April 2018 Spotlight
 Photo by David Verberckt, from "Waiting for the Rain"
Dear Spotlight Readers:

At last! Proofs are approved and the Women' Issue of ZEKE will be on press shortly. While we always believe that each issue of ZEKE is better than the previous one, this one is truly exceptional. Not only because of the extraordinary photography and writing but also because we were challenged to reach beyond our comfort zone to bring in diverse views from a wider range of photographers and writers.
 
If you are already a subscriber, look for the Women's Issue in your mailbox towards the end of the month. If you are not a subscriber, please click here to learn more about this issue of ZEKE and to be added to the mailing list for this and future issues.
 
For the first time we will be distributing the digital edition of ZEKE for free. But the unique quality of ZEKE cannot be fully appreciated until you hold a printed copy in your hands. The print edition is beautifully produced on heavy weight paper with 17-inch, high-quality photos (try doing that with your tablet!). You can keep it on a coffee table, put it on a shelf with your other copies of ZEKE, loan it to a friend or colleague, or send it as a gift. Nothing can really replace the unique qualities of the printed form. 
 
I cannot thank enough the photographers, writers, editors, volunteers, and interns who have made this issue possible. Thank you. I also want to thank the donors who make this and every issue possible. Click here to learn how to support The Campaign for ZEKE.
 
I would like to remind the photographers on our list about some important changes to the SDN website and how the website benefits you:
  • You can now include your social media handles on your exhibits and profile page. Click here to learn more.
  • All exhibits submitted to SDN are eligible to be considered for publication in ZEKE magazine. Having an exhibit of your work on SDN is the first and required step. Click here to learn how.
  • All SDN exhibits are eligible to be featured in Spotlight and in our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.
Lastly, it is sometimes easy to lose sight of the big picture. Everything we do with SDN and ZEKE is an effort to use the visual language of photography to explore and bring greater awareness to important social issues. Thank you for joining us in this journey.

Glenn Ruga 
SDN Founder & Director     




ZEKE cover
Subscribe today and receive the upcoming Women's Issue in April. Cover photo by Marinka Masséus.

 
New! Add your social media handles to your SDN exhibits and profile page. Find out how.   

Join us for Documentary Matters--The Women's Night
Wednesday, April 25
Belmont, MA
Featured presenter:
Marinka Masséus live from Amsterdam
Learn more and register to present your work.

April 2018 Spotlight

Featured exhibits submitted to SDN

Edward Boches
Seeking Glory>>
by Edward Boches/ United States

Fame, success and even self-respect can be elusive goals for many young men and women who grow up in the inner city. But the boxing gym, as it has for decades, promises a way up for some and a way out for others. It offers young boxers a home where they find support and community. It builds character...

Michna-Bales
Fallout: A Photo Essay of American Cold War Era Fallout Shelters>>
by Jeanine Michna-Bales/ United States

A photographic survey of Cold War era fallout shelters that were built throughout the United States in the 1950s and 60s.

Beccy Strong
Wilde Blood>>
by Beccy Strong/ United Kingdom

Wilde Blood is both a document of childhood and at the same time a constructed psychological fiction, as much about my son (on the brink of adolescence) and our family relationships, as it is a reflection of my own fear of loss and change...

Casey Atkins
Women's Worth>>
by Casey Atkins/ Nicaragua

In the male-dominated society of Nicaragua, it can be difficult for a woman to advance on her own. Many low-income women have taken to starting businesses in the informal economy as a means of gaining some autonomy. The majority of these businesses revolve around food production. Women...

Steven Edson
March for Our Lives: Boston>>
by Steven Edson/ United States

March for Our Lives in Boston, March 24, 2018. These photographs highlight the activism by students and concerned citizens who organized a worldwide protest and march against assault rifles, guns in schools and the power of the NRA to inflict...

Abortion Access in Nepal>>
by Tara Todras-Whitehill/ Nepal

Nepal legalized abortion 15 years ago, and public and private facilities have been set up to provide the procedure. However, because of issues like stigma, lack of education, and distrust of government facilities, most women don't ask important questions of the health care providers...

Rebuild Center, New Orleans, LA>>
by Frank Coco/ United States

The Rebuild Center in New Orleans is a place where homeless people and transients can obtain services that are often difficult for them to obtain. Some of these services are a mailing address, medical assistance, prescription drug assistance, and counseling. A free hot lunch is served Monday through...

The Time I Have Left>>
by Constanza Hevia H./ Chile

"The witches have said I will live a long time. I have till the year 2013 or 2014. I will live 108, 109, 110 years. I still have a lot to do, a lot ahead... I am a little tired sometimes." Hugo Küschel, August 8th, 2017. The Time I Have Left is a documentary project about...

People's Rally Against Gun Violence / Drain the NRA, Los Angeles, Parkland +5 Days>>
by Rusty Leffel/ United States

America is angry about gun violence. Just five days after seventeen students and staff were  murdered in Parkland, Florida, over 500 people gathered on President's Day, 2/19/2018, at Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles for a "People's Rally Against Gun Violence"...


Advisory Committee
Lori Grinker
Catherine Karnow
Ed Kashi
Reza
Molly Roberts
Jeffrey D. Smith
Jamey Stillings
Stephen Walker
Frank Ward
Amy Yenkin

Glenn Ruga
Founder & Director

Barbara Ayotte
Communications Director

Caterina Clerici

Special Issue Editor 

Caterina Clerici
Intern
 
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Submit Your Work to SDN
Find out how to have your work featured on the SDN website, included in ZEKE, Spotlight, and eligible for Featured Photographer. More»


ZEKE collage
Subscribe to ZEKE and receive the upcoming Women's Issue 
Subscribe to ZEKE magazine and get the best of global documentary photography delivered to your door, and to your digital device, twice a year. Each issue presents outstanding photography from the Social Documentary Network. Subscribe today! » 
 
 

About Social Documentary Network
Social Documentary Network is a website for photographers, NGOs, journalists, editors, and students to create and explore documentary exhibits investigating critical issues facing the world today. Recent exhibits have explored oil workers in the Niger River Delta, male sex workers in India, Central American immigrant women during their journey north, and Iraqi and Afghan refugees in Greece. Click here to view all of the exhibits.