Cleveland-based photographer Steve Cagan has long been known for his activism, particularly on behalf of justice for oppressed peoples in South and Latin America, as well as right here in Cleveland, where he worked with Jobs with Justice in the late ’90s and early Æ00s. His art and his activism have always been entwined. He’s photographed homeless people in Cleveland and spent time in Nicaragua, Cuba, Honduras and Colombia, releasing a series of books and photo series.
His latest is called The Price of Gold: Mechanized mining in El Chocó, Colombia, a project he’s been working on since 2003 and pursued with the help of a Fulbright Fellowship. In it he looks hard at the cost of gold mining in the rainforest area of Colombia: its impact on the environment and on the people of the region. A collaboration with Cleveland artist Mary Kelsey, the book features 157 pages of photos, drawings and text, including testimonies from the residents of the region.
“This book is intended to be a contribution to support the efforts of all the people who dare to raise their voices against extractive and destructive economic activity,” the authors say.
The book is available as a eBook in English and Spanish and as a physical book in Spanish. Go here to get it.