Talk

MFA Photography, Video and Related Media presents a conversation between photographer Dina Litovsky (MFA 2010 MFA Photography, Video and Related Media) and Kathy Ryan, the director of photography at The New York Times magazine. Focusing on Litovsky’s work with Ryan, the two will discuss the challenges and importance of photojournalism and collaboration.

Kathy Ryan, the longtime director of photography at The New York Times magazine, has been a pioneer in combining fine art photography and photojournalism in the pages of that publication. During her time there, the magazine has been recognized with numerous photography awards, including National Magazine Awards in both 2011 and 2012. In 2012, Ryan received the Royal Photographic Society’s annual award for Outstanding Service to Photography. Under Ryan’s leadership, The New York Times commissions the world’s best photographers, a selection of whose work was published in The New York Times Magazine Photographs (Aperture, 2011), edited by Ryan. She also lectures on photography (she gave the 2012 Karsh Lecture in Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and serves as a mentor at the School of Visual Arts.

Dina Litovsky is a Ukrainian-born photographer living in New York City since 1991. Dina’s imagery can be described as visual sociology. Her work explores the idea of leisure, often focusing on subcultures and social gatherings.

Dina is a regular contributor to National Geographic, The New York Times, TIME, New Yorker, GQ and New York magazine. In 2020, Dina won the Nannen Prize, Germany’s foremost award for documentary photography. Other awards include the PDN 30, New and Emerging Photographers to Watch; POYi; NPPA Best of Photojournalism, International Photography Awards, and American Photography.

Selected exhibitions include group and solo shows at the Museum of the City of New York; Noordelicht Festival, Netherlands; Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles; Anastasia Photo Gallery, New York; Australian Center of Photography, The Fence, USA; Tanto Tempo Gallery, Japan; and LightFactory Museum, Charlotte. Dina holds a bachelor's in psychology from NYU and an MFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, NY.