Carolina Global Photography Exhibition explores connectedness, relationships

This story was originally published at global.unc.edu. Photos by Chloé Bell.

As students streamed out of their classes in the FedEx Global Education Center this past week, more than a few lingered to study new photos on the walls. These photos — 35 in total, with UNC Hussman represented by six students and alumni and eight photographs — are this year’s finalists for the Carolina Global Photography Competition. The cherished tradition at UNC-Chapel Hill has lasted more than 25 years.

The photos were chosen from 452 competition submissions, all captured by Carolina students, faculty, staff and alumni. This year’s exhibition invites viewers to consider compositions that demonstrate connectedness — relationships and through lines to our past, our environment and each other.

Pasquale Hinrichs ’26, a media and journalism and global studies student, was this year’s first-place winner with her submission “Mujeres Luchadoras,” or fighting women. Hinrichs spoke at a reception on Thursday, Feb. 12, to mark the official opening of the 2026 Carolina Global Photography Exhibition.

“It’s incredible to look out at a room full of people who care about the moments captured by Tar Heels around the world,” Hinrichs said. “This space is filled not only with viewers, but with people who have wandered, observed and documented these moments themselves.”

Continue reading to learn more about three of the finalists featured in this year’s exhibition.

‘Mujeres Luchadoras’ by Pasquale Hinrichs ’26

During a spring break trip to Argentina last year for “MEJO 584: International Projects,” Hinrichs was touched by a group of performers at the International Women’s Day March in Buenos Aires.

The performers were paying homage to the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who self-organized to protest government kidnappings and state-sponsored violence during Argentina’s dictatorship in the 1970s and continue to march today.

Though Hinrich’s main goal for the day was simply to experience the march as an attendee, she brought her camera along with her. When she saw the Mujeres Luchadoras dancing, she was moved to take a photo.

“Their dance expressed their pain, their strength and the belonging these women found in each other and this experience they shared,” Hinrichs said. “I felt very emotionally connected to the photo while also loving the movement captured in it.”

Aside from appreciating the photo’s visual appeal, Hinrichs hopes that viewers will think critically about its subject matter.

‘Towards Their Fluid Homes’ by Parag Jyoti Saikia

Even when trailing a herd of water buffalo through a river, anthropology doctoral candidate Parag Jyoti Saikia is never one to pass up an opportunity for a good photo.

“I have taken so many photos, I’ve had to [clear] my 128 GB phone twice,” Saikia said. “My friends kind of find it irritating — if I see anything interesting, I just take out my phone.”

When Saikia noticed a picturesque moment one day as he was conducting field work in Assam, India, he didn’t hesitate to reach for his phone. The resulting photo, which he entitled “Towards Their Fluid Homes,” depicts a herder leading a group of Asian water buffalo across the Subansiri River as the sun sets off in the distance. The Subansiri River experiences frequent water level fluctuations, periodically revealing low-lying islands and sandbars that herders living along the riverbank use to raise their buffaloes.

Saikia first submitted a photo to the Carolina Global Photography Competition back in 2018. He hopes exhibition visitors will see his photo in this year’s exhibition as an example of the subtle beauty that lies in everyday life.

“I really wanted to capture how people live with the river from morning to evening,” Saikia said. “It’s a beautiful setting, but there’s also a very mundane aspect to it. For me, as someone who’s doing research there [and is from there], this is a part of our regular life. It captures that beauty of mundane moments.”

‘I Am, Because We Are’ by Jack Leary ’29

For media and journalism student Jack Leary ’29, his featured photograph communicates the exhibition’s theme of connectedness through Ubuntu.

Ubuntu, sometimes translated as “I am because we are,” is an expression and philosophy that emphasizes finding identity in the collective rather than the individual.

Leary first learned about this expression while volunteering in Fish Hoek, South Africa, at the Ubuntu Football Academy during his Morehead-Cain gap year. For the month he was there, one of the main things he did was produce sports photography and videography for the academy. Out of all the photos he took, one shot of academy players Losika and Eugene smiling in victory on the soccer field stood out to him.

“I probably took thousands of photos over that month,” Leary said. “I took this one at a qualifying match. Losika scored a goal… and I just thought it was a moment of absolute pure passion. I’ve been around sports a lot in the United States, and the passion and the love for the game at Ubuntu was so much purer than what you see here.”

Leary will be returning to Ubuntu next year as part of a summer project through his Morehead-Cain scholarship, where together with a friend he will produce a full documentary about the academy.

The 2026 exhibition

“Mujeres Luchadoras,” “Towards Their Fluid Homes,” “I Am, Because We Are” and the rest of the selected finalists’ photos are now on display in the FedEx Global Education Center. The public is invited to view the photos during building hours — Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. — or via the virtual gallery. The exhibition will run through December 2026.

Carolina students, faculty, staff and alumni are all eligible to submit photos to the Carolina Global Photography Competition. The 2026-2027 cycle will begin accepting submissions this summer.

UNC Hussman Winners

• First Place: Pasquale Hinrichs ’26 — “Mujeres Luchadoras”
• African Studies Center spotlight: Jack Leary ’29 — “I Am, Because We Are”
• Institute for the Study of the Americas spotlight: Grace Richards ’26 — “Songs from Underground”

Aaliyah Mitchell ’26, Maya True Wasik ’27 and doctoral student Walker Winslow Stephenson ’23 (M.A.) represented UNC Hussman as finalists.

The full list of winners is available at global.unc.edu.

UNC Hussman winning and Finalist Photos