Working Ohio

Living in Cleveland, I’ve witnessed the dramatic decline of what was a major industrial center, where thousands of people worked in good-paying, secure jobs, creating, building, and producing through physical and mental strength. That is largely—but not entirely—gone.

Today, the media talks about trying to recover jobs lost during the pandemic. Jobs lost between the 1970s and early 21st century aren’t even discussed anymore.

And those people who still work in Cleveland in union jobs—in what remains of our industry—are unseen and unappreciated by the media and the art world.

We documentarians must present people not only as victims of social problems but also as strong, creative, and resistant—which in fact they are.

Steve Cagan

Steve Cagan has been practicing activist photography since the mid-1970s. He is most concerned with exploring strength and dignity in the everyday struggles of grassroots people resisting their pressures and problems. Major projects include “Working Ohio,” an extended portrait of working people; as well as Indochina; Nicaragua; El Salvador; and Cuba. His current major project is “El Chocó, Colombia: Struggle for Cultural and Environmental Survival.” He has exhibited and published on four continents, has won numerous awards, and co-authored two books.