bio/cv - Nina Berman Photography

Nina Berman is a documentary photographer, filmmaker, journalist and educator. Her work explores American politics, militarism, environmental issues and post violence trauma. She is the author of Purple Hearts – Back from Iraq, (Trolley, 2004) portraits and interviews with wounded American veterans, Homeland, (Trolley, 2008) an examination of the militarization of American life post September 11, and An autobiography of Miss Wish (Kehrer, 2017) a story told with a survivor of sexual violence which was shortlisted for both the Aperture and Arles book prizes. Additional fellowships, awards and grants include: the New York Foundation for the Arts, the World Press Photo Foundation, Pictures of the Year International, the Open Society Foundation, the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship and the Aftermath Project. She started her photographic career in 1988 as an independent photographer working on assignment for the world’s major magazines including Time, Newsweek, Life, the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, German Geo, and the Sunday Times Magazine. She covered a range of issues, from women under siege during war in Bosnia and Afghanistan, to domestic issues of criminal justice, reproductive rights, and political process. Her work has been exhibited at more than 100 international venues from the Whitney Museum Biennial to the concrete security walls at the Za'atari refugee camp. Public collections include the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Museum of the City of New York, the Harvard Art Museums and the Bibliothèque nationale de France among others. She has participated in workshops around the world for young photographers and writes frequently on photojournalism for the Columbia Journalism Review. She is a tenured Professor of Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she directs the photojournalism/documentary photography program.

Education
University of Chicago, B.A., Honors, 1982
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, M.S. 1985

Grants, fellowships, awards

2024 Pictures of the Year International, "Fallout," Documentary Journalism, Finalist
2023 Sigma Awards "The Missiles On Our Land," Shortlisted
2022 Ploughshares Fund with Princeton University program on Science and Global Security
2021 MIT-Knight Foundation Fellowship in Science Journalism
2021 New York City Arts Grant
2020 Humanities War and Peace Initiative, Columbia University
2020/2019 Data, Media and Society/Columbia University
2019 Deutsche Börse Foundation Photography Prize (long list)
2018 Aperture/Paris Photo Book/Text Award, (shortlist)
2018 Recontres d'Arles Book Award (shortlist)
2018 Prix Pictet nomination
2018 PDN Annual Book Award
2017 Susan E. Tifft fellow in Documentary and Journalism
2016 Lange Taylor Prize (finalist)
2016 Aftermath Project Grant recipient
2014 Blue Mountain Center focused residency
2014 Society of Professional Journalists/ Northern California
2014 The Josephine Herrick Project Annual Photographer Award
2012 Puffin Foundation Grant
2010 Whitney Museum of American Art Residency
2009 Hasselblad Masters Award
2009 PDN Annual Book Award
2007 World Press Photo Foundation Award
2007 Pictures of the Year Award
2006 New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellowship
2005 World Press Photo Foundation
2005 Open Society Institute Documentary Grant
2005 Days Japan International Photo Award
2000 Communication Arts
1999 Pictures of the Year Award
1998 Emma Award
1998 Pictures of the Year Award
1997 Pictures of the Year Award
1993 Pictures of the Year Award
1987 Livingston Award, finalist

Monographs

An autobiography of Miss Wish, Kehrer Verlag, 2017
Homeland, Trolley, 2008
Purple Hearts - Back from Iraq, Trolley, 2004

Public and Private Collections

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, USA
Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Centre national de l'audiovisuel (CNA), Luxembourg
Harvard Art Museums, USA
Incite Project, UK
Library of Congress, USA
Liege-Musée des Beaux-Arts, Belgium
Musée de la Photographie, Belgium
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, USA
Museum of the City of New York, USA
Open Society Foundation, USA
Portland Art Museum, USA
Side Gallery, UK
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, USA
Weatherspoon Art Museum, USA
Zimmerli Art Museum, USA

Exhibitions

2023
Museum of the City of New York, "This is New York," NYC
University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, "Poor People's Art: A (Short) Visual History of Poverty in the US," Tampa, FL
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Good Trouble," Santa Fe, NM

