Thomas Dworzak was born 1972 in Koetzting near Cham, in the Bavarian Forest in Germany.
During and after finishing Highschool, Robert Schuman Gymnasium, (specialized in History, English and French) in 1991, he started to travel and photograph in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
After living in Avila, Prague and Moscow studying Spanish, Czech and Russian and photographing the war in former Yugoslavia he moved to live in Tbilisi, Georgia from 1993 until 1999 working on a long time project on the Caucasus and its people, covering the conflicts in Chechnya, Karabakh and Abkhazia.
Based in Paris from 1998 he covered the Kosovo crisis and other events in former Yugoslavia in 1999/2000.
Since 2000 he has been based in Moscow.
In 2001 he covered the war in Macedonia, the refugee crisis in Pakistan.
For the years after the 9/11 attacks he was mainly covering the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as it’s impact on the US, and US politics, political campaigns and the current situation in Iran.
In 2002 he started his ongoing project on Tehran’s Valiasr Avenue.
Besides this he has reported on the crisis in Haiti, the Tsunami aftermath in Sri Lanka and conflicts in Chad, Nigeria, CAR, and Ethiopia as well as the «colored revolutions» of Ukraine and Kirgyztan.
In the Caucasus he mainly continued to cover the Second Chechen war and the Georgian “Rose Revolution”, also recently the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, and Kadyrov’s Chechnya.
After the war he stayed on photographing Georgia for the Magnum book and exhibition project «Georgian Spring» which was published in August 2009, an exhibition, presentations in «Uferhallen» Berlin, «Teatro Circo Price» Madrid, «Kent 475» New York , «Kuenstlerhaus» Munich and «Palais de Tokyo» in Paris followed.
In 2009 and 2010 he mainly covered the recent deployment of ISAF troops to Afghanistan and their return home.
Besides his ongoing personal project in the Caucasus in 2011 he covered the war in Libya and the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution and in 2012 the protest in Russia and the situation in the North Caucasus leading up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
This latest work on the Caucasus is being published as map-set book «Beyond Sochi» by Editions Seriti in Paris in January 2014.
Thomas Dworzak’s work has been widely published in the international press. He mainly collaborates with The New Yorker Magazine, TIME Magazine ( contract photographer from 2005-2008) and National Geographic Magazine.
He has been teaching the OSI 2011-2013, La Caixa Fotopres 2013, Magnum Munich and Nikon Legends Korea, Incheon and Seoul workshops and given presentations among others at the «Leica Gallery Moscow», The «New School» NYC, The London «Host» gallery, Hannover «Lumix» Festival.
From 1995 until 1999 he was distributed by Wostok Press.
In 2000 he became a nominee of MAGNUM PHOTOS, a full member in 2004. From 2006 to 2009 he was a contract photographer for Time Magazine based in Paris and New York.
He was awarded a World Press 1st prize Spot News Story, Prix Bayeux, Prix Kodak, Kodak Young Photographer of the Year, Prix Terre d’Images, Scoop d’Angers.
One of the four founders of “Off Broadway” his work has been exhibited in Mercer 60,NY, Festival Rencontres d’Arles,France, Museum of Contemporary Art Milan, Italy, CO Berlin and Sao Paolo, Brazil.
