Photographer James Nachtwey, whose searing images have revealed the horrors of war over more than 40 years, is the winner of the inaugural Excellence in Visual Journalism Award from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ).
Nachtwey is one of the world’s foremost documenters of conflict and the tragedy it inflicts. From the civil wars in Central America to the genocide in Rwanda to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has covered history as it unfolds in hotspots across the globe. He documented the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, as well as the wars that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nachtwey also turns his lens on social issues, including opioid abuse in the U.S., the refugee crisis in Greece and Croatia, global health issues such as HIV/AIDs, and more. Shooting for TIME and other news outlets, Nachtwey has become one of the most influential and respected photojournalists of this era.
For the first year, ICFJ is presenting the Excellence in Visual Journalism Award at its Tribute to Journalists gala to celebrate the vital role that photojournalists and visual storytellers play in conveying the raw emotion of news events, bringing attention to important stories that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Nachtwey also donated a photograph for this year’s photo auction at the Nov. 2 gala in Washington, D.C. This will be a world-class collection of iconic images from 17 pre-eminent photographers, from Eddie Adams and Donna Ferrato to David Hume Kennerly and Sebastião Salgado.
“James Nachtwey has dedicated his career to visually documenting conflict and human suffering, and has risked his life countless times to do it,” ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi said. “His stunning photography makes the pain of war and poverty real to viewers in ways that words simply cannot.”
Nachtwey, who has been wounded and nearly killed multiple times, has said he puts himself in danger because he believes his photographs can lead people to take action, and help those whose suffering he has documented, as he explained in a recent “60 Minutes” profile.
Nachtwey’s photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, and the Getty Museum, among other venues. Read more about him.
Nachtwey will be honored Nov. 2 in Washington, DC, along with four other journalists: CNN’s Wolf Blitzer will receive the ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles will receive the ICFJ Excellence in International Reporting Award, and the ICFJ Knight International Reporting Awards will go to Riad Kobaissi of Lebanon and Mariam Ouédraogo of Burkina Faso.
Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post and MSNBC will host the event, which will take place in person and online.