2022
FotoMuseum den Haag, "Parents" The Hague, The Netherlands
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Imagine a World Without Photojournalism," Santa Fe, NM
Bronx Documentary Center, "Storming of the Capitol," Bronx, NY, USA
Bibliothèque nationale de France, "15 ans de l'agence NOOR," Paris, France

2021
Harvard Art Museums, "Devour the Land: War and American Landscape Photography Since 1970," Cambridge, USA
Southeast Museum of Photography "Conversations in Conflict Photography," Daytona Beach, FL, USA
Musée de la Photographie, "NOOR/Pulse," Charleroi, Belgium
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Present Tense," Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

2020
RIT City Arts Space, "Beyond Addiction/Reframing Recovery," Rochester, NY
Melkweg Gallery, "J'existe," Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Life on Earth," Santa Fe, NM

2019
Image Singulières, An autobiography of Miss Wish," Sete, France (solo)
New York University Gallatin Gallery, "Conversations on Conflict Photography," New York, USA
University of Michigan,"Whose Streets, Our Streets," Ann Arbor, USA
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Living in History," Santa Fe, USA
Parsons School of Design, "Beyond Addiction, Reframing Recovery," New York City, USA
UC Berkeley Art Museum, "The Goodman Photography Collection," Berkeley, USA
Military Museums: Founders Gallery, "Walled Off: The Politics of Containment," Calgary, Canada

2018
Gallery Nova, "An autobiography of Miss Wish, " Zagreb, Croatia (Solo)
Museum of Broken Windows, New York City, USA
Museum of Natural History, "Everyday Climate Change", Verona, Italy
Harris Gallery RIT, "Whose Streets? Our Streets!", Rochester, NY
Cinema Galeries, "Unframed," Brussels, Belgium
Athens Photo Festival, "Personal Notebooks" Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Trout Gallery, Dickinson College, "Unloaded," Carlisle, PA, USA
UGM/Maribor Art Gallery, "Vigilance, Struggle, Price: Through Her Eyes," Maribor, Slovenia

2017
Mirbach Palace, "American Power and Myth 2002-2017, Bratislava, Slovakia (Solo)
Centro Internazionale di fotografia, "Women photograph Women, " Palermo, Sicily
Zimmerli Art Museum, "Partisan Views and Public Opinion, " New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Czech Photo Center, “NOOR by NOOR, “ Prague, Czech Republic
Prix Bayeux Calvados, "NOOR Forgotton Conflicts/Tomorrow's Conflicts, " Bayeux, France
F³ Freiraum für Fotografie, "NOOR by NOOR", Berlin, Germany
Photoville: Charlottesville and Beyond, Brooklyn, NY, USA
NYU Tisch School of the Arts, “Reimagining A Safe Space, “NYC, USA
Nathan Cummings Foundation, “Reimagining A Safe Space, “NY, USA
Krakow Month of Photo: "The War From Here,", Krakow, Poland
Paraty em Foco, "Resist by NOOR", Paraty, Brazil
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, "Unloaded," Minneapolis, USA
Institute of Contemporary Art, "Unloaded", Portland, ME, USA
Marcia Wood Gallery, "Unloaded", Atlanta, GA,
Eyes on Main Street, Wilson, North Carolina, USA
Museum of Yugoslav History, "Lessons of '91" Belgrade, Serbia
Brandts Musuem, "In War and Peace", Odense, Denmark
Bronx Documentary Center, "Whose Streets? Our Streets!" The Bronx, NY, USA
University of Kentucky, Bolivar Art Gallery, "Unloaded," Lexington, KY, US

