TEAM

Dr. Manuel Rivera-Ortiz — Founding president
André Pfanner — Vice-président
Alejandro León Cannock — Director
Léa de la Croix de Castries — Editorial & communication

Dr. Manuel Rivera-Ortiz

Founding President of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation.

Background and origins

Manuel Rivera-Ortiz is a documentary photographer, writer, author, and educator whose work focuses on human dignity, social justice, and the realities experienced by often-invisible communities. Born and raised in Guayama, Puerto Rico, amid the sugar cane fields of the island's south-eastern coast, his early experiences of poverty and migration have profoundly shaped his visual and narrative voice.

At the age of ten, Rivera-Ortiz migrated with his family to the United States, settling first in Holyoke, Massachusetts, then in Rochester, New York, Switzerland, and France. It was through the Massachusetts Migrant Education Programme, designed for the children of migrant farm workers, that he first discovered photography—an experience that would define his life's work.

Academic and professional training

Rivera-Ortiz holds a PhD from Nazareth University, a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University, and a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, cum laude, from Nazareth University. He also studied photography at the International Centre of Photography (ICP) in New York and trained with leading figures in the field, including Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, and Nathan Lyons.

In addition to his photographic practice, Rivera-Ortiz has served as a photography juror, international contributor, and nominator for major awards, including the Prix Pictet and the LEICA Oskar Barnack Prize. His professional experience includes collaborations with TIME/LIFE on "100 Photographs: The Most Influential Images of All Time."

He worked as a long-form reporter for Gannett Newspapers—where he wrote a national column on Latin music—and as an editor for ELLE magazine in New York. He has also worked in television and radio for PBS, hosting several programmes, including a weekly live talk show and the national youth series "Assignment: The World".

Photographic work

He is the author of five books and is currently developing new projects, including a trilogy of memoirs and a play. His photography documents daily life in less developed and marginalised communities around the world, emphasising resilience, work, faith and the universal desire for dignity. His work has been published internationally and is recognised for its ethical approach, intimacy and respect for the people photographed.

The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation

In 2010, Rivera-Ortiz founded the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation for Documentary Photography & Film (MRO). The Foundation supports photographers and filmmakers—particularly women and underrepresented voices—working on socially engaged documentary projects. Its programmes include exhibitions, artist residencies, educational initiatives, internships, and international collaborations. The Foundation is based in Arles, France, at the Hôtel Blain, in the heart of the annual Les Rencontres d'Arles festival.

Educational commitment and transmission

Rivera-Ortiz is also deeply committed to education and mentoring, guiding emerging artists in ethical storytelling and responsible representation. Through his personal work and the Foundation's mission, he champions photography as a tool for cultural memory, awareness, and social change.

His life and work bear witness to the idea that poverty is not a life sentence—and that storytelling, when done with care and integrity, can foster empathy and understanding across borders.

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Alejandro León Cannock

Director of the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation.

Artistic career and practices

Alejandro León Cannock (Lima, Peru, 1980) is an exhibition curator, lecturer, researcher and visual artist living and working in Arles. His practice lies at the intersection of artistic creation, arts research and curating, questioning the power of images as events of thought in contemporary contexts.

Academic background

He holds a PhD in Artistic Research from the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie (ENSP) in Arles and Aix-Marseille University, a Master's degree in Contemporary Latin American Photography and a Master's degree in Philosophy, specialising in Contemporary French Philosophy.

International collaborations and exhibitions

Throughout his career, he has collaborated with international cultural institutions and developed exhibition projects at PHotoESPAÑA, the Vannes Photo Festival (France), the DongGang International Photo Festival (South Korea), the Montevideo Photography Festival (Uruguay), LimaPhoto (Peru), the Biennale de l'image tangible (France) and the Maison de l'Amérique latine (France), among others.

Publications and research

His theoretical and critical writings have been published in specialist journals such as Artishock (Chile), LUR (Spain), Thinking Through Photography (United Kingdom), FOT (Peru), Marges (France) and Sens public (Canada), among others.

Recent projects and teaching

In 2024, he curated the Peruvian Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale. In 2025, he was awarded a research and creation grant from the Institute for Photography in Lille (France). He is a lecturer in Fine Arts (Section 18 - CNU) and currently teaches as a Temporary Teaching and Research Assistant (ATER) at the University of Aix-Marseille. He is a member of the French Association of Exhibition Curators (C-E-A).