Tag: Cinzia D'Ambrosi

Films as a Tool for Social Change

Featured photographers

Richard Zubelzu and Magda Calabrese’s Documentary Stories

For the past few years, Spanish filmmaker Richard Zubelzu has contributed his work and experience to Photojournalism Hub, sharing a commitment to documentary storytelling that places human rights, social justice and underrepresented communities at the centre of visual narratives. His collaboration with the Hub reflects a shared belief in the power of documentary filmmaking to create dialogue, challenge perceptions and amplify voices that are often overlooked.

Through its programme of exhibitions, screenings and educational initiatives, Photojournalism Hub supports documentary practitioners whose work explores social issues, challenges dominant narratives and creates space for diverse perspectives. By creating spaces for documentary photography and film, the Hub aims to connect audiences with stories that explore human experiences and communities whose perspectives are too often absent from mainstream narratives.

Together with producer and screenwriter Magda Calabrese, Richard has developed an extensive body of documentary work exploring themes including human rights, social justice, equality and the experiences of marginalised communities. Their films use personal stories to examine wider social questions and invite audiences to reflect on some of the challenges facing society today.

Through their independent production company, Objetivo Family Films, they continue to bring these stories to audiences around the world. Their documentaries are also available to viewers in the United Kingdom through Prime Video, making their socially engaged storytelling accessible to a wider audience. Rather than simply documenting events, their films explore the human experiences behind wider social and political issues. By focusing on individuals and communities whose stories often remain absent from mainstream media, their documentaries encourage audiences to reflect on resilience, identity, justice and social change.

“We believe documentaries can build bridges between cultures and help audiences understand realities beyond their own borders. Our goal is to tell stories that inspire reflection, dialogue and greater awareness of the challenges and achievements of people around the world,” say Zubelzu and Calabrese.

Their work reflects the belief that documentary filmmaking is more than recording events, it is a powerful means of fostering understanding, encouraging empathy and inspiring meaningful conversations across cultures.

Featured Documentaries by Richard Zubelzu and Magda Calabrese available in the UK via Prime Video:

Offside
A compelling documentary exploring why so few openly gay male footballers compete at the highest levels of professional football. Through interviews with players, journalists, campaigners and figures from across the football world, the film examines the cultural pressures, discrimination and fear of exposure that continue to shape the experiences of LGBTQ+ players, while questioning what still needs to change for the sport to become truly inclusive.

Reinosa 1987: The Price of Industrial Restructuring
A documentary examining the social consequences of industrial restructuring in Spain during the 1980s and the struggle of workers defending their communities and livelihoods.

Homophobia of State
An international human rights documentary investigating discrimination and persecution against LGBTQ+ communities in countries where sexual diversity continues to face legal and institutional repression. 

The Battle of the Wind
A reflection on territory, rural life, sustainability, and the relationship between people and their environment. 
Argüeso Castle: Culture, Tradition and Modernity
An exploration of Spanish cultural heritage through one of the most emblematic historical sites in northern Spain.

Saudade In this short documentary film, Zubelzu and Calabrese want to bring to the life story of Benita Navacerrada, daughter of Facundo Navacerrada Perdiguero, founder of the UGT in San Sebastián de los Reyes in 1936, who was shot against the walls of the Colmenar Viejo cemetery on May 24, 1939. This parish cemetery is where the second phase of exhumations of the mass graves of victims of Francoist repression has recently begun. This is the first exhumation of a civilian mass grave in the Community of Madrid, and where 91-year-old Benita patiently waits, day after day, for her father to appear. Watch on Prime Video

About the Filmmakers

Richard Zubelzu is a Spanish filmmaker, director and documentary producer whose work explores human rights, social justice, historical memory, cultural heritage and environmental issues. Through independent documentary filmmaking, he focuses on stories and communities often absent from mainstream narratives, using film as a tool for dialogue, awareness and social reflection. His documentaries have reached international audiences through festivals, cultural institutions and streaming platforms, including Prime Video.

Magda Calabrese is a producer, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker whose work focuses on socially engaged storytelling and projects exploring equality, migration, historical memory, environmental issues, cultural identity and human rights. Through research-driven productions, she works to bring complex social issues to wider audiences and amplify perspectives that deserve greater visibility.

