Katja Heinemann

I am a New York based visual journalist whose documentary work on social, cultural and public health issues focuses on intimate portrayals of people's lived experiences. My reporting has examined issues such as the shifting HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States (documenting how teens and older adults cope with the illness in two long term, independent projects) and outsourcing pregnancy to India via surrogacy. I strive to show how people grapple with illness and stigma, women's health concerns and body consciousness, and both youth and aging identity issues.

In my assignment work I regularly produce portraiture, photo essays, and new media and video stories for editorial, commercial and institutional clients in the U.S. and abroad. My work has been commissioned by AARP, Discovery Communications, HBO, The Southern Poverty Law Center, Time Magazine, People Weekly, Parade, US News and World Report, Stern, Der Spiegel, The Times of London and a host of European women’s magazines. Recently, I have been the recipient of an Open Society Foundation's Audience Engagement grant and a Chicken & Egg Pictures Human Rights film grant, among other awards. My photography has been exhibited widely, and was included in the anthologies Here is New York (Scalo 2002), Pandemic - Facing AIDS (Umbrage Editions 2003), and CITY (University of Illinois Press 2006).