by Pete Rosenbery
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Evelyn Hockstein will be the guest speaker as the notable work of women photojournalists is highlighted in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Sharp Museum this fall.
A juried, traveling exhibition featuring some of the top women photojournalists in Washington, D.C., is on display at Sharp Museum this semester, including this one by Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Evelyn Hockstein of a woman in her mother’s burned-out home after the October 2023 attack by Hamas gunmen. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein)
Hockstein, a senior White House photographer for Reuters, is the guest speaker at a Sept. 12 reception from 4:30 to 8 p.m. in the museum. The event is free and open to the public. There will be Q&A after presentation.
Hockstein said the focus of her discussion will be on covering “two very different administrations — The Biden and Trump White House.” Being a senior White House photographer for the news agency is “challenging,” she said.
WPOW: Women Photojournalists of Washington, a photography and multimedia traveling exhibition featuring 23 examples of standout visual journalism with narratives, is in the museum’s Study Gallery through Dec. 13.
“I hope people see something new, are inspired by the images, take away a new idea or perspective,” said Hockstein, who is the organization’s president. “It’s a wonderful chance to see the world through the eyes of so many talented and dedicated women.”
‘Good photos’ convey information
One of Hockstein’s photos — showing a grieving Israeli woman in her mother’s burned-out home after the October 2023 attack by Hamas gunmen — is among the works on display. Three members of the woman’s family, two children and their father, were kidnapped, and her mother and niece were killed.
Hockstein’s images were part of the Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize winning coverage of Jan. 6, 2021. The two photos were “entirely different beyond the subject matter,” she said.
“If the photograph tells a story, it will probably make a good photo,” Hockstein said. “The scene from Jan. 6 at the Capitol is a wide storytelling image that sets the scene and conveys a lot of information about the events taking place, as well as the mood despite its lack of intimacy. The image from the Israel-Hamas war is extremely intimate, in close quarters, and conveys a lot of information.”
Hockstein has worked in more than 70 countries covering civil wars, political unrest, humanitarian crises and natural disasters. She has always been interested in history and social justice.
“I was especially drawn to photographs of ordinary people and their struggles, their hopes and dreams, their realities, and how important and powerful a photograph of a fragment of time could be for the present and future,” she said.
‘Important to engage’ in democracy
Julia Rendleman, an assistant professor of journalism in the School of Journalism and Advertising and a previous WPOW member, hopes people “take advantage of seeing this important work in person in Southern Illinois.”
“Things seem hard right now, and people are disengaging with the news. But there is something about seeing these images up close and reading the stories behind them that bring the news to life and remind us why it is important to engage in our democracy,” she said.
Hockstein will visit Rendleman’s beginning photojournalism class and her advanced course in editorial portraits while she is on campus.
“I want students to get an idea of what is possible in this career from someone who is operating at the highest levels. I want them to get a sense of how challenging and rewarding a career in photojournalism can be,” Rendleman said.
T Lance, the museum’s curator of exhibits, noted that only about 10 universities in the country receive the WPOW traveling exhibition after its initial showing in Washington, D.C. The museum also hosted the traveling exhibition in February 2024.
“It is an honor to host this exhibition and provide a valuable learning resource for photojournalism students,” they said. “It is an even greater honor and resource to have the best in show winner provide a public talk in the WPOW speaker series.”
As with all exhibitions, the artwork represents the viewpoints of its creators, not SIU. SIU complies with the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act and State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.