Together, Richard Zubelzu and Magda Calabrese are the founders of Objetivo Family Films, an independent European production company dedicated to documentary storytelling with social purpose. Their films combine investigative research and human-centred narratives to explore contemporary challenges and encourage dialogue across cultures. Watch Richard Zubelzu and Magda Calabrese’s documentaries

Richard Zubelzu and Magda Calabrese’s documentaries demonstrate the power of film to explore complex social issues through human stories. Their work reflects the belief shared by Photojournalism Hub that visual storytelling can create empathy, challenge perceptions and contribute to meaningful conversations around justice and equality. Discover more documentary photography, film screenings and storytelling projects from Photojournalism Hub through our upcoming events and programmes.

All Credits photos and videos © Richard Zubelzu, © magda.calabrese

Sulgrave Club 100 years

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Official Centenary Photobook:
Sulgrave Club 100 Years

A century of the Sulgrave Club, told through image and memory. 96 pages. Limited copies available.


Sulgrave: 100 Years is the official centenary photobook celebrating 100 years of the Sulgrave Club, London W12 produced to mark a milestone in the Club’s history and community life.
Photographed, curated, and produced by Cinzia D’Ambrosi, the book brings together a century of archive and contemporary photography across 96 pages, tracing the people, spaces, and stories that have shaped the Club since its founding. It accompanies the Lens on a Century exhibition, held at the Sulgrave Club in June 2026.
The book features contributions and connections spanning generations — including a letter from Pete Townshend and a video greeting from Roger Daltrey alongside personal archive material and stories shared by Club members, including Irish Jack and John Rowley (a former member now based in Canada), whose personal photo album forms part of the book’s story.

ISBN: 978-1-0369-8846-3
Publisher: Photojournalism Hub CIC
Photography, curation & project management: Cinzia D’Ambrosi
95 pages
Price: £25
Shipping: UK only

A limited number of copies are available order yours to own a piece of Sulgrave Club’s story.

To order a copy HERE

Sulgrave Club 100 years

Exhibition, Photography Exhibition

EXHIBITION OPENING: Friday 26 June 2026 | 6–9 PM (By Invitation Only)
Press Preview: Friday 26 June 2026 | 3–4 PM

PUBLIC OPEN DAYS: Saturday 27 June 2026 | 2–8 PM
Sunday 28 June 2026 | 12–4 PM

Venue: Sulgrave Club, 287 Goldhawk Road, London W12 8EU

On 26 June 2026, one of London’s last surviving historic youth clubs, the Sulgrave Club in Shepherd’s Bush, marks a remarkable milestone: 100 years of youth engagement, community, and heritage. Founded a century ago in the shadow of the First World War, the club was born from a need to support a generation of young people whose lives had been upended by global conflict. Over the decades that followed, it became a sanctuary for Shepherd’s Bush youth and a quiet witness to British cultural history — its halls witnessing everything from visits by Prince Philip and Princess Anne to the early days of two members of The Who, who were club members long before they became rock icons.

To celebrate this centenary, the building is being transformed into a multi-floor art gallery, taking visitors on a journey through time. We are proud to be at the heart of this celebration.

Lens on a Century: Youth Photographers Exhibition

As part of the exhibition Sulgrave Club 100 Years, we partnered with the Sulgrave Club to run a documentary photojournalism project with local young people. Mentored by the Photojournalism Hub, these young photographers have spent months capturing the intersection of modern life and the club’s historic legacy — and their work forms a major showcase at the heart of the exhibition. This project reflects everything we believe in: giving young people a professional platform, a journalistic lens, and the tools to document their own world with confidence and purpose.

The exhibition is curated by Cinzia D’Ambrosi — award-winning photojournalist, founder and director of the Photojournalism Hub, and a Shepherd’s Bush local. Alongside the youth photography, Cinzia will present a curated selection of her own work, capturing the contemporary soul and social fabric of the community. Together, these elements weave social history with high-impact documentary photography into a cohesive and powerful whole.

