“DIS\PLACE” is an invitation to reflect on notions of home through the lens of displacement. In this exhibition, we address photojournalism’s ability to present development challenges with a sense of intimacy, vulnerability, and empathy. Topics here include migration, violence, and humanity’s impact on the environment as a direct consequence of displacement. Our aim is to “displace” viewers and their senses as they look out at the world as well as inward towards their own perceptions of place and home.

This exhibition was created in partnership with World Press Photo and the Lightscape Foundation as part of the 2017 World Press Photo exhibition in Washington D.C. It features participants from their Latin American Masterclass. By combining photojournalism, which has a proven ability not only to document but to change the course of human events, “DIS\PLACE” aims to inspire new perceptions on topics like social exclusion and inequality; low production and innovation; and limited economic integration.

The voices of the featured photojournalists narrating their experiences of Latin America may be a catalyst to real-world reforms when used in service of social, political, and environmental advocacy by capturing, as Cartier Bresson phrased it, “decisive moments.” Photojournalists have the capacity to freeze time instantly and transport us directly to it. Some of these frozen moments of displacement are consequences of external threats, such as water contamination, extensive mining, or violence, while others refer to more internal, psychological reasons, shedding light on the invisible, metaphoric, and memory spaces.

Roots will always pull us to our homeland and there will always be a strong attachment to our sense of origin. Can we find a sense of home in our house, our community, our country, or even as part of one home on planet Earth? By identifying in ourselves what home is, there can be a better understanding of who we are, where we are from, and how we can build a better future by creating a more connected community.