Toni Shapiro-Phim
Toni Shapiro-Phim is a writer, photographer and cultural activist who focuses on the intersections between the arts and social change concerns, such as displacement and violence. She spent years collaborating with Cambodian artists in refugee camps in Southeast Asia, and then inside Cambodia, helping them document their lives and work. Since completing her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, she has published articles, books and photographs that engage with war, genocide, gender violence and exile in relation to dance, music and drama across the globe, and has continued to work with artists of diverse backgrounds on social change research, performance and exhibition initiatives.
Awarded Grants
2014
Art and Change Grant (ACG)
Related grantees
Overview
Toni’s photographic essay project will highlight the memories of humanitarian aid workers on the Thai-Cambodian border during the Cambodian refugee crisis in the 1980s and share these stories with Cambodians who were in those camps. Toni will photograph aid workers holding a picture that illustrates something powerful for them about the Cambodian refugee crisis and record their experience of it. These portraits and accompanying text will be captured in an online photo essay posted on the website of the Cambodian Association of Great Philadelphia. Toni’s aim is to broaden the historical record and draw attention to the terror, chaos, and injustice of war and statelessness.
Partner
2003
Window of Opportunity Grant (WOO)
Related grantees
Overview
Travel to Cambodia to document the development of a new piece by dancers from Cambodia's Royal University of Fine Arts. For a touring photography exhibition to accompany U.S. performances. Support towards travel and accommodations and photography expenses.