“Transforming this historic space into a living gallery is about more than just looking back. It is an immersive experience where the walls of the Sulgrave Club tell a story of resilience and community. By integrating the raw, honest work of the Photojournalism Hub, we are connecting a century of local history with the contemporary perspectives of the youth who will shape the next hundred years.” — Cinzia D’Ambrosi, Curator

Exhibition Highlights

  • A multi-floor transformation where the architecture of the Sulgrave Club becomes the canvas for the exhibition
  • Archival displays and heritage narratives charting the club’s 100-year impact on the Shepherd’s Bush community
  • Lens on a Century: a photography showcase by local youth photographers, mentored by the Photojournalism Hub
  • A curated selection of photography by Cinzia D’Ambrosi, featuring portraits of former and current club members

The exhibition is free and open to the public on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 June. We hope to see you there.
For media enquiries, interview requests, or high-resolution images, please contact Cinzia at centenary@thesulgraveclub.org.uk or cinzia@photojournalismhub.org.

Notes to editors

About the Sulgrave Club Located in the heart of Shepherd’s Bush, the Sulgrave Club has provided a vital space for youth support, community engagement and social connection for a century.www.thesulgraveclub.org.uk
www.thesulgraveclub.org.uk

About the Photojournalism Hub Photojournalism Hub is a Community Interest Company (CIC) dedicated to using documentary photography as a tool for social change. It provides training, community photojournalism projects and publishing, and a platform for sharing independent, courageous and powerful photojournalism and documentary photography. www.photojournalismhub.org

About Cinzia D’Ambrosi Cinzia D’Ambrosi is a multi-award-winning curator and photojournalist known for her work on social issues and human rights. Her vision for the Sulgrave Centenary focuses on the intersection of heritage and modern documentary practice. www.cinziadambrosi.com

High-Resolution Images A selection of high-resolution images from the exhibition is available for media use upon request. To request images or an interview with the curator or featured photographers, please contact Cinzia cinzia@photojournalismhub.org

Press Contact

Cinzia D’Ambrosi
Centenary Project Manager
Founder and Director, Photojournalism Hub
Email: centenary@thesulgraveclub.org.uk
Website: www.photojournalismhub.org | www.thesulgraveclub.org.uk

The Photojournalism Hub’s participation in this project has been supported by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham through the King Charles III Coronation Youth Fund

COVID-19 & Beyond

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People pass by banners and street arts related to the recent protests from Black Lives Matter in Brick Lane and Shoreditch, London Photo Copyright: Erica Dezonne

Photojournalism Hub presents COVID-19 & Beyond, a powerful photographic collection reflecting on one of the most pivotal moments in recent history and the profound, lasting consequences that continue to shape our world today.

Emerging from an international open call launched by Photojournalism Hub director Cinzia D’Ambrosi at the height of the pandemic, COVID-19 & Beyond brings together, for the first time, this vital body of work in a single publication following its debut as a physical exhibition. Both long-awaited and deeply necessary, this collection offers an urgent and collective reflection on the pandemic and its aftermath.

Featuring compelling work by photographers from London and across the globe, the book documents lived realities and bears witness to a crisis that did not affect everyone equally. While COVID-19 was a shared global event, its impact exposed and intensified existing injustices and structural inequalities. Marginalised communities faced disproportionate risks, losses, and restrictions, as longstanding issues around housing, migration, race, women’s rights, access to healthcare, mental health, and freedom of expression became further entrenched.

Through photography, personal testimonies, and reflections, COVID-19 & Beyond amplifies voices too often excluded from dominant narratives. It is both a record of an extraordinary and traumatic period and a critical lens on its enduring consequences, physical, emotional, economic, and political.

More than a retrospective, this book asks urgent questions about the present and the future: Where are we now? What has changed? What has been normalised? And where are we heading?

As Cinzia D’Ambrosi reflects:
“The pandemic acted as a catalyst, accelerating social change, widening inequality, and reshaping our relationship with power, rights, and accountability. In many ways, it forced humanity to confront its own fragility—marking a moment when collective survival, dignity, and justice were fundamentally challenged. Yet many questions remain unanswered. The struggle did not end when lockdowns were lifted.”


