Kang-Chun Cheng
photojournalist

About Me

[usually: Nairobi, Kenya; Mozambique November 20-December 10]

KC 鄭康君 (b. 1995) is a Taiwanese American photojournalist based in Nairobi, Kenya for over 4 years, covering how environment change impacts one's sense of belonging, foreign aid, and outdoor adventure. Her work began in the Arctic and extends globally, including unfriendly places like Western Sahara, northern Mozambique, and South Sudan–she can work in any environment with ease. She's the editor-at-large at The Xylom, the only AAPI science newsroom in the US.

In her work, KC examines themes of belonging and nostalgia against our shifting relationships with the natural world. As overwhelming as both manmade and natural catastrophes may seem, it’s the tenderness of human connections that makes survival possible.

KC has herded reindeer in Finnmark, roasted lamb with pastoralists in the mountains of Xinjiang, hitchhiked through Tunisia, photographed from the back of a motorbike in the Karoo Desert, spoken to former insurgents in Cabo Delgado, walked the Camino de Santiago, and free-dived on the south Sinai peninsula. She loves big landscapes and can be found climbing rocks whenever possible.


Selected Publications

writing: Mekong Review, No Niin Magazine, Africa Intelligence, Atmos, Hidden Compass, Africa Confidential, Summit Journal

photography: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Businessweek, Al Jazeera, Christian Science Monitor, BBC Future, Der Spiegel, Climbing, Bicycling, The Nation

Translated and Republished

 Apple News, Courrier International, Internazionale

Education

2013-2017 Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA; B.A. Environmental Science, minors Studio Art & Chinese

Certifications

2022: HEFAT Nairobi, Kenya

2021: Scuba Schools International (SSI): Freediving Level 1

Languages

Mandarin, English


Grants, Awards, & Recognition

2024: Daniele Tamagni Foundation Shortlist

2024: APhotoEditor, Daily Edit Interview

2024: Uproot Environmental Justice Fellowship

2024: New York Times Portfolio Review

2024: Speaker for Research Seminar 'special topics in industrial design,' Georgia Tech school of architecture and industrial design

2023: Missouri Photo Workshop 75, Dope to Hope

2023: Deloitte Photo Grant, shortlist

2023: Global Health Journalist Talk at Davidson College, Pulitzer Center

2023: Der Greif 15th Anniversary, "Past & Present"

2023: Gold in the Solas Awards, Best Travel Writing Sports Category: The New Ascentionists

2023: Pulitzer Center Grantee: From herders to fishers–a tale of climate-induced livelihood adaptivity

2022  Pulitzer Center Grantee: Trust and Distrust in Western Sahara, Africa's Covid "black hole"

2022 Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists Grantee: IMWF

2022 Women Photograph Mentorship Class

2021 Rory Peck Hardship Assistance Fund

2021 Freelance Journalist Assembly safety clinic 

2021 OPC Freelance Journalist Microgrant

2020 Laluz Workshop Scholarship: Your Work and Its Audience

2020 Der Greif Issue 13: Surplus Management

2020 Fulbright Semi-Finalist

2017 H. Allen Brooks Travelling Fellowship

2016 Neukom Institute of Computation ScienceTravel Grant

Associations

Represented by Redux

International Press Association of East Africa

Women Photograph

The Journal Collective

Frontline Freelance Register

Society of Environmental Journalists

Overseas Press Club of America

Diversify Photo

Authority Collective

Uproot Project

Using Format