Friends, today I want to talk about creative generosity. Many years ago, I asked my hero Dr. Denis Mukwege an important question—“What makes you happy?” He replied, “My happiness is the happiness of others.” He went on to explain that if anyone is lucky enough to acquire power then it must be shared and not kept or protected. The creative process at its best is about the spirit of giving—sharing stories, ideas, emotions, and feelings. No one does this better than the great Scott Dadich. Scott was the creative force behind the Netflix series Abstract: The Art of Design, which featured my mission to Dr. Mukwege’s hospital in the DRC. Over the last 20 years I’ve had the great privilege to call @sdadich my best friend and collaborator. I am excited to tell you all that he is the featured guest on the new podcast episode of Design Matters with @debbiemillman . Tune in to hear how a visionary cultural leader looks at the world [link in bio]. Scott Dadich, I salute you.

I remember watching A FIST FULL OF DOLLARS for the first time when I was a kid. My family had just arrived in London from Greece, where I grew up. Now, as an immigrant I felt isolated from the English culture and with a heavy Greek accent I struggled at school. Clint Eastwood’s outcast character represented hope for me—with Sergio Leone’s masterful direction and Ennio Morricone’s defiant soundtrack, I was given an imaginative alter universe. My parents bought me the soundtrack on vinyl and for days I would conjure up a dream world of adventures while playing Ennio’s music. To finally meet and photograph Clint Eastwood was an epic experience. He was in the middle of filming AMERICAN SNIPER so I visited him on set in LA. Clint was a total gentleman, kind, respectful, curious, and self-deprecating. I saw no evidence of the defiant and moody Dirty Harry character he had immortalized for some many years. As I focused my lens on his eyelash, a carpenter banged a nail into part of the set a few feet away, breaking our concentration. Clint’s charm momentarily slipped as he gave the set builder a hard stare—Dirty Harry was back, if only for 1/500th of a second—I caught it on film forevermore. Happy Birthday Clint Eastwood, I salute you.

Some years ago, I was working on a large-scale photo essay for The New Yorker magazine, honoring those who serve in the US military. One day, while at Arlington Cemetery, I noticed a woman carrying a small fold-out picnic chair walking to the far corner of the graveyard. She unfolded the chair by her son’s headstone, sat down facing his engraved name, took out a book from her handbag and began reading to his spirit. I was deeply moved. I nervously approached her hoping I would not disturb her moment of private grief. I asked if I could take her portrait. Her name was Elsheba Khan and she was an American-Muslim. Her son was also an American-Muslim, who died fighting for America in Iraq. The book she was reading was the Quran. She graciously agreed to be photographed. She stood up, placed the book at the base of the headstone, then embraced the stone as if she were hugging her son. I took this picture. We released the photo essay called SERVICE a couple of weeks before election day in 2008, as the two presidential candidates—Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain made their last pitch to a deeply divided nation. It was this portrait of Elsheba Khan that helped inspire General Colin Powell, a high-ranking republican and former Secretary of State to publicly endorse Barack Obama for president just days before the election. This historic crossing of the political divide dealt a devastating blow to Senator McCain and the Republican Party. In post-election analysis, this picture was voted the most powerful photograph of the election campaign, but it was not a portrait of someone famous or even someone powerful. It was of an ordinary person dealing with the one thing that unites us all—that we all get to love, and we all get to lose. Elsheba Khan, you showed us how to deal with grief and tragedy in such a dignified way, I salute you.

Opening tonight in LA! Join us for the opening reception of PEOPLE POWER PLATON from 6-8PM. The versatility of world-renowned portrait photographer Platon’s work is evidenced through the juxtaposition of his various subjects and the tone in which they elicit. Photos included in “The Defenders: Heroes of the Fight for Global Human Rights”, Platon’s newly released book, are situated against an array of portraits depicting celebrity and political figures, including the late Sinéad O’Connor and Prince, Michelle Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Al Pacino, and more, bolstering the unique themes of the exhibition. In tandem with Platon’s live exhibition, UTA Artist Space is pleased to present anaccompanying online showcase of a selection from Platon’s series “The People’s Portfolio: The American Civil Rights Movements.” Multiple edition sizes are available for purchase via the link in bio. Join us tomorrow, May 4 for an artist-led tour and book signing for “The Defenders” from 2-4PM at UTA Artist Space LA!