To order a copy: HERE

Covid-19 & Beyond

Exhibition

Photo Copyright Antonio Silvestri

The exhibition ‘COVID-19 & Beyond’ originated from an international open call launched by Cinzia D’Ambrosi, founder and director of the Photojournalism Hub, during the peak of the pandemic. Curated by D’Ambrosi alongside assistant curator Ella Khalek, the project was designed with a specific focus on advocacy through the lens. It features the work of photographers from across the globe, including Iran, Argentina, the Republic of Congo, and the UK documenting how the crisis intensified structural inequalities and social injustices. To provide a structured narrative for these global stories, the works were categorized into three primary themes:

The Front Line: Focusing on care homes and the experiences of essential workers.
The Street: Documenting public movements, including Black Lives Matter protests and anti-vaccination demonstrations.
The Home: Exploring domestic themes, including the impact of lockdown on gender, domestic abuse, and specific demographics such as youth and the elderly.


The COVID-19 exhibition project was a significant success, effectively merging professional photojournalism with citizen-led responses. By utilising a multi-platform approach comprising of public workshops, a live event at Riverside Studios, a physical exhibition, and a publication the project created a vital space for public reflection. The project successfully addressed the pandemic’s role as a precursor to ongoing social justice issues, including health disparities, loss of freedom of speech, and systemic inequalities. The heart of the project lay in its mission to empower those impacted by injustice whether through grief, long COVID, or social marginalisation by providing a space where their lived experiences could be heard. By merging professional photojournalism with citizen-led responses, the project moved beyond traditional observation into active participation and reflection. This was achieved through a multi-platform approach; preparatory work included collaborative public workshops at the Sulgrave Club in Shepherd’s Bush and a live ‘In Focus’ event at Riverside Studios, featuring photographers Chiara Fabbro and Ruth Toda-Nation.
The exhibition was hosted at The Lodge Gallery and the Sands End Arts & Community Centre (SEACC) in Fulham from March 12–15, 2026. With over 130 attendees on the opening night alone, the event showcased the work of photographers from across the world, including Iran, Argentina, The Republic of Congo, the UK and the wider European continent and featured notable photographers, including Chiara Fabbro, Cinzia D’Ambrosi, David Gilber Wright, Angela Christofilou and Ruth Toda-Nations. To capture the community’s response, interactive feedback boards were installed with dl-sized cards to capture spontaneous public thoughts and responses to specific prompts regarding emotional impact and key takeaways.

Photo Copyright Antonio Silvestri


The exhibition contributed to community well-being and active engagement by transforming the pandemic narrative from one of isolation into a collective, creative experience. The workshops and feedback cards revealed deep-seated emotional impacts that continue to affect the public, including how social relationships have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of “human touch” and connection. Significant feedback was gathered regarding the trauma of loss. One notable respondent detailed her mother’s illness and death, highlighting concerns that her mother’s treatment in care was negatively impacted by racial profiling. The project established a strong crossover with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group (part of the official COVID Inquiry), identifying a shared need for storytelling to drive political and social advocacy.
The initiative successfully addressed the pandemic’s role as a precursor to ongoing social justice issues, including health disparities, loss of freedom of speech, and systemic inequalities. It comprehended various events and activities, including Collaborative Public Workshops integrating public voices with professional photographers hosted at the Sulgrave Club in Shepherds Bush during the month of February. In Focus photography event at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith featuring photographers Chiara Fabbro and Ruth Toda-Nation presenting their poignant photography work followed by Q&As.

The project’s legacy is preserved in the ‘COVID-19 & Beyond’ photobook, available in both print and digital formats.