2016
Chavonnes Battery Museum, "1% Privilege in a time of Global Inequality, " Capetown, South Africa
Indiana Museum of Contemporary Art, "Unloaded," Indianapolis, IN, USA
Organ Vida, "Lessons of 91" Zagreb, Croatia
Station Independent, "WE:AMEricans," New York City, USA
Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, "Marcellus Shale Documentary Project: An Expanded View," Pittsburgh,
Head On Photo Festival, "1% Privilege in a time of Global Inequality", Sydney, Australia
Eyes on Main Street, Wilson, NC, USA
Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, "Unloaded", Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Gage Gallery, Roosevelt University, "1% Privilege in a time of Global Inequality", Chicago
Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, "Unloaded," Ithaca, NY, USA

2015
Hamburg Triennal of Photography, "NOOR Za'atari project," Hamburg, Germany

Pingyao International Photo Festival, "1% Privilege in a time of Global Inequality, Pingyao, China

Institute Francais, "EveryDay Climate Change," Milan, Italy

Monroe Gallery of Photography, "The Long Road: From Selma To Ferguson," Santa Fe, NM

Fotografia Europea 2015, "NOOR Diary of a Changing Planet,' Reggio Emilia, Italy

Philadelphia Photographic Arts Center, "Marcellus Shale Documentary Project," Philadelphia, PA

Space, "Unloaded", Pittsburgh, PA,

Smackmellon, "Respond," Brooklyn, NY,

United Nations, "Za'atari", New York City,

2014
Musee de Beaux Arts, “Putain de Guerre”, Charleroi, Belgium
Manchester Art Gallery, The Sensory War, Manchester, UK
Portland Art Museum: Blue Sky at 40, Portland, Oregon, USA
Palmer Art Museum: Marcellus Shale Doc Project, State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Photoville 2014, Za'atari, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Art Works Projects: Slavery Uncovered, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Kunstmuseum Dieselkraftwerk, The Critical Camera, Cottbus, Germany
Francis Marion University, Purple Hearts,Florence, South Carolina, USA
Allegheny College, Marcellus Shale Doc Project, Meadville, PA, USA
Youngstown State University, "Marcellus Shale," Youngstown, USA

2013
Photoville, "Fractured: the Shale Play", Brooklyn, NY, USA (Solo)
Brooklyn Museum, "War/Photography, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Zacheta National Gallery of Art, "In God We Trust," Warsaw, Poland
Athens Photo Fesitval, "Purple Hearts video", Athens, Greece
Noorderlicht Photo Festival, "Hedge", Groningen, The Netherlands
Corcoran Gallery, "War/Photography", Washington D.C. USA
Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, "Marcellus Shale," Ithaca, NY, USA
La Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau+, "Solutions by NOOR," Gentilly, France
Center for Photography, "Marcellus Shale," Woodstock, USA
Weatherspoon Art Museum, "Kids are All Right," Greensboro, USA
Look 3 Photo Festival, "Fracking" Charlottesville, USA
Annenberg Space for Photography, "War/Photography," Los Angeles, USA
Red Line Gallery, "The Reality of Fiction," Denver, USA
Galerie Cerami, "Under the Bridge," Charleroi, Belgium
Sylvia Wald + Po Kim Gallery, "War is for the Living," New York, USA
Sol Mednick Gallery, "Marcellus Shale," Philadelphia, USA

2012
Bronx Documentary Center, "Gardens", The Bronx, USA (Solo)
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) "War/Photography", Houston, USA
John Michael Kohler Arts Center "The Kids are All Right," Sheboygan, USA
Kunstverein-Tiergarten "The Critical Camera", Berlin, Germany
Honolulu Museum of Art, "Courage and Strength," Honolulu, USA
Pittsburgh Filmmakers, "Marcellus Shale, " PIttsuburgh, USA
Portland Art Museum, "Flesh and Bones," Portland, USA
Howard Greenberg Gallery, "New York in Color," NYC, USA
Ray 2012, "Obama Train," Frankfurt, Germany
Weatherspoon Art Museum, "Photography as Art and Document," Greensboro, USA
South Street Seaport Museum, "Occupy Wall Street," NYC, USA
Fovea Gallery, "Occupy," Beacon, USA
Getty Gallery, "Solutions", London, UK
Helsinki Biennial, "Urban and City:" Helsinki, Finland

