Welcome Spring Magnum Foundation Fellow Johan Orellana

Johan Orellana, Maduros Fritos and Banana Raft (1890)

Magnum Foundation is pleased to announce Johan Orellana as our newest Magnum Foundation Fellow. Throughout the Spring of 2023, Johan will split his time between supporting Magnum Foundation’s programming and pursuing his project on the complexities of Ecuadorian domestic and public life in New York City. For Johan, “the heart of this project lies in deepening our understanding of how we create spaces of resistance and new forms of belonging.”

Johan Orellana (b. 1998) is an Ecuadorian-born, and both Spaniard and American-raised, lens-based artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. His bodies of work are a mix of photographic approaches, and encapsulate moments of high experiential affinity where individuals, objects and landscapes become interrelated representations of the artist’s visual brain map. He finds interest in visual dichotomies, parallels, intersections, and tangents that, mostly, result in observations about the domestic and public spaces; national historical and family archives; and documentation of a geographical area or community. Orellana received two B.A. degrees, Photography and Spanish Studies, from Bard College.

Johan shared, “I'm excited to be conducting a body of work that has been immensely personal to me for the past ten months when I first started doing research. The funding that comes along with the fellowship will allow me to expedite the production and be on the field talking, connecting, and photographing Ecuadorians living in our NYC cultural hotspots (restaurants, street corners, soccer fields, ecuavoley courts, etc...). With my background in photographic post-production, I'm looking forward to contribute to upcoming short and long term projects, as well as sparking conversations and ideas about the state of the documentary arts.”

The Magnum Foundation Fellowship offers mentorship and stipends to early-career practitioners who are at a critical moment in their development as photographers. This fellowship is designed for New York City-based photographers to work in the Magnum Foundation office while also developing their own photographic project in the city that demonstrates a commitment to social issues and community based work. Learn more here.