Photo Copyright Antonio Silvestri

Selected media & press coverage:

The Londonist: Featured as a ‘top place to go’ in London.
PAN (Photo Archive News): National agency writes an article featuring the exhibition.
Art Rabbit: Prominent listing on this specialist photography and arts platform.
Local Government: The Hammersmith & Fulham Council published articles and interview with Cinzia D’Ambrosi supporting the project during its development.
Photojournalism Hub Journal: Injustices & Inequalities: Covid-19 
Photojournalism Hub: Exhibition ‘Covid-19 & Beyond’
No26.com Article The Truth behind the masks Covid-19 & Beyond exhibition opens in London

Outlook and future steps

The COVID-19 & Beyond exhibition stands as a primary visual and research study for our core mission: bridging the gap between professional photojournalism and the lived experiences of the community. It has made a significant impact on arts, culture, and heritage by transforming a global health crisis into a documented cultural legacy. It moved beyond the traditional “news cycle” to create a permanent, artistic record of the pandemic’s social consequences. We believe that reporting should not be something done to a community, but with them. By integrating our ‘Citizen Photojournalism’ program alongside professional work, we move beyond mere observation into active participation.
By documenting health disparities, widening inequalities, and the increasing threats to freedom of speech, this exhibition functions as both a visual archive and a movement for social justice. We provide a platform for those the system has historically overlooked from the elderly in care homes to refugees on the Balkan route capturing the human stories that data-driven reporting often misses.
We do not view this exhibition as a closed event, but as an ongoing conversation. We will continue to speak to and with the public through images.
We will use the momentum from our photobook and digital reach to keep these social justice themes in the public eye. This is not a closed event, but an ongoing conversation. We are committed to using the momentum from our photobook and digital reach to keep these themes in the public eye. We remain dedicated to providing local and global photographers with the visibility needed to challenge the status quo and inspire tangible change.
“This exhibition serves to highlight and advocate for a deeper understanding of the widening inequalities impacting communities globally. By uniting people through the power of visual storytelling, we have created a vital channel for voices that often go unheard. Advocacy is the catalyst for both understanding and systemic change; to that end, we remain committed to documenting the ongoing stories of COVID-19 and its lasting impact on social justice. Our mission is to foster the growth of “Citizen Photojournalism, a movement dedicated to making media more democratic, accessible, and authentically rooted in news from the ground up.” – Cinzia, Photojournalism Hub director and founder.

Photojournalism Hub presents ‘COVID-19 and Beyond’, a landmark photography exhibition exploring the lasting legacy of the pandemic.

DATES: 12–15 March 2026
The Lodge Gallery and the Meeting Room
Sands End Arts & Community Centre
London SW8

OPENING NIGHT: 12 March, 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
FREE ENTRY, RSVP

Photojournalism Hub is delighted to present COVID-19 & Beyond, a powerful photography exhibition that reflects on one of the most pivotal moments in recent history and the profound, lasting consequences that continue to shape our world today. Emerging from an international Open Call launched by the Photojournalism Hub’s director Cinzia D’Ambrosi, during the height of the COVID–19 pandemic, this exhibition marks the first time this body of work is brought together in a public, physical space. It is both a long-awaited and necessary moment.
COVID–19 & Beyond brings together a compelling body of work by photographers who documented lived realities and bore witness to how the pandemic did not affect everyone equally, but instead exposed and intensified existing injustices and structural inequalities locally in London and globally.
COVID–19 marked a shared global crisis, however, its impact was deeply unequal. Marginalised communities faced disproportionate risks, losses, and restrictions, whilst long standing issues around housing, immigration, race, women’s rights, access to healthcare, mental health, and freedom of expression were further entrenched. For many, the repercussions are still felt today physically, emotionally, economically, and politically.
Through photography, personal testimonies and reflections, COVID–19 & Beyond amplifies voices that were too often excluded from dominant pandemic narratives. The exhibition not only looks back at an extraordinary and traumatic period, but also asks urgent questions about the present and the future: Where are we now? What has changed? What has been normalised? And where are we heading?

“The pandemic acted as a catalyst accelerating social change, widening inequality, and reshaping our relationship with power, rights, and accountability,” says Director and Curator Cinzia D’Ambrosi. “In many ways, it forced humanity to confront its own fragility, marking a moment when collective survival, dignity, and justice were fundamentally challenged. Yet many questions remain unanswered. The struggle did not end when lockdowns were lifted.”