2011
Royal Society of Medicine, "Purple Hearts" London, UK (Solo)
Dublin Contemporary, "Homeland/Marine Wedding", Dublin, Ireland (Solo)
Halle 14, “Changes”, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Weimar, Germany
GEMAK, "Generation 9-11", The Hague, The Netherlands
Monroe Gallery of Photography, "Big Picture," Santa Fe, USA
Montserrat College of Art, "For the Record", Beverly, USA
Silver Eye Center for Photography, "HomeFrontLine, Pittsburgh, USA
Noorderlicht " Metropolis", Groningen, The Netherlands
German American Center, Stuttgart, Germany
Canadian War Museum, "War and Medicine," Ottawa, Canada
Ikono, "Noor" Brussels, Belgium
10b, "Consequences by NOOR," Rome, Italy
10b, "Solutions by NOOR," Rome, Italy
Galerie Cerami, "Under the Bridge," Charlero, Belgium

2010
Whitney Museum of American Art, "Biennial 2010," New York, NY
Melkweg Gallery, "Purple Hearts," Amsterdam, The Netherlands (Solo)
Bernstein Gallery, "Purple Hearts," Princeton University, USA (Solo)
Biennale d'Art contemporain, d'Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Milano Triennale, "Disquieting Images," Milan, Italy,
IUFM Confluences, "US Today After," Lyon, France
Gallery ID, "Hedge" Miami, Florida
Bieler Fototage, "Homeland", Bienne, Switzerland
ARos Aarhus Kunstmuseum, "I Love You," Aarhus, Denmark
Alternatilla, "Consequences by NOOR," Majorca, Spain
IPPNW World Congress, "Purple Hearts," Basel, Switzerland
Rembrandt Square, "Consequences by NOOR," Amsterdam

2009
Side Gallery, "Homeland/Marine Wedding", New Castle, England,
War Ltd, "Purple Hearts", Dubrovnik, Croatia,
Gage Gallery, Roosevelt University, "Homeland", Chicago Illinois
Media Alliance, "Homeland, Purple Hearts," Troy, NY,
New Orleans Museum of Art, "The Art of Caring," New Orleans, LA
Houston Center for Photography, "Unite and Untie," Houston, Texas
Dask Gallery, "Consequences by NOOR," Copenhagen, Denmark
Powerhouse Arena, "Its Darkest Places: War Illuminated", Brooklyn, NY
Galerie Cerami, “No Comment”, Charleroi, Beligum
Noorderlicht, "Human Conditions," Groningen, The Netherlands
FotoPub, "Homeland," Novo Mesto, Slovenia
Kunstraum Potsdam, "Purple Hearts/Marine Wedding", Potsdam, Germany
ArteFoto 2009, "Homeland," Ancona, Italy
Deutsches Hygiene Museum, ”War and Medicine", Dresden, Germany

2008
Cicero Gallery, "Purple Hearts/Marine Wedding," Berlin, Germany (Solo)
Photokina, "Purple Hearts/Marine Wedding," Cologne, Germany (Solo)
Jen Bekman Gallery, " Homeland", New York City (Solo)
Elon University, "Purple Hearts," Elon, North Carolina, USA (Solo)
Wellcome Collection, "War and Medicine," London, England
Stephen Cohen Gallery, "Images of War," Los Angeles, California
Pingyao International Photo Festival, Pingyao, China
Bumbershoot, "Power of One," Seattle, Washington
Benham Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington
Fovea Editions, "Frontlines", Beacon, New York
Portland Art Museum, "New on the Wall," Portland, Oregon
Massachusetts College of Art, "War Stories," Boston, USA
Jen Bekman, "Ne Plus Ultra", New York City

