Visiting Artist Colloquium: Carlos Javier Ortiz

Carlos Javier Ortiz is a director, cinematographer and documentary photographer who focuses on urban life, gun violence, racism, poverty, and marginalized communities. As a child Ortiz moved back and forth between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland, his experiences resonating with the stories during the Great Migration when displaced Black families moved north in search of stability and economic opportunity. His current project is series of short films chronicling the contemporary stories of Black Americans at this time, exploring the legacy of the Great Migration a century after it began, beginning with his mother-in-law’s story.