Women as Witnesses: Photography and the Algerian Revolution

Women drove the Algerian Revolution (1954–62) as combatants, nurses, and photographers on the frontlines, yet their role remains largely overlooked. Join us at ICP for a conversation led by Maura McCreight, PhD, that examines the women who shaped the history of the Algerian War, with a special focus on the late Elaine Mokhtefi, an American-born activist who became a celebrated heroine of the revolution. McCreight will be joined by Cynthia Young, Director of the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive at ICP, and filmmaker Mila Turajlić to discuss the broader history of war photojournalism, as well as Turajlić’s film on Mokhtefi’s contributions to the resistance.

This panel takes place alongside an exhibition at the Palais de la Culture in Algiers, opening December 2026. Funded by the International Association of Friends of the Algerian Revolution (AIARA), it features work by American photographer Kathryn Updegraff and is curated by McCreight.

This program is being offered both in person at ICP, located on NYC's Lower East Side, and online. Tickets to attend the conversation in person are $5 and do not include access to ICP’s galleries.

Image of Kathryn and Elaine:

Unknown Photographer, Kathryn and Elaine in Algiers, 1962. The Degraff/Updegraff Archive.  

Image of Kathryn, Akila, and Hadja:

Kathryn Updegraff, Akila, Kathryn, and Hadja in the maquis, August, 1957. The Degraff/Updegraff Archive.  

About the Speakers 

Maura McCreight completed her dissertation A Photographic Gendered History of the Algerian War of Independence in 2026 at the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is the Partnerships & Programs Manager in Open Education at the International Center of Photography (ICP). Before joining ICP, she was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Art History at several CUNY campuses and a fellow in Interpretation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Cynthia Young is the Director of the Robert Capa and Cornell Capa Archive at the International Center of Photography. She has curated numerous exhibitions about mid-twentieth century photojournalism, particularly related to Robert Capa, Chim and Gerda Taro.

Mila Turajlić is a Serbian filmmaker. She directed and produced award-winning films The Other Side of Everything and Cinema Komunisto. Turajlić was born in Belgrade, Serbia.. Turajlić studied film production at Belgrade University's Faculty of Dramatic Arts and political science at the London School of Economics. She then specialized in documentary film-making at the La Femis school in Paris and also obtained a PhD from the University of Westminster. She has worked as a researcher and production assistant for the BBC, Discovery Channel and Arte France. Additionally her experience includes working on the features The Brothers Bloom and Fade to Black as an assistant director, as well as on Apocalypto as a coordinator. She is currently the Julien and Virginia Cornell Distinguished Visiting Professor at Swarthmore University.
 

Header Image of Kathryn and Elaine:

Unknown Photographer, Kathryn and Elaine in Algiers, 1962. The Degraff/Updegraff Archive.