2007
Jen Bekman Gallery, "Purple Hearts," New York City, (Solo)
Alice Austen House Museum, "Purple Hearts," Staten Island, NY (Solo)
Musee de l'Art Wallon "Icare", Liege, Belgium
Mark Di Suvero Peace Tower, Chicago, Illinois
World Press Photo Foundation, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France
Boca Raton Museum of Art, "Thy Brother's Keeper" Boca Raton, USA
Nathan Cummings Foundation, "The Big Picture," New York City
Green Door Studio, "Purple Hearts," Burlington, Vermont
Columbia School of Social Work, "Purple Hearts," New York City
Suny Potsdam, Crumb Library, Potsdam, New York
Galerie Cerami, "Purple Hearts," Charleroi, Belgium

2006
University of Maryland, "Purple Hearts," Baltimore, Maryland (Solo)
Trolley Gallery, "Purple Hearts," London, England (Solo)
Chicago Cultural Center, "Humans Being: Disability in Contemporary Art, " Chicago, Il
Spool Mfg - "Overload:" Johnson City, New York
Flint Institute of Arts, "The Human Condition", Flint, Michigan
Open Society Institute, "Moving Walls," Washington D.C.
University of Hawaii, "Purple Hearts," Hilo, Hawaii

2005
Galerie Cerami, "Purple Hearts," Charleroi, Belgium, (Solo)
National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, "Purple Hearts," Chicago, Illinois, USA (Solo)
Deutsche American Institute, "Purple Hearts," Heidelberg, Germany, (Solo)
World Press Photo Foundation, Amsterdam, 2005
Smack Mellon Gallery, "War," Brooklyn, New York
Provisions Library, "War", Washington D.C,
Open Society Institute, "Moving Walls," New York City
Foto&Photo, "Purple Hearts" Cesano Maderno, Italy
Blue Sky Gallery, "Purple Hearts," Portland, Oregon

2004 - 1991
Gladstone Building, "Purple Hearts," Oakland, California
Redux Gallery, "Purple Hearts," New York City (2004)
Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France
Musee de L'Elysee "New York after New York", Lausanne, Switzerland
Palazzo Isimbardi, "9-11", Milan, Italy
Museum of the City of New York, "New York Now 2000"
Visa Pour L'Image, Perpignan, France, 1997
United Nations, "Faces of Sorrow", New York City
Henry Street Settlement, "On the Edge." New York City 1991

Catalogues/Book Contributions

The Cunning of Gender Violence, ed by Lila Abu-Lughod, Rema Hammami and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian,
Duke University Press, 2023
What We See, ed. Daniella Zalcman and Sara Ickow, White Lion Publishing, 2023
La Région Humanine, ed Gilles Verneret and Michel Poivert, Éditions Loco, 2021
Picturing Resistance, Melanie Light and Ken Light, Ten Speed Press, 2020
Extraction:Art on the Edge of the Abyss, ed: Samuel Pelts, The Codex Foundation, 2020
A World History of Photography, Naomi Rosenblaum, 5th edition, 2019
Everyday Climate Change, (Silvana Editoriale, 2018) edited Dario Cimorelli
War Is Only Half The Story, ed Sara Terry, Dewi Lewis, 2018
Subjective/Objective: A Century of Social Photography, Ed Donna Gustafson and Andres Mario Zervigon, University of Chicago Press, 2017
In/Visible War: The Culture of War in Twenty-First Century America, Rutgers University Press, 2017
Re-imagining A Safe Space, Deborah Willis and Melissa Harris, Nathan Cummings Foundation/NYU Tisch, 2017
Whose Streets? Our Streets!, Meg Handler, Tamar Carroll, Mike Kamber, Bronx Documentary Center, 2017
Unloaded,Susanne Slavick, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, 2015
1% Privilege in a Time of Global Inequality, Myles Little, Hatje Cantz, 2015
Blue Sky, The Oregon Center for Photographic Arts at 40, Julia Dolan, Portland Art Museum, 2014
Trolleyology, Gigi Giannuzzi/Hannah Watson, Trolley, London, 2013
Photojournalists on War: The Untold Stories from Iraq, Mike Kamber, University of Texas, 2013
War/Photography:Images of Armed Conflict and its Aftermath, Anne Wilkes Tucker, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 2012
Marcellus Shale Documentary Project, Laura Domencic, Pittsburgh, 2012
Bosnia 1992 – 1995, Jon Jones, Gary Knight, Sarajevo, 2012
Making History, RAY Fotografieprojekte, Frankfurt, 2012
Photographs Not Taken, Will Steacy, Daylight Books, 2012
Disquieting Images, Germano Celant /Melissa Harris, Skira, Milan, 2011
Whitney Biennial 2010 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2010
US Today After, Gilles Verneret, Silvana Editoriale, Milan, 2010
A History of Women Photographers, Naomi Rosenblum, Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 2010
The Pursuit of Happiness,Stitching Fotografie, Noorderlicht, 2009
War Stories, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, 2008
Humans Being: Disability in Contemporary Art, Chicago Cultural Center, and Chicago, 2006
Crimes of War, Roy Gutman, David Rieff, Norton, USA, 1999

