2026 SDN Visual Storytelling Festival
Speaker Series
There is no charge for these programs (except The Photo Editor's Perspective) but registration is required
Coreen Simpson
Tuesday, February 24, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
Celebrating Black History Month with Coreen Simpson
In conversation with Lisa DuBois. Moderated by Dudley Brooks
Coreen Simpson became one of a handful of female photographers on regular assignment covering the Fashion Collections in Paris and New York. Her images have appeared in Vogue, Essence, Ms. Magazine, Paris Match, The New York Times, The Village Voice and numerous books and periodicals.
More information and speaker bios »
This program has been postponed. We will announce a new date when it has been rescheduled.
No Woman's Land
Documenting Afghan Women's Lives Under the Taliban
Tuesday, March 3, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
Panel discussion and presentation with Kiana Hayeri and Mélissa Cornet
Moderated by Sarah Leen
Photographer Kiana Hayeri and women’s rights researcher Mélissa Cornet traveled across seven Afghan provinces over ten weeks, speaking with more than 100 Afghan women and girls about how their lives have been reshaped under Taliban rule.
More information and speaker bios »
Flashpoints
Photography and Political Violence in the U.S.
Tuesday, March 10, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
Panel discussion with:
Jabin Botsford: Washington, DC-based photojournalist
David Dee Delgado: Covering ICE/federal courts in NYC
Madison Swart: Freelance photojournalist struck by crowd-control munitions during the 2025 “No Kings” protests in LA
Moderated by:
Lauren Walsh: Professor, NYU
This panel brings together leading photojournalists to explore how images of political violence are made, circulated, and interpreted. Discussion will address the ethical challenges of photographing violent events, the risks faced by those behind the camera, and the impact these images have on public opinion, accountability, and collective memory.
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2026 ZEKE Award Winners
Wednesday, April 1, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
Panel discussion with:
Ginevra Bonina, Out for Blood, India
Menstruation is a physiological process, but despite being universal– influencing psycho-physical well-being, reproductive health, education, work, and spiritual life– it remains surrounded by taboos and stigma rooted in mythology, religion, medicine, and culture.
Ebrahim Alipoor, Bullets Have No Borders, Kurdistan, Iran
Bullets Have No Borders is a long-term documentary project about Kurdish Kolbars– border porters who carry goods across the Iran-Iraq mountains to support their families.
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Land, Power, and Consequences
Stories of a Changing Environment
Tuesday, April 7, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
Panel discussion with:
Peter Essick: Photographer, author, speaker, and drone pilot
Pat Kane: Visual storyteller based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
Sara Hylton: Award-winning Canadian National Geographic photographer and explorer
Moderated by:
Justin Dalaba, Multimedia producer and editor telling stories through documentary photography and video
Through the lens of documentary photography, this panel brings together three acclaimed visual storytellers whose work explores how modern industry is impacting both the environment and climate and reshaping communities and identities.
More information and speaker bios »
The Photo Editor's Perspective
Saturday, April 11, 5:00 pm ET via Zoom
Join us for this closing panel at the SDN Reviews with leading photo editors talking about what they look for, how to pitch to them, and how to create a portfolio for long term success.
Panel discussion with:
Anne Farrar, Senior Photo Editor, National Geographic
Maura Friedman, Senior Photo Editor, New York Magazine
Quentin A. Nardi, Chief Photo Editor, Smithsonian Magazine
Bernadette Tuazon, Director of Photography, CNN Digital
Moderated by:
Sarah Leen, Former Director of Photography, National Geographic
More information and speaker bios »
Free for SDN Portfolio Reviews participants
$20 for the general public.
Life Under Siege
Gaza and Ukraine
Wednesday, April 29, 1:30 pm ET via Zoom
This panel brings together two eminent photographers—one who has documented the genocide in Gaza and another who has covered Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine—moderated by an expert in conflict photography.
A panel discussion with:
Saher Alghorra, Gaza
Vlada Liberova, Ukraine
Moderated by: Lauren Walsh, Professor, NYU
More information and speaker bios »
More to come!
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