Rich-Joseph Facun is a photographer of Indigenous Mexican and Filipino descent. His work aims to offer an authentic look into endangered, bygone, and fringe cultures—those transitions in time where places fade but people persist.
The exploration of place, community and cultural identity present themselves as a common denominator in both his life and photographic endeavors.
Originally a native of Virginia, Facun attended Ohio University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Communication.
Before finding “home” in the Appalachian Foothills of southeast Ohio, Facun roamed the globe for 15 years working as a photojournalist. During that time he was sent on assignment to over a dozen countries, and for three of those years he was based in the United Arab Emirates.
His photography has been commissioned by various publications, including NPR, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, Reuters, Vox, Adweek, Education Week, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The FADER, Frank 151, Topic, The National (UAE), Telerama (France), The Globe and Mail (Canada) and Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), among others.
Additionally, Facun’s work has been recognized by Photolucida’s Critical Mass, CNN, The Washington Post, Feature Shoot, The Image Deconstructed, The Photo Brigade, Looking At Appalachia, and Pictures of the Year International.
Recently, his first monograph Black Diamonds was released in 2021 by Fall Line Press. The work is a visual exploration of place, community and cultural identity in former coal mining boom towns of SE Ohio, Appalachia.
