Jonas Bendiksen

Norwegian, b. 1977

Jonas Bendiksen is Norwegian and was born in 1977. He began his career at the age of 19 as an intern at Magnum's London office, before leaving for Russia to pursue his own work as a photojournalist. Throughout the several years he spent there, Bendiksen photographed stories from the fringes of the former Soviet Union, a project that was published as the book Satellites (2006).

His work focuses on isolated communities and people living in challenging circumstances, often outside the main headline stories of the day.  In 2005, he started working on The Places We Live, a project on urban slums worldwide which became both a multimedia installation and a book in 2008.

Bendiksen has received numerous awards, from World Press Photo, Pictures of  the Year, the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography, and others. His documentary of life in a Nairobi slum, Kibera, published in the Paris Review, won a National Magazine Award in 2007.

He has been working regularly for National Geographic magazine since 2004, the same year he joined Magnum.

Awards

2008     Telenor International Culture Prize
2008     National Geographic Photography Grant
2007     ASME National Magazine Award
2007     Freedom of Expression Foundation Grant
2007     Award of Excellence, Pictures of the Year International
2005     Open Society Institute, Distribution Grant
2005     Alicia Patterson Fellowship
2005     2nd Prize, Daily Life Stories, World Press Photo Competition
2005     Award of Excellence, Pictures of the Year International
2004     New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
2003     Infinity Award, Young Photographer of the Year, International Center of Photography
2003     1st Prize, Picture of the Year International Awards
2001     World Press Photo Masterclass
2001     Nikon/Sunday Times Magazine Ian Parry Memorial Award
2001     Photo District News “30 under 30”  
        

Grants
The Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
OSI Distribution Grant
Norwegian Arts Council Grant

Exhibitions
2006     Satellites - Jewish Historic Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2004     Moving Walls 8 - Open Society Institute, New York, USA
2002     Changing the Face of India - Tom Blau Gallery, London, UK

Books
2008     The Places We Live, Aperture, USA
2006     Satellites, Aperture, USA