About Barry Wong

"As a young boy I could lose myself looking at the black & white photos in my parents’ photo album. I was transported — to the China of my parents’ youth. There were the relatives riding in rickshaws through busy Shanghai and there were the dragon boats, pendants streaming, knifing through the water. There was my father posing jauntily at dockside with a camera around his neck, an old freighter looming behind him—to me the perfect image of adventure, travel, and possibilities. Perhaps it was only natural that I would develop a passion for exploration and photography— my camera an instrument for observation, understanding and connection.

Becoming a staff photographer at The Seattle Times — would find me on numerous international shoots. For me, documentary photography provided a way to bridge cultures, to illuminate and to inform. These days, as a teacher and an artist, I recall with fondness that photo album and the journey that followed— they still inspire me and inform my work.

When Mary’s Place approached me about this opportunity to work with some of their youth for this photography workshop, I saw it as a way to use documentary photography to bridge cultures locally and provide the opportunity for these youth, a new generation, to experience the wonder and joy that inspired me."

Barry Wong
Photographer and Artist-in-Residence

Barry Wong’s documentary and fine art prints have been exhibited in Washington, DC, at the Seattle Center and at the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle. Awards include prizes in the International Photography Awards, the Pictures of the Year Competition and Pulitzer Prize finalist in news photography.