After a six-year absence, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Judy Walgren returned to Foothill College Photography Department.  The exhibit “We Are Worth Everything: Survivors as Themselves” highlights Walgren’s recent work, which she started during her time at Michigan State University.  On October 19, the Photography Department hosted a reception in the Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) Gallery.  Each photograph featured a young woman in a setting of her own choosing.  Some of the women wore leotards and sported athletic poses.  Some women displayed expressions of defiance and determination.  In one photo, a young mother showed delight in her infant child.

The photographs grew from a cooperative effort between project coordinator Walgren and the “Survivor community” of young women who experienced sexual abuse by the once world-renowned Michigan State University sports physician Larry Nassar.  The Exhibition Statement begins, “Visual archives are powerful devices for building and perpetuating cultural perceptions of communities, especially groups who have been involved in traumatic events.”  Walgren’s current body of work seeks to “expand narrowly focused visual narratives” and “present a more nuanced view” of the young women, to “expand the archive, and move their stories forward.”  At the exhibit Walgren explained her motivation, “I just wanted to collaborate with them and have them start loving their image again.”

In 2018, Walgren became Associate Director, Professor of Practice at Michigan State University.  Walgren’s move to Michigan was less than a year after a criminal court convicted Nassar of sexually assaulting young female athletes, primarily gymnasts seeking treatment for sports injuries. More than 150 women testified to abuse by Nassar.  The court sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison.  

The criminal trial was only the beginning of courtroom drama to unfold, bringing continued trauma for the victims.  In May 2018, Michigan State University agreed to a $500 million dollar settlement in a civil lawsuit brought by victims and parents of victims.  Then in July 2023, victims filed another civil lawsuit, alleging the university made “secret decisions” and concealed documents that could lead to accountability at the university.  Through the years of court proceedings and media coverage, the world saw the young women as traumatized victims.  Walgren’s images express more holistic portraits of these individuals.

“We Are Worth Everything: Survivors as Themselves” is work in progress.  Persons interested in participating can contact project coordinator Judy Walgren at [email protected].

Exhibition in Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) Gallery

September 25–November 18
Building 4000, Lower Level  

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Tuesday/Thursday: 9 a.m.–7 p.m.

Saturday: 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m.