COVID-19 & Beyond is more than an exhibition. Curated by Cinzia D’Ambrosi in collaboration with Ella Khalek, the exhibition combines visual responses from community workshops and a research-led online journal to foster deeper understanding, collective reflection, and long-term impact. The exhibition also strongly demonstrates the Photojournalism Hub’s ongoing work in using documentary photography as a means to sustain dialogue, research, and creative engagement around social injustice and inequality.

Exhibiting photographers: Aidan Brooks, Angela Christofilou, Barbara Traver, Chiara Fabbro, Cinzia D’Ambrosi, David Gilbert Wright, Erhan Us, Erica Dezonne, Flaviana Frascogna, Gemma Mancinelli, Joanna Olivia Fountain, Kasangati Godelive, Krzysztof Maniocha, Mattea McKinnon, Nic Madge, Omur Ozkoyuncu, Rueda Photos (Daiana Valencia and Celeste Alonso), Ruth Toda-Nation, Sabrina Merolla, Sebastian Ambrossio, Thabo Jaiyesimi, Valeria Luongo.

Curators
Curator: Cinzia D’Ambrosi
Curatorial Assistant: Ella Khalek

Press Contact
Cinzia D’Ambrosi Director, Photojournalism Hub
Email: cinzia@photojournalismhub.org
Website: www.photojournalismhub.org
Instagram: @photojournalism_hub

Our Supporters
This exhibition was made possible through the generous contributions of our crowdfunding community and the support of:

Hammersmith & Fulham Council
Sands End Arts & Community Centre
Studio Twenty7

Notes to Editors

About the Photojournalism Hub The Photojournalism Hub is a west London-based Community Interest Company (CIC) dedicated to using documentary photography as a tool for social change. By providing training, research, and a platform for sharing independent, courageous and powerful photojournalism and documentary photography, the Hub advocates for human rights and social justice.

About the Curator Cinzia D’Ambrosi is a multi award-winning documentary photographer and the founder of the Photojournalism Hub. Her work focuses on state violence, migration, and structural inequality. She has been widely published and exhibited internationally, focusing on photography’s power to drive social change.

High-Resolution Images A selection of high-resolution images from the exhibition is available for media use upon request. To request images or an interview with the curator or featured photographers, please contact cinzia@photojournalismhub.org.

IN FOCUS: A photography evening with Citlali Fabian and Jai Toor

IN FOCUS

To book a place: HERE

IN FOCUS is an event series by the Photojournalism Hub in collaboration with Riverside Studios that presents committed, independent contemporary documentary photography. This edition brings together two visual storytellers whose practices engage deeply with questions of identity, migration, memory, and place. Through distinct yet complementary approaches, Citlali Fabián and Jai Toor use photography to navigate personal and collective histories, examining how images can hold lived experience, cultural inheritance, and emotional truth. Their work moves between documentation and imagination, reflecting on displacement, diaspora, and the meaning of home across generations and geographies.

Citlali Fabian A Yalalteca (indigenous from Mexico) visual storyteller. She uses photography to explore ways of addressing identity and its connections with territory, migration, and community bonds.
Fabián is a  2024 BERTHA FOUNDATION Grantee,  2021 Photography and Social Justice Magnum fellow, a National Geographic Society explorer, with the project “I’m from Yalalag, a photo essay to explore the development of our Zapotec identity.” In 2021, she was awarded by the Art Council of England with a Develop Creative Practice Grant. In 2023 World Press Photo Contest Regional Jury. A 2020 Visura mentee. She was also named one of the Discoveries of the Meeting Place of FotoFest 2018 Biennale.
Her work has been shown in solo and collective exhibitions in Mexico, USA, Spain, and Argentina. Her work has been covered at The New York Times. And also has been appeared in different media like The LA Times, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, Remezcla, Revista Cuartoscuro, and IM Magazine among others. Her Mestiza series was selected as one of the New York Times Lens blog’s “13 Stories That Captured Photography in 2018” and as part of “10 Years of Photography, and Lens”.
She is also a member of Women Photograph and Indigenous Photograph collectives. Her work is part of the INBA/Toledo Collection, the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Chicago, and the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.  