Friends, I’d like to invite you all to join me on Saturday, May 4th for a walk-through of my PEOPLE POWER exhibition at the UTA Artist Space in Beverly Hills, followed by a signing for my new book THE DEFENDERS, provided by Arcana: Books on the Arts. Hope to see you there.

Friends, I am very excited to announce my new exhibition opening May 3rd at the UTA Artist Space in Beverly Hills, California, reception from 6-8pm. All are welcome. The show is called PEOPLE POWER—channel surfing through contemporary culture, and includes pictures of world leaders, dictators, celebrity icons, villains, artists, cultural provocateurs, technology titans, civil rights activists, and human rights defenders. I present these portraits of the powerful and the powerless with the infinite hope that your curiosity stimulates respectful debate. This event accompanies the launch of my new book, THE DEFENDERS—a celebration of human rights activists around the globe, made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Hope to see you there.

Moscow is a terrible city in which to be homeless. Its bitter winters are no place to be without shelter. Constant exposure to the elements, street violence, alcoholism, drug use, and no access to government health care all make for a miserable and dangerous existence. I photographed many weather-beaten faces behind one of the main train stations in the city. The expressions I captured on film speak volumes about the brutality of life and the human will to survive. One person stood out, who I believed to be an elderly man with scars on his face, wearing a Nike hat and smoking a discarded cigarette butt just picked up from the street. I introduced myself and was shocked to discover that this person was in fact a twenty-eight-year-old woman. “My name is Lola,” she said as she crossed her arms in front of my camera. Lola explained that she had been attacked and badly beaten a few nights ago. She had a fresh cut above her eye, and her face was swollen and bruised. I took a few frames, paused, and asked, “Lola, if you had one wish, what would it be?” “I wish you happiness,” she replied as she dipped her chin behind the collar of her well-worn corduroy jacket. “But Lola, if I ever met anyone in the world who deserves a wish for them- selves, it’s you,” I said. “Don’t waste a wish on me.” She raised her bloodied eyebrow, and, with her voice muffled by her collar, she said, “I’m not wasting a wish, because I humbly believe that if I am kind to somebody, one day someone will be kind to me. So be kind to me by telling all your friends about my story.” I took this picture. Then she added, “Speak truth to power.” This story features prominently in my new book THE DEFENDERS made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. To Lola and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.

My team built a photo studio in the middle of Tahrir Square at the height of the Egyptian Revolution. We photographed mothers, fathers, children, and grandparents. We photographed Muslims and Christians, and members of different political parties. What a privilege it was to see people power in full swing standing up to oppression. I witnessed a fragile re-birth of democracy, which sadly ended too soon. I remember hearing a chant coming from all sides of the square, “Lift your head up, you’re Egyptian.” There is an entire chapter dedicated to all my friends who fought for dignity and freedom in Tahrir featured in my new book THE DEFENDERS, made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. For my friends in New York, I will be at The Photography Show at the @parkavearmory this Friday, April 26th at 6:00pm signing copies of my book. Please come and say hi. To the revolutionaries and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.

