Slumdog Multimillionaires

Join us for an engrossing evening with renowned photographers who have chronicled the influence of affluence on societies outside of the United States, in places where the divide between the poor and the wealthy is more like a chasm.

Photographers Ivan Kashinsky and Karla Gachet are Los Angeles-based documentary photographers who have worked extensively in Latin America.  Much of their work has focused on the impacts of globalization and consumerism on people and the environment. Their photography series “Wealthy Roma” documented life in Buzescu, a small town 50 miles southwest of the Romanian capital, Bucharest. A third of Buzescu’s inhabitants are Roma, yet their fleets of Mercedes and castle-like residences challenge the popular perception of the Roma as a poor, itinerant lot. These Roma have reaped huge profits from dealing in scrap metals, making their town a showcase for the contemporary self-image of some of Romania’s most affluent, yet least-respected residents.

Mexico-based photographer Yvonne Venegas has long been interested in addressing privilege and gender with her work. Her photos often explore how her wealthy subjects submit to the social and aesthetic ideals of their peers, how they navigate the unique hierarchy of Mexico’s super-rich, and the stark demarcation between their world and the realities faced by their less-fortunate countrymen.

This panel discussion will be moderated by Saul Gonzalez, a producer and correspondent for KCRW-FM as well as NPR’s “The World.”