“Everyday Africa began with a photograph of a man in an elevator. But it was born of images much older than that.” So begins a chapter by Austin Merrill and Peter DiCampo in their recently released book, “Everyday Africa: 30 Photographers Re-Picturing a Continent.”
Join the Pulitzer Center on Monday, September 25, 2017 at 7 p.m. for a Talks @ Pulitzer Center when Merrill and DiCampo discuss the genesis of what has become a worldwide photographic phenomena and led to Pulitzer Center-supported “Everyday DC” educational work in Washington, DC inspired by the Everyday Africa project.
They also will share excerpts from their new book and discuss the process of bringing this viral social media project to life as a printed body of work–the 440-page book features 267 photographs by 30 photographers, along with four written essays. Books will be available for purchase, and Merrill and DiCampo will be on hand to sign copies.
Everyday Africa, a collection of images shot on mobile phones across the continent, is an attempt to redirect focus toward a more accurate understanding of what the majority of Africans experience on a day-to-day basis: normal life. The project is a response to the common media portrayal of the African continent as a place consumed by war, poverty, and disease.