Jai Toor (b. 1998) is a British-Indian photographer and artist based in the UK. His practice explores the interplay of diaspora and fantasy within the fabric of everyday surroundings. Working across documentary, fashion, and
music, Toor employs a multifaceted approach that integrates research, analogue processes, text, and archival photographs to construct layered visual narratives. Jai Toor’s practice centres around long-form photographic projects that often begin close to home — both literally and emotionally, before expanding outward. As someone who has lived across India and the UK, in many different homes, I’ve never felt a singular sense of place. This transient experience of “home” underpins much of my work, where themes of diaspora, migration, family, loss, and identity recur. He is particularly drawn to overlooked stories, fragments of personal or collective memory that might otherwise go undocumented. Photography, for me, is a way of capturing both presence and absence; a medium that can preserve histories, confront traumas, and evoke longing. He works across documentary, fashion, and music, but his approach remains consistent: research-led and open to intuition.
His projects often begin with reading, writing, and conversations, forming a kind of text-based map that guides me visually. I draw from national archives, interviews, and everyday encounters, weaving together photographs, text, and found materials. He uses analogue and digital photography interchangeably, but shooting on film allows him to slow down and connect more intentionally with the people and places he documents. He sees his work as semi-fictional, a space where documentation, re-imagination, and emotional truth coexist. He leans into ambiguity, allowing the viewer to enter the work without a fixed outcome, but with enough guidance to feel immersed. Collaboration is essential to this process: He often enters personal or communal spaces where trust, exchange, and shared authorship become part of the narrative. Ultimately, he is interested in how photography can hold contradictions, between fact and feeling, history and fantasy, familiarity and displacement, and in how storytelling can honour both the known and the unknowable.

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

INTERVIEW: Cinzia D’Ambrosi of the Photojournalism Hub

Blog, Press

New exhibition set to explore the hidden inequalities exposed by the Covid pandemic. You can help make it happen!

The borough’s local Photojournalism Hub is inviting you to support its new exhibition and workshops, entitled: Covid-19 and Beyond. It is due to open in Fulham once the hub has raised enough funding – details below on how you can support.

The new exhibition and workshop series aims to give a voice to those most affected by Covid, said Cinzia D’Ambrosi, the hub’s founder and a multi-award-winning photojournalist.

Raised in Italy, Cinzia has dedicated her career to using photography for social change. Her work has earned international recognition, including the Spiga d’Argento from FIDAPA (Italy), awarded for promoting peace through photojournalism and documentary photography.

The hub is one of many community-led groups that receive financial support from Hammersmith & Fulham Council as part of our commitment to building a stronger, safer and kinder borough.

Inequalities

“The pandemic exposed deep inequalities that many people still live with every day,” said Cinzia. “Through this exhibition, we want to give those affected a platform – and start a conversation that leads to real change.”

It features striking images and personal testimonies gathered during the pandemic, shining a light on issues such as housing, race, immigration status, women’s rights and mental health.
It also hopes to address the deepened and long-standing divides, widening inequalities, and the curbing of freedoms such as freedom of speech that have arisen from the pandemic.
The free community workshops will invite residents to share their own stories, said Cinzia, while schools will take part in guided tours. Meanwhile, panel discussions will bring together experts and local voices to keep the conversation alive.
She said: “This project is about helping people in ways that count. And empowering under-represented voices in our communities and encouraging a shared understanding. By creating a platform for dialogue, we hope to strengthen community ties and inspire change.”

Founder of Photojournalism Hub, Cinzia D’Ambrosi

Founder of Photojournalism Hub, Cinzia D’Ambrosi

Impact

The Photojournalism Hub has a proven track record of telling powerful stories in H&F. It’s done this through two free documentary photography courses for residents. These were initially funded by the NHS and delivered in partnership with H&F Council which saw more than 60 young people learn photography, how to build portfolios, and publish their work in print and online.
Some of these young people have gone on to study photography at university, while others have secured paid roles, including photographing major events like The Great Exhibition Road Festival.
Cinzia says the hub empowers people to tell their own stories: “Through workshops, mentoring, and our community photography magazines, we give space to local voices. It’s about democratic storytelling – where residents shape the narrative.”
Beyond its local work, the Photojournalism Hub also collaborates globally, sharing powerful stories through events like the In Focus series at Riverside Studios.
She added that the hub also acts as historical archive, with many photographs and testimonies submitted during the pandemic – forming a unique record of lived experience.
“Above all, I want the Hub to be a space where stories take shape and inspire positive action. Photojournalism can build real bridges between communities, perspectives, and lived experiences,” says Cinzia. “It gives people the tools to document real stories, challenge mainstream narratives, and spark meaningful dialogue.”

