The Alexia Launches New Scholar Initiative for Top Visual Storytelling Students, Young Professionals 

Independent photographer Md. Zobayer Hossain Joati named inaugural Alexia Scholar initiative recipient.

The Alexia is launching a new scholarship program designed to offer top-tier visual storytelling students or young professionals an in-depth opportunity to explore the world of visual communications while earning a master’s degree at the Newhouse School. 

Organizers named Md. Zobayer Hossain Joati, a photographer from Dhaka, Bangladesh, as the inaugural Alexia Scholar recipient. The announcement was made earlier this month ahead of this weekend’s Alexia Fall Workshop.  

Md. Zobayer Hossain Joati

Through grants, scholarships and special projects for photographers, filmmakers and other visual creatives, The Alexia promotes the power of visual storytelling to shed light on significant issues around the world.  

The Alexia Scholar recipients will receive full credits to complete their master’s degree, serve as a paid assistant to The Alexia endowed chair, participate in the Fall Workshop, and take part in The Alexia grant judging weekend in the spring.  

The initiative is made possible through the generous support of the Newhouse School and private donors committed to empowering promising talent so that they might become influential visual storytellers. The goal is to award a scholarship on a periodic basis—and ultimately each year—pending funding, said Bruce Strong, associate professor of visual communications and The Alexia Endowed Chair at the Newhouse School.  

The Alexia began in 1991 as the Alexia Foundation, created with the mission to promote cultural understanding and peace by supporting photographers as agents for change. Peter and Aphrodite Tsairis established the foundation in partnership with the Newhouse School to honor their daughter, Alexia Tsairis.  

A photography major at Newhouse, Alexia Tsairis was killed at age 20 in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. She was returning home from a semester abroad in London. 

In 2021, the program transitioned to the Newhouse School and became The Alexia.  

Joati’s work focuses on sociopolitical issues, gender equality, cultural norms and underrepresented communities. He is a contributor to Zuma Press, a member of the VII Community and an Up-Next member of the Diversify Photo Community.  

After earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering, Joati pursued his passion and graduated with a professional diploma in photography from Counter Foto – A Center for Visual Arts in Bangladesh.