STORY: This picture was taken in Mumbai, India over the summer of 2010 while I doing non-profit work.  This image shows the face of poverty and child beggars in India, as well as the stark divide between removed foreigners being shuttled around in taxis and the mass poverty that dominates the city.  The stereotype follows that this beautiful and wide-eyed child has probably never ridden in a car, likely speaks no English, and perhaps only encounters foreigners in this context: begging. The way she’s peering into the window highlights — uneasily— both her and my perspectives in that quick second.  Not only is she looking at me hopeful that I will give her money, but to her I am nothing but pale stranger that is entirely removed from her life.  This picture encapsulates the grim relationship between foreigners and the reality of poverty, and the image is slightly uncomfortable.  It isn’t a hostile relationship; rather, it is one of guilt and of imposed moral responsibility to help where you can.  The morality behind snapping a photo for its aesthetic beauty in such a desolate scenario is something that anyone with a camera often comes to face.  I took the picture and gave her what remained of my change.  The moment was ephemeral; she wrapped her fingers around the rupee coins and walked over to peer at the faces in the next taxi stopped in traffic.  Despite how fleeting and commonplace, the moment has never left me. Photographer Nadine Ibrahim

• How is the little girl’s dignity preserved in this photograph?
• What do you think is the girl’s perspective when she glances inside the taxi?

STORY: In light of the wave of revolution and democracy that is passing over the Middle East, these photos are particularly telling. They reflect the connections that we as American citizens have with the rest of the world, and our duty toward our fellow human beings to stand against the injustices they face. Being an Egyptian American, I wanted to capture the spirit of the Egyptian revolution that extended far beyond the nation’s borders to make a global impact; I wanted to share the palpable and earnest feelings of change that have rippled across the world and truly exemplified the value of one voice among many. Taken in downtown Chicago, in front of the Egyptian consulate, these photos of a solidarity protest for the Egyptian people are a reminder of the price and value of freedom – freedom that we are fortunate to have, but must fight for on behalf of others. Photographer Mariam Gomaa

• How can we (the United States) provide influential support for democracy and freedom in other nations without engaging in war/physical conflict?
• Is it possible to have a truly peaceful quest for democracy?
• Should we support these nations at all? (Think Libya and newly emerging protests for better rights in the Middle East, think of the violence that is permeating through Egypt even after the nonviolent protests have ended and the government has been overthrown)

STORY: This boy, Ishmael, drew a picture of “home”. Many of these kids are HIV positive or came from parents without the means to take care of them and do not remember life before the orphanage. Ishmael was new to Beacon House and this picture was the most I heard from him the whole time I was there. He never spoke, but this image of “home” communicated a great deal to me. Whether this was the home he came from in the northern part of the country, a home his parents had both deserted before his grandma brought him to us…. whether it was the orphanage in which he now lived… or whether this was an image of a home he hoped to have someday… a yearning for belonging leaps off the page. I was struck in my time at Beacon how much they had formed their own family in this place. It was not a temporary solution or a holding place. These kids from all over the country became brothers and sisters for each other and a few heroes became their mothers. Ishmael’s picture reminds me of the basic human need to create “home” no matter where we are or who we’re with. Photographer Samantha Beach

• What responsibility do we have to help create new homes for the displaced?
• Whose authority is it to determine when the natural home situation is not suitable?
• How can art be a voice for children who may have been silenced by circumstance?

Winner of the TED Prize 2011, a semi-anonymous French street artist named “JR” uses his camera to expose global realities and undercover universal human truths. He does so by pasting photos of human faces and bodies across massive urban canvases such as billboards and buildings. Very broadly, these portraits challenge viewers to “discover, reveal, and share the untold stories and images of people around the world.”

One example was a project called “Face to Face” in response to the coverage of Middle Eastern conflict, specifically Israel and Palestine. JR aimed to portray people on either side of the conflict in a way that the media did not. He chose to photograph Israelis and Palestinians doing the same jobs, such as driving taxis, and asked them to make a face as a sign of a commitment to the photograph. They accepted and agreed to have their photos be pasted along side of each other.

Upon winning the 2011 Ted Prize, Street artist JR is collaborating with the TED prize and individuals to display black and white photographic portraits of people around the world. The digitally uploaded images that represent personal identity will be made into posters and placed in that person’s community.

JR’s project maximizes the power of photography to change our notions of identity—both personal and cultural. He challenges our understanding in the most convincing way possible: a direct representation of reality.

To learn more, get involved, or post your own photo for the world to see, visit http://www.insideoutproject.net/

A boxer, a truck driver, and a dancer: these are some of the subjects that Sadaf Syed chose to represent in her photo documentary book about Muslim American women.  Her book iCover shows the many dimensions of the Muslim women, forcing the viewer to look beyond the headscarf and focus instead on these individuals’ incredible stories.  This past August, Syed was identified as a leading artist and was invited to the White House to join President Obama and other interfaith leaders to celebrate the commencement of Ramadan. OpenShutter caught up with Syed and asked her about the inspiration behind her book.

How did you come up with the idea for iCover?

I always wanted to do a coffee table book but I wasn’t sure what to do.  When the events of 9/11 happened I knew I wanted to do something that portrayed Muslims in a way that would teach and inspire people. A lot of people are curious about the hijab because they don’t understand it. It’s not the norm of dressing here in America, therefore some people assume that it’s negative.

What was your main goal with iCover?

My focus was to break stereotypes and show Muslim women in male-dominated fields and to show how powerful and beautiful they are. The message of iCover is to show mercy and to get to know your neighbor and to not  be judgmental.

Did you face any resistance from people when making the book?

There are 70 women in the book. The majority of them knew that time is of the essence and that we cannot hide anymore, our faces and voices need to be shown and we need our stories to be heard.

Rather than being afraid of the media and complaining about them we should join them because the media is very strong. Flip the coin and use it in the right way, tell the truthful story and show the reality. There are reality TV shows and for me this is like a reality coffee table book.

How is iCover different from other media portrayals of Muslim women?

We can’t just keep showing images of women praying all the time, it’s beautiful but some people cannot relate to it. I wanted to get out of that, I didn’t want to just photograph Muslim women praying, I wanted people to see their day-to-day life. Many of us pray five times a day but we also do other things too, we go to school, we go to work, we help our kids with homework, we socialize, we entertain,

When you see these 150 pages of iCover you see that there is a Muslim woman who covers and is in the army, there is a Muslim woman who is a pregnant physician and is working until her 9^th month, and a Muslim woman who is manager at Target. These are women in your day-to-day jobs so you relate to them and if even if you can’t relate to them you can be in awe of that 5’1″ grandmother who drives a truck to support her family.

More information about Syed can be found on http://www.sadafsyed.com/