Photos of Al Rashad Psychiatric Hospital, photographed by Rita Leistner, may be found in the Redux Archive. These images were published in the April 2008 issue of Vanity Fair Italy.

Redux photographer Rita Leistner and First Nations Playwright Marie Clements have received $200,000.00 in funding in the first round of Vancouver Olympic Games’ initiatives project grants to artists, sponsored by The Arts Partners in Creative Development (APDC) and Presentation House Theatre. The two artists have been commissioned by Presentation House Theatre in Vancouver, Canada, to collaborate on a multi-media, theatrical stage production investigating the controversial life and legacy of photographer Edward Curtis. The two-year development and field-work stage of the project will take the artists and their team to native reserves across Canada and the United States. The play and accompanying photographic exhibition will open to an international audience in Vancouver at Presentation House during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The annual American Illustration and American Photography party was held last Thursday to honor the winners. Redux images in this year’s book include: Ben Baker’s portraits of Rudy Giuliani, Nina Berman’s coverage of wounded marine Ty Ziegel’s wedding to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Dimmock’s story on migrant workers in Vietnam, Rita Leistner’s “Portraitscapes of War” from Lebanon, Kevin Miyazaki’s personal project on abandoned fast food restaurants, Sandy Nicholson’s “Members of the Secretive Society of Maso”, Q. Sakamaki’s Sri Lanka and Nathaniel Welch’s “The Great Yank-Euro Ski-Off”.

Congratulations to Rita Leistner who won a Gold Medal in the “Words and Pictures” category for her story “The Women of Al-Rashad Psychiatric Hospital” which was publised in The Walrus, at the 2005 Canadian National Magazine Awards.

View the complete story in the Redux Archive

Rita Leistner and the other photographers behind the book “Unembedded” will speak at the International Center of Photography Wednesday, March 1 from 7 - 9 pm.

Rita Leistner’s story on American women wrestlers is featured in the January issue of Max magazine. The Philadelphia-based wrestling organization GLOOW (The Glorious Ladies of Wrestling) collaborates with other organizations including WEW (Women’s Extreme Wrestling) to popularize women’s show wrestling in America. Everything is taped live for pay-per-view video, which is sold and broadcast world-wide. There is little money at this level of wrestling, where the women are attracted by the thrill of an audience and by the community of wrestlers. For most, the opportunity to be involved at any level of pro-wrestling is an American dream come true.

View the complete story in the Redux Archive

The Redux Gallery was filled with friends and colleagues to support the release of “Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq” with photographs by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Kael Alford, Thorne Anderson and Rita Leistner.

“Unembedded” Opening at Redux Gallery

Tim Fadek, Jamie Wellford and Jay DeFoore