Bio
Maggie Steber a documentary photographer specializing in humanistic stories, has worked in 67 countries. Her honors include a grant from the Guggenheim Foundation in 2017, the Leica Medal of Excellence, World Press Photo Foundation, the Overseas Press Club, Pictures of the Year, the Medal of Honor for Distinguished Service to Journalism from the University of Missouri, the Alicia Patterson Grant, the Ernst Haas Grant, and a Knight Foundation grant for the New American Newspaper project.
Steber has worked in Haiti for three decades. Aperture published her monograph, “Dancing on Fire.” In 2013, Steber was named as one of eleven Women of Vision by National Geographic Magazine with an exhibition that traveled to five cities. Steber served as a Newsweek contract photographer and as Asst. Managing Editor of Photography and Features at The Miami Herald, overseeing projects that won a Pulitzer.
Her work is included in the Library of Congress, the Guggenheim Foundation Collection, and The Richter Library. She exhibits internationally. Clients include National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, AARP, The Guardian, and Geo Magazine. Steber teaches workshops internationally including at the World Press Joop Swart Master Classes, the International Center for Photography, Foundry Workshops, and the Obscura Photo Festival.
Listen to Maggie Steber’s Interview
Artist Statement
I photograph people. I am interested in people’s stories, not only about themselves but also about where they live. Miami is a city where we see people from all over the world who call this place home. This is its beauty and character. I made these photographs when Miami was still more innocent in many ways. Living here is like not living in the United States but in a magical place where the people bring their cultures, histories, talents, and even their woes. People come here to disappear, to change their lives, to find work, peace, and beauty. Miami is called the Magic City, and it is, in so many ways.
I am a photographer because I’m curious about the world. I’m interested in the world, in places, in people, in history and cultures, and even in nature. My role as a photographer is to tell stories to inform people, to document history and memory. Photographs are all about memory, and we need these memories to remind us of family, of nature’s beauty, and even of wars and famine and the worst things, in hopes that by remembering, we will not make the same mistakes. I think photography can save us, and it has saved me in many ways, giving me a way to be in this world and to understand it and celebrate it.