Sanjay Suchak
Sanjay Suchak is a photographer and video director whose career has straddled the boundaries of both the music industry and photojournalism. As the photographer for the Dave Matthews Band and Public Enemy and video director for Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats he’s helped translate and record the energy of a live performance into lasting memories. At home his documentary photography work now focuses on issues of race, identity, equity and memorialization in Virginia and across the South. His immersive work from 2016-2024 covering the efforts to remove Confederate statues has been featured in the New York Times and in museum exhibitions across the country. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, VQR, Politico and many others.
Moderated by Amelia Davis, who managed Jim Marshall's archive for 13 years and inherited his estate, this panel traces the history of music photography from the golden era of rock to today, exploring how the business has shifted and what it takes to sustain a career documenting music culture. A candid look at the realities of building a sustainable career in music photography: when to charge, when not to, how to protect your work, and how to stay in the rooms that matter.
Drawing on his fellowship at UVA's Karsh Institute of Democracy and his acclaimed project documenting the removal of Confederate monuments across Virginia, which landed on the front page of the New York Times and is currently exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA, Sanjay explores how photography and video have driven social and political movements over the last 50 years. He'll tackle photojournalism, AI and truth, and the power of the citizen image-maker.
A panel with photographers who have documented history as it's being made. Drawing on academic work exploring how images drive social movements, the moderator guides panelists through questions about access, ethics, and the power of the image to shape collective memory.
Sanjay leads an urban photo walk through Minneapolis, encouraging participants to find compelling stories in unexpected places. Rooted in his philosophy that every city has a story worth telling, this walk pushes photographers to slow down, observe, and document meaningfully.
Sanjay will lead a hands-on music photography workshop using one of MODE's live stages. Participants will shoot a real performance and walk away with portfolio-worthy images. Drawing on his experience as the official photographer for Dave Matthews Band, Public Enemy, and Slightly Stoopid, Sanjay will show participants how to move beyond the obvious shot and turn unpredictable light and movement into a creative advantage.
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