Photographer Stephen Hermida to exhibit portrait at New York showcase

Gibraltarian photographer Stephen Hermida will exhibit one of his portraits at the 14th edition of the Atlas of Humanity exhibition in New York later this month.

The Gibraltarian photographer Stephen Hermida is among 78 photographers from the Atlas of Humanity collective whose work will be displayed at One Art Space in New York on June 26, 27 and 28. His photograph, titled Girl of the Kalash people of Pakistan, was taken during a visit to Pakistan.

The exhibition invites visitors to explore communities from around the world through photography, highlighting cultural diversity, heritage and traditions.

Mr Hermida said being part of Atlas of Humanity was a source of pride.

“It makes me very proud, as this group form part of a very small niche of photographers specialised in travelling to remote parts of the world to document tribes and indigenous communities, some of which are on the verge of extinction.”

“So, being able to witness these cultures and customs before they disappear for ever is an enormous privilege and, likewise, a responsibility to share the images before they pass.”

The portrait featured in the exhibition depicts a young member of the Kalash community in Pakistan.

According to Mr Hermida, the Kalash are the country’s smallest ethnic community and live in three villages in valleys close to the border with Afghanistan.

“There is a serious risk that this tribe will cease in the next 25 years or so,” he said.

Mr Hermida said the Kalash maintain traditions that differ from those of the majority population in Pakistan, including support for education among both boys and girls.

“Unlike the Muslims culture in Pakistan, the family here support and encourage education for their children irrespective whether they are boys or girls,” he said.

“Over the decades, always existed the flow of Kalashi men in particular convert to Islam, but today this rate attrition is highest amongst the young girls, who go to university.”

“In the provincial universities they meet Muslim boys, fall in love and they convert to Islam. So, any future children from this couple cannot be Kalashi.”

Atlas of Humanity describes the Kalash as an indigenous people living in the Chitral District of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The organisation notes that the community has maintained its cultural traditions despite centuries of external influence and historical pressures.

The New York exhibition will also feature photographs of other indigenous and tribal communities from around the world, including the Hausa of Nigeria, the Himba of Namibia, the Purusha of Ecuador, the Yamal of Siberia, the Dinka and Mundari of South Sudan, the Pokot of Kenya, the Suri of Ethiopia and the Tambul of Papua New Guinea.