Students taking their photography course

Students taking their photography course

The journey begins with selecting the final photographs and stories from an open call.
This campaign is part of H&F Council’s wider support for community-led projects that make our borough a better place for everyone. Please support the campaign on Spacehive.
Support ‘Covid-19 and beyond’


Article published by Hammersmith and Fulham Council on the 10 October 2025
https://www.lbhf.gov.uk/news/2025/10/interview-cinzia-dambrosi-photojournalism-hub

IN FOCUS: Memory, Migration and Conflict with Marcin Kornacki and Wei Jian Chan

IN FOCUS


To Book a place: HERE


This edition of IN FOCUS brings together two photographers whose practices, while distinct in subject and style, both explore how history, memory, and identity shape lived experience. Marcin Kornacki’s long-term documentary projects in Haiti and Bolivia investigate the legacies of political violence and the endurance of communities in unstable landscapes. In contrast, Wei Jian Chan’s Journey to the West reflects on the personal journey of migration, using the formal language of street photography to evoke dislocation and belonging. Together, their presentations offer powerful insights into working independently in challenging environments, and into photography’s ability to bridge the political and the personal.

Marcin Kornacki is a London-based documentary photographer and UAL Photojournalism and Documentary Photography MA graduate whose work explores memory, landscape, and the marks of collective history. His practice draws stories to the surface through close attention to place and the unpredictability of encounter. His current projects focus on sites where political violence and colonial legacies remain alive in land and memory.
His ongoing work in Haiti documents its capital Port-au-Prince as it descended into gang control, tracing the layered aftermath of revolution, foreign intervention, and daily survival, documenting both the gangs terrorising the city as well as the people enduring the conflict.
In Bolivia, he photographs the mining communities around La Paz, focusing on Milluni, site of a government-led miners’ massacre in 1965, examining how resistance and political narratives endure and develop across generations.  Grounded in sustained fieldwork and research, Martin’s photography connects personal testimony with broader historical forces. His images invite reflection on how memory is shaped, how trauma is carried, and how communities protect identity in the face of erasure.
His talk aims to focus on the practical aspects of working independently with little training and no official support in conflict zones and politically unstable regions, reflecting in particular on the mistakes he has made, and the lessons he has learnt during his most recent work in Haiti and Bolivia. 

Wei Jian Chan (b.1991) is a Singaporean-born photographer based in London, whose work seeks to find beauty in the chaos of modern life.  Wei Jian first picked up a camera at the age of 14 while growing up in Singapore. Over the years, as he moved to Oxford to attend university and to London for work, the camera has been his constant companion. In his time behind the camera, photography has grown from a pastime into a source of inspiration and a passport to new experiences.  Working primarily in black-and-white, Wei Jian utilises both traditional wet darkroom processes and modern digital techniques in his work. His work frequently incorporates elements of geometry, architecture, and motion.
Wei Jian’s photography has been exhibited in various locations in the UK and Europe, and has been acquired to form part of the permanent collection of the Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Art. His work has also been featured by numerous outlets, including The Guardian, Deutsche Welle and National Geographic.
Wei Jian will be showcasing images from his debut photobook ‘Journey to the West’, published by Setanta Books. This book features his black and white street photography, and seeks to evoke the sense of dislocation and uncertainty that Wei Jian experienced in the early years of moving from Singapore to the UK, during which he set about to integrate into a foreign culture and find his place in the world. The title ‘Journey to the West’ comes from a Ming dynasty Chinese myth about the journey of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang who travelled to the ‘Western Regions’ to obtain Buddhist sacred texts (sutras). 

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

Masoud Amin Naji: Children of Iran

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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