During my time at the Burma/Thailand border with @peoplesportfolio I photographed hundreds of brave people fighting for a brighter future. One day from the back of our makeshift studio, I heard a baby crying. When I turned to look, I saw two women, one holding a baby and one with camera equipment. Thiri Htet San and Moe Myint Zin—two video journalists who were living in exile on the border but entering Burma covertly to report on events there. Thiri gently bounced her six-month-old daughter as we talked. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I have no one to look after her today.” Thiri then explained, “Inside Burma, the real situation is that we cannot hold the camera freely. People have to shoot [the] camera very secretly, like folding the newspaper, put the camera inside it, hold in the armpit, and walk around.” That day I learned the highly sensitive footage would be smuggled out of the country and distributed to the world’s free press. Their efforts—and those of other journalists— were valuable because at this time, the Burmese government exercised tight control over all media. Censorship was routine, and journalists were regularly arrested and sentenced to long prison terms for attempts to report human rights violations. Thiri and Moe knew that arrest could mean torture and long prison sentences. I asked Thiri if being a mother had changed her commitment to democracy. “You have a young child now,” I said. “If anything happens to you, how would your baby survive alone?” “Oh, no, I don’t look at it that way at all,” she replied. “I’m doing this important work entirely for my daughter. I want her to grow up in a better world.” This story features prominently in my new book THE DEFENDERS. Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. To Thiri Htet San and Moe Myint Zin and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.

This is Pussy Riot—you may know them as the hardcore feminist punk rock group who spoke truth to power against Putin’s excessive nationalism, and consequently they were put in prison for nearly two years. During their trial they were kept in a cage in the middle of the courtroom. Nadya [the co-founder of the group] was constantly scribbling some notes on a scrappy piece of a paper. Eventually, the judge asked her to stand and make her closing statement. By now, Nadya must have known she was about to go to jail—nevertheless, she stood up in her cage, clutching her piece of paper, she took a deep breath and read out from her notes. I believe her declaration to the judge and to the world will go down as one of our generation’s greatest speeches. She called for curiosity over judgement and a more open society. “I wouldn’t give people labels. I don’t think there are winners or losers here, injured parties or accused. We just need to make contact, to establish a dialogue and a joint search for truth, to seek wisdom together, to be philosophers together, rather than stigmatizing and labeling people. That is one of the worst things people can do.” This story features prominently in my new book THE DEFENDERS made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. To Pussy Riot and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.

I went to a pro-immigration march in Phoenix, Arizona. I saw families—mainly women and children, carrying banners and chanting slogans—all campaigning for human rights and immigration reform. I saw a mother holding hands with her three-year-old daughter called Evelyn. Evelyn was wearing a white t-shirt with FREE MY DAD painted on the front. There was something magical about this little girl—her audacious spirit—her cheeky character. Evelyn was a U.S. citizen and so was her mother, but her father was not. He had been caught without papers and was now in a detention center awaiting deportation. This family was now torn apart and faced a very uncertain future. I asked her mother if I could photograph the little girl. She kindly agreed, but when Evelyn saw my assistants, camera equipment and lighting, her mood changed—she hid behind her mother’s legs. Now, I saw a frightened child, and it was not the picture I wanted to take. I realized that I would have to earn Evelyn’s trust. So, I cancelled all other plans for the team that day and sat on the curbside playing balloons with her for hours. Eventually she turned to me and said, “Picture.” We had connected. The portrait I took of Evelyn is of a bold and confident three-year-old U.S. citizen. One of her hands is clenched, still holding a deflated balloon in her fingers. I turned to her mother and said, “I think I have taken one of the most important pictures of my life.” She smiled as she turned to her daughter and said, “Evelyn, the man said you did good.” And Evelyn looked at her mother and said, “If I did so good, does that mean Daddy can come home?” This story features prominently in my new book THE DEFENDERS made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. To Evelyn and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.

Say hello to the singing and dancing women of Panzi Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a multi-generational sisterhood dedicated to lifting the spirits of other women by performing their songs of joy and defiance in the hospital’s open courtyard. Their ages range from 13-70 and they are all survivors of sexual violence. “When I sing for others,” one of them said, “the bad memories disappear.” I took this picture underneath perfect powder puff clouds as the choir performed for patients, children, doctors, and nurses—showing everyone how to overcome adversity with hope and inspiration. This story features prominently in my new book THE DEFENDERS made in collaboration with @peoplesportfolio . Preorder your copy now through the publisher @mweditions or at your local bookstore and online book retailers. To the women of Panzi Hospital and all the defenders who guard our human rights, who lift up our hearts and keep freedom’s cause alive—I salute you.