Welcome to Media in the Mix, the only podcast produced and hosted by the School of Communication at American University. Join us as we create a safe space to explore topics and communication at the intersection of social justice, tech, innovation & pop culture! Our special guest today is SOC Photography Professor, Leena Jayaswal!
Leena Jayaswal is a documentary filmmaker, award-winning photographer and Professor in the School of Communication at American University, where she is the director of the new BA in Photography. Jayaswal was the schools' first Inclusion Officer and Associate Dean from 2019-2022.
Her photography and film work often deals with the intersections of being Indian and American. This work has been nationally recognized in galleries around the country, including solo shows at the Gandhi Memorial Center, and International Visions Gallery. Jayaswal has photographs in group collections with the Society of Photographic Education's Multicultural Caucus at the Center for Photography, En Foco, Light Work, Photo Center Northwest and the Asian American Arts Centre.
Her award-winning films have also been screened in various film festivals around the country. “Crossing Lines” was picked up for national distribution by NETA and has been broadcast on over 100 PBS affiliates across the country. The film has won many international and national awards including the Gracie Allen Award and is being distributed by New Day Films. Her latest film, "Mixed", a collaboration with Prof. Caty Borum explores what it means to be mixed-race in America, fifty years after the historic, landmark Supreme Court Decision, Loving v. Virginia which made interracial marriage legal.
Jayaswal is also working with artist Monica Jahan Bose on a feature documentary about climate change, called, "Rising Up to Climate Change: Storytelling with Saris." Her latest film, Dreaming Green, profiles Monica's work. This film was part of the Futures Exhibition that was part of the re-opening of the Smithsonian's Arts + Industry Building. She was one of eight documentary filmmakers to contribute to this exhibit.
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