JOSE M. PAREJA

Jose M. Pareja is based in Brooklyn, New York

 

b. 1995 is an award-winning conceptual photographer and filmmaker from Margarita, Venezuela. After graduating high school, he traveled through Europe and Asia and lived in 8 countries for 2 years: France, Spain, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and Iran.. where he produced reportages, and documentary work covering Kashmir's civil unrest; Nomadic sheperds in the Himalayan Valleys; Political tensions in Turkey; Rangers' conservation efforts in Thailand, among other important stories.

He returned to his homeland to document the protests and uprisings following Venezuela's political crisis. He worked for El Tambor VE digital newspaper as a photojournalist, and as a freelancer for wire agencies Getty Images, SOPA Images, and Zuma Press until his forced departure from the country in 2018.

He has taken workshops with artists such as: Chien Chi Chiang, Paz Encina, Fred Ritchin, Alice Gabriner, Debi Cornwall, among others..

He is an alumnus of the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the Eddie Adams Workshop. Currently, Jose works at the NYC Asylum Application Help Center, assisting immigrant families to navigate the US legal system. He attended The New York Times Portfolio Review 2023 and is a finalist of The Aftermath Project Grant 2024 for his photographic work deconstructing US Immigration Archives.

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Jose is part of the 2024 BRIC Documentary Intensive Cohort and is making "EL SUENO", a Documentary/Fiction that delves into memory, trauma and US immigration.