Dominic Bracco II
About Dominic Bracco II
Dominic Bracco II explores the effects of global economics on local communities. Although he works internationally, Dominic’s work often returns to document the effects of Mexican and North American policies on the Texas / Mexico border region where he was raised. He has degrees in journalism and Spanish literature from The University of Texas at Arlington. Past clients include The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Dominic is also a founding member of the collective Prime. He is based in Mexico City.
awards + honors
2012 Pulitzer Center, Grant Recipient
2012 APA / Lucie Foundation Scholarship, shortlisted
2012 The Chris Hondros Fund finalist, Grant Recipient
2012 PDN 30 new & emerging photographers to watch
2011 Eugene Smith Fellowship
2011 Tim Hetherington Memorial Award
2011 Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Grant Recipient
2011 Alexia Foundation Professional Grant Finalist
2011 Emerging Photographer Fund Grant Finalist
2011 Michael P. Smith Grant for Documentary Photography Finalist
2011 Pictures of The Year International, 2nd prize Spot News
exhibits
2013 Washington, D.C. “Environmental Film Festival”
2013 San Marcos, TX “Life and Death in the Northern Pass” Texas State University
2012 Washington, D.C. “Global Goods, Local Costs,” Fotoweek D.C.
2012 San Juan, PR “Beyond War,” FotoVisura Pavilion
2012 Beacon, NY “Liberty & Justice (For All),” Fovea Gallery
2012 Brooklyn, NY “Liberty & Justice (For All),” VII Gallery
2012 Washington D.C. “Living Positive,” World AIDS Conference
2012 Hannover, Germany “Life and Death in the Northern Pass,” Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism
2011 Washington D.C. “Beyond Witness,” Pultizer Center group show
2011 Arlington, Texas “Life and Death in The Northern Pass,” solo exhibit, UT Arlington Central Library
2011 London, UK “Ian Parry Group Show,” Getty Gallery
2010 London, UK “Ian Parry Group Show”: Getty Gallery
2009 Washington D.C. ”East of The River” Honfleur Gallery
lectures + workshops
2013 “Reigning Borders Workshop,” University of San Diego
2013 “The Truth Behind the War in Juarez,” Texas State University
2012 “Global Goods, Local Costs,” George Washington University panel
2012 “Global Goods, Local Costs,” Fotoweek D.C. photography festival
2012 “Global Goods, Local Costs.” Washington D.C. area high schools
2012 “SIU Weekend Workshop,” Southern Illinois University
2012 “Endangered Children, Discussion Event,” Elon University
2012 “Globalization and Youth Culture in Mexico,” Chicago area high schools
2012 “Globalization and Youth Culture in Mexico,” Philadelphia area high schools
2012 “Growing up in Juarez,” Davidson College
2012 “Mexico’s Forgotten Generation,” San Diego University
2011 “New Approaches to Crisis Photography,” George Washington University
2011 “Globalization and the US, Mexico Border,” UT Arlington
see also
http://dominicbracco.photoshelter.com/
Features
Living Positive. by Dominic Bracco II
Living Positive. Chapter 1: Sub Saharan Africa. Miriam is deaf and mute. She has HIV, but her family hasn’t explained her status. She sits on her bed in a stifling room, resting against the wall, cradling her newborn child in her arms. The baby is crying uncontrollably. Her neighbor Hadija tries to help her calm him, wiping the beads of sweat from his face, and changing his bedding. Hours later they take the child to the hospital where he later dies. **** It takes Catherine three hours to walk to the clinic from her rural… read more.
Giants: Oaxaca Wind Energy Controversy by Dominic Bracco II
Giants is a work in progress. Text by Erik Vance In 2011, for the first time, the developing world created more wind turbines than the developed. That same year, the first local landowner was killed during a dispute over wind farm land in Mexico. As wind farms continue to grow to offset our ballooning carbon budget, the biggest question for the next decade will be: Where will we find the land? In Oaxaca, Mexico, this question is already coming to a head as local indigenous people clash with international Spanish wind companies over North America’s… read more.
The Bakers of Abbassia by Dominic Bracco II
In “New Egypt” citizens have begun an attempt to form the fledgling democracy – engaging in political debate after Friday prayer in Tahrir, writing articles about military control, forming political groups, but these are still freedoms far out of reach for many of Egypt’s poor. The bakers of Abbassia never made it to the protests downtown. Not only were they fearful of loosing their jobs, they also understood just exactly how important their role is in Egypt. One said that if the bakers went on strike the people of Egypt would starve. Bread has been… read more.
Life and Death in The Northern Pass by Dominic Bracco II
Chapter 1: The Siege (2010 – 2012) “There are two ways of thinking about living here; either you go on every day and when it’s your turn to die you die, or you live every day in fear.” – Daniel Gonzalez, 26, a resident of Ciudad Juarez who later moved to El Paso, Texas. In the decades preceding the drug war the population of Ciudad Juarez exploded as droves of workers came in search of jobs promised after the implementation of several international free trade agreements. Officials did little during this time to boost infrastructure.… read more.
Kazakh Dust by Dominic Bracco II
Kazakhstan suffers from one of the fastest rates of soil degradation in the world due largely to the effects of Soviet irrigation and nuclear testing and currently with the continuation of shifting topsoils, overgrazing, and irrigation from China. During the 1960s the USSR began irrigating the waters of the Aral Sea in southern Kazakhstan to combat their growing food crisis. The Soviets severely miscalculated and water began receding quickly from the port cities. The waters continued to recede. By 2000 the water was 80 km away from the city of Aralsk, a main seaport in… read more.
East of the River by Dominic Bracco II
I began focusing on “street life” after meeting Honey Johnson: a mother who had lost two of her sons to gun violence. The youngest was only 15 when he was murdered. Honey was my first friend in Washington after I moved there to intern in 2007. I would visit her often and photograph the streets around where she worked at the only sit in restaurant in the neighborhood. A year later I came back to D.C. and began working in southeast on a gun violence story for The Washington Post. I later was granted access… read more.

