Jonathan “Jonás” Moller, an award-winning documentary photographer and human rights activist, will visit Alfred University Oct. 20–24. His photographic exhibition, Our Culture is Our Resistance: Repression, Refuge, and Healing in Guatemala, will be on display in the Cohen Gallery Oct. 17 to Dec. 5.
Jonathan “Jonás” Moller, an award-winning documentary photographer and human rights activist, will visit Alfred University Oct. 20–24. His photographic exhibition, Our Culture is Our Resistance: Repression, Refuge, and Healing in Guatemala, will be on display in the Cohen Gallery Oct. 17 to Dec. 5.
Moller has worked extensively in Central America since 1991, primarily in Guatemala, as well as in Peru and Cuba. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including two volumes on Guatemala, a book about Peru, a study of the diversity of young Cubans, a visual chronicle of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, and his most recent publication, In Transit: In the Company of Strangers (2024). His photographs are part of major public and private collections worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires.
Moller has exhibited and spoken widely across the United States, Latin America, and Europe, with appearances at institutions as varied as the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, McGill University in Montreal, the European Parliament in Brussels, the University of Granada in Spain, the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, and the Memorial José Martí Museum in Havana. His photographs have been used by numerous grassroots organizations, as well as international NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, for educational and advocacy purposes.
The exhibition, hosted by the Division of Modern Languages and Global Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and supported by the School of Art & Design, features black-and-white photographs documenting the experiences of Guatemala’s indigenous Mayan communities during the country’s internal armed conflict (1980s–2000s). The images are paired with survivor testimonies and excerpts from the Guatemalan Truth Commission report, creating a multidisciplinary exploration of historical memory, human rights, and resilience.
Moller’s visit will include a full week of programming and activities designed to connect his work with Alfred University students and the wider community. On Tuesday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 7:30 pm., he will deliver a public lecture at Nevins Theater, discussing his trajectory as a photographer and activist as well as the stories behind Our Culture is Our Resistance.
Throughout the week, he will also visit courses in Spanish and history, engaging with students in both English and Spanish. Spanish students will interact with Moller in Spanish, given his fluency. On Thursday, Oct. 23, at 3:20 pm, history students will join him at the gallery to analyze the exhibition in the broader context of memory and dictatorship in Latin America.
CLAS faculty are encouraged to incorporate the exhibition into their syllabi, offering students the opportunity to reflect critically on documentary photography, memory, and social justice. According to Dr. Ariela Parisi, assistant professor of Spanish and coordinator of Moller’s visit, the exhibition, lecture, and classroom events are designed to create a rich canvas of educational possibilities for Alfred University students. Moller’s photographs will not only be objects of aesthetic and documentary analysis but also serve as a gateway for conversations about human rights, historical trauma, and resilience.
