Danielle Villasana: On representation and equity
In this episode, we talk with Danielle Villasana about the importance of telling the whole story. She describes how the media industry has been complicit in promoting a stereotypical view of marginalised communities, and she describes the negative impact that this has on trust in the media. Danielle spends time unpacking our individual responsibilities as image-makers, both toward the people in our photographs and toward our colleagues.
What you’ll find inside:
“Ultimately this is about truth telling. This is directly liked to how people view the world, and when we are denying those voices into that dialogue, we’re basically failing society. So, I believe that our industry can only be better by creating community … and making space for one another. It will continue to be problematic if that doesn’t happen.” (6:10)
“It’s not just about being a good human being, it’s also about protecting the media as a source of truth. So everybody should be invested in bettering the industry through inclusivity and equity, and consent is one of the many, many things we could do to improve.” (14:32)
Informed consent (19:20)
Release forms (21:10)
“There’s a lot of power in the media industry, there’s a lot of power in the way that we make stories and portray our world” (27:10)
“You have to tell the complete story because when we only tell little fragments and elements of the story we are not doing our duty as journalists because we are only giving viewers that one slice of the truth.” (33:15)
Quote by Shiyam Galyon: “I want to live in a world that feels moved by photos of non-white people at their best moments in life, rather than at their worst.” (34:40)
Links:
Authority Collective’s “Do No Harm” statement
Danielle Villasana is a photojournalist based in Istanbul whose documentary work focuses on women, identity, human rights and health.
Danielle is co-founder of We, Women, is a National Geographic Explorer, a Magnum Foundation awardee, an alumna of the Eddie Adams Workshop, and an International Women's Media Foundation fellow. Her work has been included in solo and group exhibits and has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, and the Washington Post, among others. She is a member of Ayün Fotógrafas and Women Photograph.
Danielle strongly believes in the pairing of photography, education, and community development. She's on The Everyday Project's Community Team and in 2018, she joined the Authority Collective as a board member where she helped co-author the Photo Bill of Rights.
You can see her work at www.daniellevillasana.com