Michael Forster Rothbart

After receiving a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship, in 2007 Forster Rothbart interviewed and photographed residents in and around Chernobyl.^[8][9] For two years, he lived in Sukachi, Ukraine, a small farming village just outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and also spent time in Slavutych, Ukraine, the city built after the accident to house evacuated Chernobyl plant personnel.^[1][9]

His photos were initially toured to American communities facing their own nuclear contamination as part of an exhibit, After Chernobyl . Forster Rothbart explained that "I created this exhibit because I want the world to know what I know: the people of Chernobyl are not victims, mutants and orphans. They are simply people living their lives, with their own joys and sorrows, hopes and fears. Like you. Like me."^[9] During each exhibit, Forster Rothbart lead photography workshops and public forums, engaging the communities in dialogue about their own local issues.^[1][9]

In 2012, Forster Rothbart launched a parallel project in Fukushima, Japan. He has started photographing nuclear plant workers, refugees and returning residents over a period of years.^{[10] [11]}

A book of photos, interviews and essays was published October 21, 2013, by TED Books.^[11][12] Entitled “Would You Stay?”, it features personal narrative, photos, interviews, maps and audio recordings in an attempt to understand why people refuse to leave Chernobyl and Fukushima despite the risks.^{[13][10][11][12]} He later gave a TED talk about this work.^[14]

The National Press Photographers Association’s Best Of Photojournalism 2014 competition awarded “Would You Stay?” first place in the Multimedia Tablet/Mobile category, third place for Best Use of Multimedia and an honorable mention in the Contemporary Issues category.^[13][15]

Forster Rothbart is the father of two and lives in upstate New York with his spouse .^[16][17][18] He identifies as a Quaker, which he says complements work in photography, and attends Quaker meetings.^[2][17] He enjoys hiking and likes to take his family camping.^[16] His younger brother is author and filmmaker Davy Rothbart.^[16]