Abstract
Ukraine: Revolution, War, Documentary Photography, and Immersive New Media will showcase the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine as well as explore the distinctions between long-term documentary photography, photojournalism, and the innovative use of gaming technology to create documentary experiences in room-scale virtual reality.

Joseph will share his extensive work, including his coverage of the Euromaidan Revolution, the Russo-Ukrainian War, a photo documentary he began 25 years ago, and his newest project Is the War Close?, an immersive room-scale virtual reality documentary that places the user in a Kyiv home at night during a large Russian drone and missile attack.

Bio
Joseph Sywenkyj is a long-form documentary and breaking news visual journalist working with lens based and immersive XR technology. He is a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal.

Joseph is an American photographer of Ukrainian descent who has lived and worked in Ukraine for over 20 years. He is currently the Howard R. Marsh Visiting Professor of Journalism in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Michigan. He was a 2024-2025 dual Knight-Wallace Fellow and Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia Distinguished Fellow at the University of Michigan. Among his many awards, he was the recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Grant in Humanistic Photography and the Aftermath Project Grant. He received two Fulbright Awards, one as a student and the other as a scholar.