Adam Perez

Exeter, California
Portfolio

Adam Perez is a director, photographer, arts organizer, educator, and USC Annenberg Civic Media Fellow. His work documents immigrant farmworker communities in California's Central Valley.  A frequent New York Times contributor, his work has appeared in TIME, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, CNN Films, and more.

Project: Valley of the Forgotten / Valle de los Olvidados
Valley of the Forgotten / Valle de los Olvidados combines two decades of documentary photography and a collection of handwritten postcards, prayers, and stories from immigrant farmworker communities. The photos span a time of drought, global pandemic, and mass deportation.

It preserves everyday rituals, poems, prayers saved on voicemail, remedies for chronic arthritis, and notes on tending a fruit tree.

The project asks how memory, spirituality, and storytelling can help families and communities remain connected. The project is both a tribute to my family and community and a resource meant to be shared.