Pulitzer Center Update

Daniella Zalcman Wins Arnold Newman Prize for "Signs of Your Identity"

Daniella Zalcman at an exhibition of her work honoring her for winning the Arnold Newman Prize. Image courtesy of Daniella Zalcman. United States, 2017.
Daniella Zalcman at an exhibition of her work honoring her for winning the Arnold Newman Prize. Image courtesy of Daniella Zalcman. United States, 2017.

Daniella Zalcman won the Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture for "Signs of Your Identity," a Pulitzer Center-funded project. 

Zalcman was awarded a $20,000 prize for her project, which examines the lasting impact of forced assimilation on Canada's First Nations community. Zalcman's photographs juxtapose photographs of surviving students from Canada's Indian Residential Schools, with images suggesting the tragic legacy of their experiences in these schools. "Signs of Your Identity" examines not only the impact of the residential school system, but also looks to the future—for the first time in decades, children are being brought up speaking Ojibwe and Cree and Blackfoot again.

The Arnold Newman Prize is designed to launch the career of an artist whose work demonstrates a new vision in portraiture and allows them to pursue a groundbreaking project. The prize is awarded annually as a tribute to photographer Arnold Newman’s lasting contributions to the fields of portraiture and teaching. 

Earlier this year, Zalcman was also featured in Photo District News' 30 List of "New and Emerging Photographers to Watch."