Month: August 2025

Masoud Amin Naji: Children of Iran

Uncategorized

Documentary photos & text by Masoud Amin Naji
copyright Masoud Amin Naji, 2025

We are delighted to present Masoud Amin Naji as our featured photographer. His work documents the plight of street children in Iran, who are forced into labour due to economic hardship. Through his lens, Masoud offers a rare and powerful glimpse into a reality that is often hidden from view, as access to such stories from Iran remains extremely difficult.

“This is the Middle East. It consists of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. The people here are kind and knowledgeable, but for various reasons such as tribal wars, poor economy, cultural and religious differences, they are forced to either abandon their children or use them for a living. They force children who are deprived of education, love, happiness, fun and play to do hard and tiring work. Even if they do not want to work, they are forced to work and, without wanting to, they lose a good life full of happiness, health and respect.

Maybe they can be helped to return to the normal cycle of life. There is no doubt that they are brilliant talents.
You may have heard these sentences in newspaper headlines or in films such as Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Bicicletta), but here with these documentary photos we want to talk about children whose entire childhood or perhaps their entire life is spent longing for a normal life.


After all, for what crime and mistake should the entire life and happiness of a child be ruined, this is the Middle East and such things happens a lot, let’s be together for once and work for women and children so that they can have a normal life” – Masoud Amin Naji

Photos: Masoud Amin Naji

Masoud Amin Naji
Instagram: masoudnaji682

Photojournalism Hub x Saatchi Gallery

Exhibition

27/03 – 25/04 at Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York’s HQ
King’s Road
London SW3 4RY

‘POSSIBILITIES’ is an exhibition about resilience, change, transformation, and hope. It explores the vast possibilities that humankind faces, namely opportunities for change, resistance, and survival in an era defined by uncertainty and adversity. From global crises to personal struggles, our participants have turned their lenses toward moments of strength, renewal, and the potential for a better future.

Throughout this journey, young people and adults alike have sought to capture the essence of possibility in their stories. Whether documenting acts of kindness, resistance, resilience and change in times of hardship, uncovering overlooked
narratives of courage, or revealing personal and collective struggles, their work offers a profound and thought-provoking window into the human experience.
This exhibition is more than just a display of photographs; it is an invitation to reflect, engage, and question. It urges us to look closer to step into the stories being told, and to consider the ways in which we, too, can embrace the possibilities that shape our world.
We invite you to visit ‘POSSIBILITIES’ as we celebrate the power of documentary photography to inspire change, amplify voices, and create new pathways for understanding and action.

‘POSSIBILITIES’ is curated by Cinzia D’Ambrosi., award-winning documentary photographer and founder of the Photojournalism Hub, the exhibition is structured as a journey. Visitors will navigate the gallery, encountering four thematic walls that frame the experience: Resistance, Resilience, Change, and Hope.

“I wanted the viewer to feel that despite living in dark times, there are always choices that enable change and positive outcomes.” says Cinzia D’Ambrosi


The photographers of POSSIBILITIES are: Amy Daintree, Areti Nikou, Avril Gabbay, Denni Rose, Earl Matthew, Ella Khalek, Filippo Mainella, Francesca Nieves Martin, Maria Speller, Rebecca Stella, Roberta Faccio, Roberta Mitchell, Roberto Simone, Selma Nicholls, Sienna Sunna, Sól, Steven Okonkwo.

Possibilities exhibition is included when viewing the current major exhibition, ‘Flowers’ at Saatchi Gallery. 

IN FOCUS: From London Streets to War Zones, Two Photographers, One Shared Humanity

IN FOCUS

1 September 2025, 7:25 pm
Riverside Studios
101 Queen Caroline Street
London W6 9BN

TO BOOK A PLACE: HERE

Ellie Ramsden and Vudi Xhymshiti bring powerful, contrasting perspectives to our next IN FOCUS of 1st September event, revealing stories of identity, resilience, and courage from British subcultures to the frontlines of global conflict.

Ellie Ramsden is a London-based photographic artist whose practice centres on portrait and documentary photography, informed by a deep interest in human behaviour, interaction, and communication. Working primarily with analogue film, she adopts a slower, more considered approach that allows for intimacy and reflection in her work.
Her practice often incorporates elements of co-creation, aiming to foster dialogue, challenge stereotypes, and present alternative perspectives through authentic, collaborative storytelling. Ellie’s personal projects focus on British subcultures and communities, exploring themes such as youth culture, gender equality, collective identity, and resistance to mainstream narratives.
Balancing self-initiated projects with commissioned work, Ellie’s photography has been exhibited internationally and widely featured in the press. Her work is held in the permanent archive of the Museum of Youth Culture.

Vudi Xhymshiti is an investigative journalist, war reporter, and foreign editor based in London, renowned for his fearless reporting on armed conflicts, political corruption, and global power struggles. With a career spanning over 18 years, he has covered some of the world’s most volatile regions, from the Arab Spring and Syria’s civil war to Russian aggression in Ukraine, the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and ongoing tensions in the Balkans.
As the founder and editor-in-chief of The Gunpowder Chronicles – www.thegpc.uk, Xhymshiti delivers in-depth investigative journalism exposing corruption, disinformation warfare, and geopolitical manoeuvring that threaten democracy and human rights. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, TIME, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, and La Repubblica, among others.
Vudi’s work seeks to document the human condition in the face of war, occupation, and political oppression, with a focus on the resilience, dignity, and courage of ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances.
In Ukraine, Vudi has been recording the stories of those who have survived the brutality of the Russian invasion, capturing their lived experiences in the aftermath of atrocities and amidst ongoing destruction. His photographs aim not only to bear witness to suffering but to highlight perseverance, the fight for identity, and the everyday struggles for survival in the shadow of geopolitical violence.

IN FOCUS is presented by the Photojournalism Hub in collaboration of Riverside Studios, bringing to the public compelling and thought-provoking contemporary documentary photography and photojournalism.