Visiting Artist Lecture Venues

Annenberg Space for Photography
Baruch College
Bronx Documentary Center
Carter Center
Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
Colby College
Colgate University
Columbia University
Dart Center
DOK Festival, Norway
Duke University
Drexel University
Empire State College
Francis Marion University
George Washington University
International Center of Photography
Indiana University
Institute for Public Knowledge, NYU
Humanity House, The Hague
John Jay College
Kharkiv Karazin University
Kutztown University
Lisbon Consortium, Portugal
Massachusetts College of Art
Montserrat College of Art
New York Academy of Medicine
New York Film Academy
New School
New York University
Northern Virginia Community College
Palmer Art Museum - Penn State
Pratt Institute
Princeton University
Rochester Institute of Technology
Roosevelt University
Rutgers University
School of Visual Arts
Scottish Parliament
Susquehanna University
Temple University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina, Greensboro
University of Southern California, Annenberg
University of South Wales, Cardiff
Weatherspoon Art Museum
Whitney Museum of American Art
Yale University
Zimmerli Art Museum

Teaching/Workshops

2018 - present - Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
2023- 2024 - Advisor, Johns Hopkins Film and Media Studies, Story Lab
2012- 2018 Associate Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
2019 - Women Photograph Mentor
2019 - NOOR Master Class- Sofia, Bulgaria
2018 - NOOR Master Class - Warsaw, Poland
2011 - Al-Liquindoi and Contemporary Image Collection Workshop, Cairo, Egypt
2011 - Framing the Future/NOOR - Cairo, Egypt
2010 - Whitney Museum of American Art: Veterans Eye: Brooklyn VA hospital PTSD clinic
2010 - Whitney Museum of American Art: Artist in Residence Youth Insights
2010- NOOR Master Class - St. Petersburg, Russia
1999, 2004 – 2009 International Center of Photography (ICP) Documentary Seminar

Juries/ Portfolio Reviews

2023 Aftermath Project Grant
2023 Bronx Documentary Center/ Portfolio Review
2022 Victor K. McElheny Award
2022 Bronx Documentary Center/Portfolio Review
2021 Women Photograph Grants
2021 Lipman Center's Initiative on Reporting on Race and Criminal Justice Fellows
2019 W. Eugene Smith, Student Award
2019 United Photo Industries, The Fence
2018 Catchlight Award
2017 Slovak Press Photo Jury Chair
2017 FotoEvidence Book Award
2017 Documenting Detroit Fellows
2014 Terry O'Neil Photography Award
2013 Terry O'Neill Photography Award
2012 Aftermath Project Grant
2011 World Press Photo Foundation
2011 Hasselblad Masters
2006 Pictures of the Year International

→ View Press/Editorial Publications

Nina Berman

Nina Berman Photography

Nina Berman, documentary photographer, photojournalist, filmmaker, Professor at Columbia University Journalism School, artist, Whitney Biennial