Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies.
Friedman's recognitions include:
2011 Pictures of the Year International (POYi) – Portrait, Award of Excellence
2011 Magenta Foundation Flash Forward – winner
2011 Forward Thinking Museum – Quarterly Competition – winner
2010 Images to Stop Tuberculosis Photo Award – winner
2010 Freedom to Create – Highly Commended
“Most of the people you see here are dead,” Mr. Friedman recently said to the New York Times, looking at the photographs he will be presenting in Washington, DC on June 23. “My images have not really helped them. Maybe they’ll help people in the future. Maybe they’ll help with fund-raising here and there. But to these particular people, they did not help. So that part is hard, being kind of just a photographer."
© Misha Friedman
Institute of Modern Russia continues its efforts in raising awareness of the disastrous state of affairs with HIV / AIDS and Tuberculosis in Russia. On July 23rd, at the XIX International AIDS Conference of 2012 in Washington, IMR will showcase a series of photographs portraying TB and HIV / AIDS-afflicted patients, recently taken in Russia by New York-based photographer Misha Friedman.
There are currently around 665,000 HIV-infected people registered in Russia, with the situation having further deteriorated in recent years. As independent observers report, the incidence of TB and HIV / AIDS has reached epidemic levels in Russia and the former Soviet republics. Despite these grim figures, the authorities have not only ignored this problem, but have also actively suppressed information surrounding it.
© Misha Friedman
In the face of scarce information about the epidemic, New York-based photographer Misha Friedman has presented IMR with a valuable resource in the photographs he took starting in 2008, documenting the lives and inadequate treatment of HIV / AIDS and TB patients in the Caucasus, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine.
In the autumn of 2011, with IMR's support, Friedman expanded his project, visiting and photographing TB hospitals in St. Petersburg and Togliatti, Russia. Full information on IMR’s HIV / AIDS and TB projects is available here.
IMR’s HIV / AIDS and Tuberculosis project aims to raise awareness of this grave situation in the Russian and international communities. Our mission is to stimulate the efforts of political and human rights activists, the media, and all those who advocate for HIV / AIDS and TB sufferers in Russia. Misha Friedman integrated himself into this unfortunate community, creating a touching documentary that provides us with a glimpse into these patients’ lives. He presents a series of haunting black-and-white images that blend together, provoking a feeling of hopelessness and despair, leaving no one indifferent. (Please, read our exclusive interview with the photographer here.)
© Misha Friedman
At this IMR event, Putin’s Russia: Life with HIV/AIDS and TB, Misha Friedman will personally present his work and address questions from the audience. Having worked with Doctors Without Borders for several years, Friedman had a unique opportunity to develop a clear and unbiased opinion on the state of HIV / AIDS and TB patients in Russia and CIS countries. Anya Sarang and Aleksandra Volgina (President of Andrey Rylkov Foundation and Advocacy Coordinator for E.V.A., a St.Petersburg-based organization providing assistance to HIV-positive women, respectively) will also share their views on the problems surrounding HIV in Russia.
Institute of Modern Russia cordially invites everyone to attend Misha Friedman’s exhibition.
July 23rd from 6.30 to 8.00 pm
Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place NW
Washington, DC 20001
Human Rights / Social, Economic and Prevention Justice Zone
Booth GV-806, Global Village, Hall B