Visual Artist in Residence, 2021-2022
Dieu-Nalio Chery is a Haitian photographer who was born in Haiti in 1981, and is a current visual artist in residence with the New York City Artist Safe Haven Residency Program. His work explores the human rights abuses that Haitians experience, and the social injustices that occur in the absence of rule of law. His style is marked with all the joy and spontaneity of a unique moment, quietly recorded to the maximum utilization of the light environment itself, which makes that moment a real keepsake for a lifetime.
He started working in his uncle’s photo studio at age 20 and worked as a commercial photographer and Freelance news photographer with a local agency named, Alerte Haiti. The impact of human rights violations he witnessed in Haiti inspired him to pursue a career in photojournalism and joined Associated Press. In 2011, Chery was selected for a full scholarship photojournalism workshop in Argentina with Foundry Photojournalism, and later on worked in Mexico alongside Associated Press. In 2015, he attended the Magnum Foundation Photography and Human Rights workshop in New York University.
He was awarded the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar Award in 2016, and granted second place in the International News and Honorable mention in Sports Feature in 2019. He was awarded first place for Chris Hondros Memorial International News, and granted second place in Sport News. He ranked second in the “Breaking news / story of the year” category of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). Also, awarded the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Robert Capa Gold Medal Awards, and Co-winner of the Philippe Chaffanjon Prize. His work has been featured by World Press Photo, TIME newspaper, and in 2020, he was a Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
In July 2021, he is starting a full scholarship at CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
Photo credit Mathide Chery Debel.