Additional Coverage:
- A photographer spotlighted Holocaust survivors by pairing them with celebrities in moving portraits (businessinsider.com)
In a poignant photo series titled “Borrowed Spotlight,” renowned fashion photographer Bryce Thompson captures intimate portraits of Holocaust survivors alongside celebrities and business leaders. The project aims to amplify the survivors’ stories and combat antisemitism by leveraging the fame of well-known figures.
Thompson’s lens captures heartfelt moments of connection between survivors and participants, including Cindy Crawford, Barbara Corcoran, Sheryl Sandberg, Billy Porter, Jennifer Garner, and David Schwimmer. The photographs offer a glimpse into these powerful encounters, which Thompson orchestrated by intentionally not introducing the participants beforehand.
“This initiative paired celebrities and notable individuals from diverse industries with survivors not just to spread the message but to engage directly — listening, questioning, and sharing in these profound experiences,” Thompson explains in the introduction to the accompanying coffee table book.
The exhibition, on display at Detour Gallery in New York City, serves as a stark reminder of the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors. According to the 2025 Global Demographic Report on Jewish Holocaust survivors, approximately 220,850 survivors remain, most over the age of 85.
The “Borrowed Spotlight” coffee table book, priced at $360, and print sales from a private auction will benefit Holocaust education programs, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and SelfHelp, a New York organization providing trauma-informed care to survivors.
The project has already touched countless hearts. Cindy Crawford, who wrote the foreword to the book and posed with 98-year-old survivor Ella Mandel, described the experience as “profoundly inspiring.”
Crawford recounted Mandel’s heartbreaking story of loss and resilience, emphasizing the importance of sharing these experiences. Other moving encounters include actor Kat Graham’s tearful exchange with Yetta Kane, Scooter Braun’s conversation with 103-year-old Joseph Alexander, and Sheryl Sandberg’s meeting with George Elbaum, each sharing powerful stories of survival and hope.
Thompson hopes the series will combat antisemitism and all forms of prejudice. “These survivors stand as living testaments, urging us never to forget that empathy and action are often the difference between life and oblivion,” he reflects.