Draft:Koitz

koitz (also stylized as KOITZ) is a Basque-American queer photographer, filmmaker, photojournalist, and multimedia journalist whose work documents LGBTQIA+ culture, identity, nightlife, and community. Based in New York City, he is best known for his long-term photographic documentation of Fire Island, Cherry Grove, and New York City's queer cultural life. His photography combines documentary photojournalism with portraiture and has been exhibited internationally and published in books, magazines, and digital media.

Early life and education

Koitz was born and raised in the Basque Country, Spain. He developed an interest in photography and journalism at an early age and pursued careers in both visual media and broadcast reporting. Before relocating to the United States, he worked in Spain as a journalist and media producer.

In 1994, he moved to New York City, where he established himself as both a photographer and an international correspondent covering American politics, culture, and society for Basque media outlets.

Career

During the 1990s and 2000s, koitz worked as the United States correspondent for Radio Euskadi, the public radio service of the Basque Autonomous Community. His reporting covered major political, social, and cultural developments in the United States while he simultaneously developed a career as a documentary photographer.

His photographic work focuses primarily on LGBTQIA+ communities, documenting queer life with an emphasis on authenticity, celebration, visibility, and historical preservation. Rather than approaching his subjects as an outside observer, koitz has photographed communities of which he is himself a participant, producing an extensive visual archive spanning more than two decades.

Beginning in the mid-2000s, he undertook a sustained photographic project documenting Fire Island, particularly Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines, two of the most historically significant LGBTQ+ communities in the United States. His work captures everyday life, nightlife, drag performance, beach culture, activism, relationships, and intergenerational queer community.

Beyond documentary photography, koitz has produced editorial portraits of artists, performers, writers, musicians, and cultural figures. Among those he has photographed are Marina Abramović, Jeff Koons, Alan Cumming, Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, John Waters, Margaret Cho, and numerous figures from the worlds of contemporary art, theater, and LGBTQ+ activism.

His photographs have appeared in magazines, newspapers, cultural publications, and online media in both Europe and the United States.

koitz Gay Fire Island

In 2020, koitz published koitz Gay Fire Island, a photography monograph documenting approximately fourteen years of life on Fire Island. The book presents hundreds of color photographs portraying the island's LGBTQ+ communities, social traditions, nightlife, beaches, artistic expression, and evolving cultural landscape.

The publication was recognized by photography curator Elizabeth Avedon as one of the notable photography books of 2020 and has been described as an important visual record of contemporary queer history and culture.

Film

Koitz expanded into documentary filmmaking with In the Meat Rack (2022), which he co-directed with filmmaker Parker Sargent.

The documentary explores the history and cultural significance of the Meat Rack, the wooded area between Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines long associated with queer social and sexual freedom. Through interviews with historians, artists, activists, and longtime residents, the film examines the site's historical importance while documenting changing attitudes toward sexuality, public space, and LGBTQ+ identity.

The documentary received recognition at several LGBTQ+ film festivals and contributed to broader conversations about preserving queer cultural heritage.

Style and themes

Koitz's work is characterized by its documentary approach and emphasis on intimacy, community, and lived experience. His photographs frequently explore themes including:

queer identity and self-expression LGBTQ+ history and cultural preservation nightlife and performance portraiture chosen family and community body positivity aging within LGBTQ+ communities celebration and resilience

His photographs often emphasize natural moments over staged compositions while documenting spaces and traditions that have historically been underrepresented in mainstream visual culture.

Legacy and significance

Koitz's body of work has been recognized as an important visual archive of LGBTQ+ life in New York during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. His long-term documentation of Fire Island and New York's queer communities has contributed to preserving aspects of LGBTQ+ history that might otherwise have gone undocumented.

His work has been used in exhibitions, publications, and historical projects examining queer history, culture, and identity.

Personal life

Koitz identifies as queer, and his identity has informed much of his documentary practice and long-term engagement with LGBTQ+ communities. He is married to interior designer Doug Jones, and they live in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.