Jamie Johnson in Conversation

Please join us for a conversation with Artist Jamie Johnson and New York Gallery Director Michael Foley
About this Event

Please join us on Tuesday, July 21st at 6:30 for a conversation with artist Jamie Johnson and New York Gallery Director Michael Foley as they share the stories behind the photographs in Growing Up Travelling.

Growing Up Travelling

I have spent much of my career photographing children around the world. For more than a decade, I have focused my lens on Irish Travellers who live in caravans along roadsides and in open fields throughout Ireland. The Traveller community is an indigenous Irish ethnic minority with a rich history that stretches back centuries. Despite this long history, many Travellers continue to live on the margins of society and face significant prejudice and discrimination.

As a mother of two children, I became deeply interested in the culture, traditions, and everyday lives of Traveller families. Over the years, I have traveled back and forth to Ireland, returning again and again to photograph many of the same children as they grow up. What began as a photographic project evolved into lasting friendships and a long-term commitment to documenting a community that welcomed me into their lives.

The grit, beauty, resilience, and joy that are part of everyday life for Traveller children continue to inspire me. Their strong sense of family, identity, and cultural values is something I find increasingly rare in a world dominated by the distractions of modern technology and social media. Not always immediately accepting of an outsider carrying a large camera, many of the children and families took time to trust me. Through patience, respect, and repeated visits, I was fortunate to build relationships that allowed me to photograph intimate moments of their lives.

Unlike many communities, much of Traveller history has been passed down through stories and traditions rather than written records. Documenting this generation has given me the opportunity to witness a way of life that is constantly evolving. Each time I return, things have changed, yet the relationships remain. The children I first photographed years ago are now young adults, and new generations continue to grow up before my lens.

I am deeply grateful to the young people and families who have shared their lives with me over the years. My hope is that these photographs reveal the individuality, strength, humor, and humanity of the children I have been privileged to know. They are young people with dreams, ambitions, and challenges, like children everywhere. Through this work, I hope viewers will look beyond stereotypes and see the dignity, resilience, and spirit that define their lives.

Jamie Johnson is an American documentary photographer whose work investigates childhood, cultural identity, mobility, and the complex relationship between people and their environments. Born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at New York University, she has lived and worked in London and Los Angeles and is currently based in France.

For more than 20 years, Johnson has developed long-term photographic projects rooted in sustained engagement and embedded access. Working across Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States, she focuses on communities navigating tradition, marginalization, and intergenerational continuity.

As a mother, her sustained interest in childhood is both personal and documentary — examining how young lives are shaped by culture, geography, and social structure. Her first monograph, Growing Up Travelling (Kehrer Verlag, 2021), received multiple international Photo Book Awards. Her second book, The Female Spirit (Peanut Press, 2024), further established her reputation for rigorous, long-form visual storytelling. Johnson has been recognized in Critical Mass (Top 50, 2017 and 2019) and named Photographer of the Year for her work with Irish Traveller communities. Her work has been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums, published widely, and acquired for institutional and private collections. She lectures on documentary photography at universities and festivals worldwide.

Exhibition Dates

July 16 - August 30, 2026

Opening Reception

Thursday, July 16, 6 - 8 pm

Exhibition Hours

Leica Gallery New York is open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM, and Sunday from 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM.

Leica Store and Gallery Meatpacking District NYC

406 W 13th Street | New York, NY 10014

We look forward to seeing you there!

Printing for the exhibition was generously provided by Weldon Color Lab

CREDITS

All photographs are the copyright of the artist.