Pete Muller (photographer)

Pete Muller is an American photographer and multimedia reporter based in Nairobi, Kenya. His work focuses on masculinity, human ecology, national identity and conflict. He has won various awards and is a member of the photographic collective, Prime.[1]

This article is about the photographer. For other people with the same name, see Peter Muller (disambiguation).
Pete Muller
Muller in Melut, central Sudan 2010
Born
Peter Kelly Muller

(1982-02-17) February 17, 1982
Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationPhotographer, journalist, visual artist

Muller is a contributing photographer to The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic Magazine and other leading photographic outlets. He has provided media support for human rights and development organizations such as the International Criminal Court, the Nobel Women's Initiative, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, UNICEF, Norwegian People's Aid, Greenpeace and others.

Life and work

Muller earned a bachelor's degree from the American University in Washington D.C. where he studied history and international peace and conflict resolution.[2] He focused on the historical origins of contemporary ethnic conflict with particular interest in Israeli-Palestinian affairs, former Yugoslavia and the Caucasus; and social constructions of masculinity.

Muller's career began in 2005 with the Maan News Agency in the Palestinian Territories where he worked as a reporter and editor covering events in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip including Israeli settlement construction, Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, and the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections and the subsequent international boycott of the Hamas-led government.

He has since covered political and social issues in northern Uganda, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and other areas affected by conflict and social strife. From 2009-2012 he was based in Juba, South Sudan covering the country's transition to independence following decades of civil war. In addition to chronicling the political issues surrounding secession, he explored the tenuous national identity of the new South.[3] This work is born of Muller's long-standing interest in nation-states, identity and conflict in post-colonial environments.

Muller's ongoing work examines varied social notions of masculinity.

In 2009, he exhibited images from northern Uganda with Magnum photographer Peter van Agtmael. The show,[4] Until the Grass Is Gone: Images of Transition in Northern Uganda, received critical acclaim and appeared on extended exhibit during DC FotoWeek 2009.[5]

In 2011 his work on mobile military tribunals that aim to reduce mass rape in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was included in the Open Society Foundation Moving Walls 19 Documentary Photography Exhibit.[6]

In 2017, he was the Cyrus Vance Visiting Professor in International Relations at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts.[7]

He is the grandson of Leon Kelly, one of the pioneers of surrealist painting in the United States.

Awards
  • 2009: Nominated, 21st Annual GLAAD media award, best online journalism article category, for On the Road to Refuge,[8][9] published in ColorLines Magazine, which examined the relationship between alternative sexuality and religion in the African American community. It revolved around members of the City of Refuge, an inclusive, affirming Pentecostal church in the greater Washington D.C. area.[10]
  • 2011: "Wire Photographer of the Year" by TIME Magazine for his contributions to the Associated Press from Sudan and Central Africa.[11]
  • 2011: Honorable Mention, Chinese International Press Photo Contest, War and Disaster Stories category, for his work on rape trials in Eastern Congo.[12]
  • 2012: John Faber Award for Best Photographic Reporting for a Newspaper or News Wire by the Overseas Press Club of America.[13]
  • 2013: Won the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa's (OSISA) Open Photo Contest for "In the Shadow of Change," work documenting South Sudan's transition to independence.[14]
  • 2013: 3rd Place, Sony World Photography Awards, People category, for his work on gun enthusiasts in the United States.[15]
  • 2013: Shortlisted, Sony World Photography Awards, Contemporary Issues category for his work documenting the war and humanitarian crisis along the border of Sudan and South Sudan.[16]
  • 2015: Magnum Emergency Fund Grant to support his work on militarized anti-poaching efforts in Africa.[17]
  • 2015 1st Prize, General News Stories category, World Press Photo Awards, World Press Photo, Amsterdam, for 'Ebola: The Viral Insurgent'.[18]
  • 2015 1st Prize, World Health category, Pictures of the Year International, for Ebola in Sierra Leone.[19]
  • 2017 Reportage Photographer of the Year, Pictures of the Year International, for a portfolio of work focused on masculinity, including work shot while on assignment for National Geographic Magazine and Smithsonian Magazine.[20]

References
  1. "Prime Collective Prime Collective". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. "History - Pete Muller - American University". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  3. Pete Muller (7 July 2011). "Into Existence: Southern Sudan on the Eve of Independence". TIME.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20100217062430/http://www.pdnonline.com/pdn/content_display/features/pdn-online/e3i1239cf1a1e13f623c2b9d3d9e379631f. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. Archived June 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Open Society Foundations". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  7. "Cyrus Vance Visiting Professor". Mount Holyoke College. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. Archived September 27, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. "26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards #glaadawards". GLAAD. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  10. Archived March 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  11. TIME Photo Department (13 December 2011). "Pete Muller: TIME Picks the Best Photographer on the Wires". TIME.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  12. "Rape Trial". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  13. TIME Photo Department (25 April 2012). "Overseas Press Club Award Winners Announced". TIME.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  14. "OPENPhoto 2013 winner - Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa (OSISA)". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  15. "People". World Photography Organisation. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  16. "Contemporary Issues". World Photography Organisation. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  17. Phil Bicker (22 January 2015). "TIME Exclusive: Magnum Emergency Fund Announces 2015 Grantees". TIME.com. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  18. "2015, General News , 1st prize stories , Pete Muller". World Press Photo. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  19. "First Place: Pete Muller: National Geographic". Pictures of the Year International. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  20. "Photographer of the Year, First Place: Pete Muller". Pictures of the Year International. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
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