Established in 1996, by Yousuf and Estrellita Karsh, the Annual Lecture brings noted photographers to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to share their life’s work and philosophy. Inaugurated by Gordon Parks in 1998, the distinguished speakers have included:

1999
William Wegman
2001
Bruce Weber
2004
Mary Ellen Mark
2006
James Nachtwey
2007
Dennis Hopper
2010
Mario Testino
2012
Kathy Ryan and John Morris
2013
Sebastião Salgado
2016
Sharon Farmer and David Hume Kennerly
2018
Neil Leifer

Symposia Participants

2013
She Who Tells a Story
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, keynote with panelists:
Jananne Al-Ani, photographer
Boushra Almutawakel, photographer
Gohar Dashti, photographer
Rana El Nemr, photographer
Shadi Ghadirian, photographer
Rula Halawani, photographer
Rania Matar, photographer
Newsha Tavakolian, photographer
2015
Inspiration in the Face of Adversity: Humanitarians and Artists
Sonali Derinyagala, economist, keynote with panelists:
Paul Farmer, physician and anthropologist
Russell Lord, curator
Ryūji Miyamoto, photographer
2017
Lest We Forget: An Afternoon of Remembrance
Inspired by Memory Unearthed: The Lodz Ghetto Photographs of Henryk Ross
Including special performances by New England Conservatory’s Eunghee Cho on cello and Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band.
Jasmina Cesic, Bosnian refugee and author of Runs Salt, Runs Sweet
Martin Goldsmith, radio host on National Public Radio and Sirius XM and author of Alex’s Wake: A Voyage of Betrayal and a Journey of Remembrance
Rachel Yehuda, professor, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, and director, Traumatic Stress Studies Division, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; director, Mental Health Patient Care Center, James J. Peters VA Medical Center