Discover the work of New York photographer Corky Lee in his own words.
For fifty years, New York photographer Corky Lee has documented Asian American communities around the country. His work has countered the oversimplified narrative of Asian Americans as they have historically been represented in media. Lee instead offers a rich tapestry of diverse communities, chronicled in over 100,000 photographs. He has notably photographed protests following the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982, Asian American first responders in the aftermath of 9/11, and he’s most recently covered his community amidst the uptick in anti-Asian violence connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is believed that Corky Lee contracted COVID-19 while documenting a protest during this recent rise in violence, and passed away soon thereafter in January 2021. Dear Corky reveals the man behind the camera during this tumultuous period, giving a glimpse into his everyday life and the wear and tear that comes with fifty years of photography. This short documentary catches Lee socializing at galleries and exhibits of his work, photographing community events, and walking through the neighborhoods that he has helped give a voice to in his decades of work.
About photographer Corky Lee
Corky Lee (1947-2021), a native of Queens, New York, was a photographer who documented Asian American communities and movements for social justice. His photographs were published in the The New York Times, the New York Daily News, and Asian American Weekly, among other outlets; were featured in forty books; and are on display in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute and the Overseas Chinese Museum in Beijing.
About filmmaker Curtis Chin
Curtis Chin is a co-founder of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York City. Chin served as the non-profits’ first Executive Director. He went on to write for network and cable television before transitioning to social justice documentaries. Chin has screened his films at over 600 venues in sixteen countries. He has written for CNN, Bon Appetit, the Detroit Free Press, and the Emancipator/Boston Globe. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Chin has received awards from ABC/Disney Television, New York Foundation for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and more. His memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant” was published by Little, Brown in Fall 2023. His essay in Bon Appetit was selected for Best Food Writing in America 2023.