Life is quite frankly very busy and complicated for many people. As a result, it is easy for people to get caught up in the drama of their own lives and to forget to reach out to different types of people and cultures. On the other hand, there are those that take the time to slow down enough to consider others.

    Mark Aumann has incorporated his passion for photography and other cultures and languages to help educate people about what is going on in the world beyond our borders.

    As a 1982 graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison with degrees in French and political science, his interest in the world is only natural. When studying abroad in southern France, Aumann’s interest in art and photography was firmly rooted. He explained that in France “you can’t help but be affected visually and artistically by what you see.”

    After completing his master’s degree in French, Aumann lived in Nicaragua during the late 1980s to the early 1990s. While there, he had the opportunity to work as a photographer for a Nicaraguan newspaper and work with Witness for Peace, a human rights group working to change U.S. policy in Latin America. He said that his work in Nicaragua opened his eyes to the world around him. It was this sense of global awareness that he wanted to bring back home with him through his photography.