Often the unsung heroes of our profession, photojournalists frequently work on the front lines, putting their lives at risk to bring us vital news images. In this exhibit, organized by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) and The Paley Center for Media, we showcase the work of renowned photojournalists who have captured pivotal moments in history, including Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto campaigning just before her assassination and the barrier-breaking candidates in the U.S. presidential campaign.

The photos cover elections in more than fifteen countries over the past forty years. We looked for famous leaders campaigning for high office, from Lyndon Johnson stumping for Bobby Kennedy on the streets of Brooklyn in 1964 to George W. Bush and his family anxiously awaiting results in 2000. We looked for groundbreaking elections: the first contested presidential race in Egypt, for example, and the first vote that put a representative from the lowest caste into India’s Parliament. We wanted elections that changed the course of history—the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and the Solidarity movement in Poland. We also wanted images of failed attempts at democracy, including Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle against the Burmese junta, ending in her house arrest, and opposition rallies in Zimbabwe before Robert Mugabe’s crackdown.

These photojournalists are the best in the business. They have won Pulitzer Prizes and World Press Photo awards. We included up-and-coming photojournalists from the developing world. We also spotlighted photographers who have worked with the ICFJ to train aspiring photojournalists around the world.

The photographers donated these images to ICFJ. Proceeds from an auction of the prints will be used for programs designed to advance quality journalism worldwide and to purchase camera equipment for participating photographers from the developing world. This exhibition will travel to Washington, D.C., 
for ICFJ’s awards dinner on November 12.

Bids for these prints can be made online at ICFJ.org.

Joyce Barnathan

President

International Center For Journalists