Jason Florio is a NYC based photographer and writer from London. For the past 12 years he has worked as a freelance photojournalist around the globe for publications including The New Yorker, New York Times, Outside, Libération and The Times of London. At the beginning of his career he had gained recognition after being one of the last photographers in Afghanistan to photograph the anti-Taliban commander Ahmed Shah Massoud in August 2001, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda operatives on September 9th, then to be at the foot of the World Trade Center on September 11th as it collapsed. Along with his wife, photography producer, Helen Jones-Florio, he spent the last three months of 2009 making a 930 km expedition by foot of The Gambia, West Africa to produce a series of portraits of African chiefs for which in part he was given fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society in London. The resulting body of work from the journey, titled ‘Silafando: A Gift to You on Behalf of my Journey’ won Florio The International Photography Awards – People Photographer of the Year 2010. The Gambia has been a place Florio regularly returns to. For the past fourteen years he has made yearly trips there to work on a long-term project of the people living in and around a sacred forest called Makasutu. The culminating body of work was shown in New York in 2009 in a solo exhibition and the work won a Black and White magazine Spotlight Award, as well as garnering him a nomination for the Santa Fe Prize for Photography. Part of the Makasutu series was acquired by the Haggerty Museum of Art. He was awarded the Joy of Giving Something grant in 2004 to produce the first ever assigned story for Aperture in their 50 year history, called ‘This is Libya’, which is now part of the permanent collection of The Forward Thinking Museum. His work on Afghanistan is in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, as well as a number of private collections.
What's next? Between magazine assignments and photographing for NGO’s, in 2012 Florio is planning another expedition to West Africa to retrace the journey of his hero, Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who went in search of the Niger River 200 years ago.
Awards
2011 Px3 Gold Medal - Photojournalism - War
2011 Px3 Bronze Medal People's Choice Award
2011 One Life International Photography Awards - Winner 'People'
2010 International Photography Awards - over all winner 'People' category
2010 International Photography Awards - 1st place 'People : Culture' category
2010 Forward Thinking Museum - winner of the 2nd Quarter Photography Contest
2010 NY Photo Festival, Honorary Mention - fine art/personal series
2010 PDN Faces - Finalist
2010 CDS/Daylight Awards, Honorary Mention - Project Prize
2009 Center, Review Santa Fe - Nominee
2009 Black and White magazine - Spot Light Award
2009 PDN - Finalist - Travel Portrait
Grants
2004 'Joy of Giving Something' - Aperture Grant
Museum collections
Permanent collection of the Huai’an Museum of Art, China
Permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY
Permanent collection of Forward Thinking Museum, NY
Permanent collection of The Haggerty Museum, Milwaukee, USA
Solo exhibitions:
2012 “The Long Fight for Kawtooli” - Messineo Wyman Projects, NYC
2011 “The Long Fight for Kawtooli” – FM Pop-Up Show – Art Basel
2011 “Silafando “ – Huai’an Museum of Art, China
2010 "Forward Operating Base - Afghanistan" - The Forward Thinking Museum NYC
2009 “Makasutu” - Messineo Art and Wyman Contemporary Gallery NYC
2005 "In The Land of Quaddafi" - The Forward Thinking Museum NYC
2005 “Makasutu – Mecca in the Forest” - Half King Gallery NYC
2002 “Afghanistan” - 39th Exposure Gallery - San Francisco
2001 “Afghanistan The Silent Majority” - The Talk Gallery, NYC
Group shows:
2011 "The Truth Is Not In The Mirror' -Haggerty Museum of Art, MI
2011 "Upstate Memory" - Spacer, NYC
2007 “Momento Mori” - The Artist Network, NYC
2004 “Residents Show” - The Artist Network, NYC
2003 “Chiapas” - Mckool Studios, Dallas TX
2003 “New acquisitions” - Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY
2002 “Afghanistan” - Messineo Wyman Projects, NYC
2001 “The Sept 11th Project” - NYC
Media appearances:
2011 Excess Baggage - BBC Radio 4, UK
2009 Expedition Gambia - Gambia Television
2009 The Fatou Show - Gambia Television
2009 Nick Wallace show BBC Surrey County Radio, UK
2005 Leonard Lopate show - National Public Radio ,USA
2002 Fox News ‘911 Experiences’ , USA
Guest Speaker:
2011 Fotofusion, Palm Beach, Florida
2010 APA/NY Image Makers Lecture Series NYC
2009 Beacon School, NYC
2005 The Half King Series, NYC
Videographer credits:
“Until the Violence stops” - 2004
“The Eyes of Faith” - 2000
Book:
Makasutu – 'Mecca in the Forest'
Anthologies:
The Vice Book, USA
The September 11th Project, USA
'Identity Sucks' by World Identity Lab, Germany
Feature Writing
Facing Mogadishu –The Virginia Quarterly Review,USA
'Beyond Banjul ; A Gambian Odyssey' - Arik, UK
'You People Cannot Walk, you only move in Cars' - Independent on Sunday, UK
'Pirate Port' - The Virginia Quarterly Review, USA
'Remembering an Afghan Hero' - Wild, USA
'This is Libya' - Aperture, USA
'Baghdad Beat' -ATimes, Thailand
'Poets of Baghdad' - Orion, USA
'The Estate of Things To Come' - Geographical, UK
Commercial clients
Addison Design Agency NY
IFC - World Bank
FINCA Bank - DR Congo
Getty Images
NGO clients :
Concern Universal -The Gambia
Center for Economic and Social Rights – Iraq
Grameen Foundation – micro-finance bank - Mexico
Editorial clients:
AARP
Aperture
Amnesty International
Asia Times Online
British Airways - High Life
Colors
Departures
Die Zeit
Etiqueta Negra
E! Entertainment
Focus
Geographical
GQ
Interview
La Libération
Marie Claire
Men’s Journal
Morning Calm
New York magazine
Newsweek
New York Times
The New Yorker
Outside
Out Traveler
Orion
Sunday Times Travel
The Times of London
Utne Reader
Vibe Vixen
Virginia Quarterly Review
Ventiquattro
W
Wall Street Journal