© Stephen Ferry. Untitled, November 2003 (Kogui village of Chivilongui)

Through Our Lens: Photographers Reflect on Empowerment is a photography exhibition at 25CPW Gallery benefiting the Man Up Campaign, a global initiative supporting young people to stop violence against women at the community level, founded by journalist Jimmie Briggs.  The exhibit, curated by Whitney Johnson, JB Reed, Bess Greenberg and Yukiko Yamagata, will be on view from March 9-11, 2012, following a silent and live auction of the work on International Women’s Day – this Thursday, March 8th.

The exhibition includes a wide-ranging field of photographers from the worlds of fashion, documentary photography, and contemporary art. While some images resonate defiance, strength, and heroism, others highlight moments of joy, celebration, and play. In support of Man Up Campaign USA, Inc, the benefit exhibition serves to recognize that empowerment has no gender; it is not limited by form, and it is not classified by age or race.

Ticketed reception and auction with hors’ doevures, open bar and a guest DJ set by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots will take place on March 8th from 6:30pm to 11pm, to celebrate International Women’s Rights Day.  March 9-11 includes a weekend of talks and film screenings featuring author Jill Iscol and activist Christy Turlington-Burns and ManUp delegates from Guyana, Canada and Native America will present to discuss the impact they have had in their communities as ManUp Ambassadors.

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All photos © Martin Roemers

There are now 7 billion people on earth, and according the United Nations Population Fund, one half of us live in cities. Martin Roemers has been photographing the world’s megacities, sprawling urban areas inhabited by millions, capturing their chaos, humanity and dynamism. “Metropolis,” Roemers’ first North American exhibition, opens February 29 at Anastasia Photo, a New York City gallery specializing in documentary photography and photojournalism. The show runs through April 1.

Above: Calcutta.

Cairo Traffic Square.

Mumbai Train Station.

Manila.

Jakarta.

All photographs © Jim Alinder/Courtesy University of Texas Press. Above: Winter house.

Jim Alinder photographed houses designed by West Coast modernist architect Hank Schubart for Houses Made of Wood and Light, a new book from University of Texas Press that looks at Schubart’s life and work—in particular his contribution to British Columbia’s Salt Spring Island, where he built more than 230 residential, commercial, educational and religious projects. Schubart’s work was defined by his ability to integrate a structure’s design into the natural landscape, and by his use of wood and glass. (more…)

West Fayette Street, #5, 2012

Syracuse-based photographer and teacher Willson Cummer‘s new project “Available” explores buildings and vacant lots in Central New York that are for sale or lease. “In the current economy, there are hundreds of such properties,” Cummer says. “The state of availability is a poignant one. When a person says they’re available, it means they are looking for a new romantic relationship. These vacant buildings and sites are also looking for new life. They are in limbo states between one purpose and another. I am attracted to the humble paint jobs that cover up graffiti, as well as the buildings that sport graffiti. Often these structures appear to have been made without much concern for architecture. A certain amount of square footage was needed, and a building was thrown up to suit. The vernacular architecture is visually intriguing.”

Cummer, whose work plumbs the intersection of the built and natural worlds, recently exhibited another of his projects, a series of images of parking garages, at OK Harris gallery in New York City. (more…)

© Ryan McGinley. Above: Brennan (Blue), 2007.

Ryan McGinley‘s premier retrospective monograph, You and I recently released by Twin Palms Publishers creates a portrait of a generation that is savvy about visual culture and acutely aware of how identity can be communicated through photography.

-courtesy Twin Palms Publishers.

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