We were delighted to host a new photojournalism nights series event ‘In Focus’ in collaboration with the west London arts and media centre Riverside Studios. Our guest photographers of the evening were Denise Laura Baker and Etienne Bruce . Owning to the ‘In Focus’ series, both photographers engage within the realm of socially engaged documentary photography and their projects are of a long form.
Etienne Bruce presented Xenitia, which is an archive, centered on displacement to Greece. And Dr. Denise Laura Baker shared Deeds, Not Words: motivations and methods of resistance from a photographer’s perspective, currently being shown until April 13th at Gallery 74, Waterside Arts in Sale, Manchester, which explores the myriad ways photography crosses into the realm of activism and the complex relationship between photojournalism and activism.
One of the highlights of the event was the inspiring work shared by the photographers and the engagement of the audiences. The atmosphere at Riverside Studios buzzed with energy as the fully packed studios engaged in lively discussions, and Q&As.
Furthermore, conversations flowed freely well after the event ended, which it denotes the power of documentary photography and photojournalism. Thanks to our guest photographers, whose work brought people together around photography and the voices that might otherwise remain unheard.
Next Photojournalism Hub event at Riverside Studios is on the 22nd April 2024.
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Presenting photographers, who will share their powerful photography, insights and experiences of documenting wars and displacement.
The consequences and legacy of wartime persecution and displacement are reflected in the work of photojournalists and documentary photographers, who have played a pivotal role in exposing, be of a testimony and witness of these ordeals. Displacement has always been hand in hand with war and conflict, as people flee for safety and security. Photographers have recorded not only the physical displacement but also have conferred through their stories and photographs the extent of emotional, psychological trauma that these experiences cause. An extent that goes over time and sometimes will never heal. In recent years up to today, as we are witnessing one of the largest exodus of people forced to leave their homes in Ukraine, the scale of population displacement by war has been an incredibly stark reality. The reverberations are immense with thousands whose lives are in limbo, experiencing the impact of trauma and loss.
We have invited a group of photographers, whose work and courage have closely documented these realities. Their accounts and photos have contributed to important documentation as well as vital historical and accountability documentation.
We are incredibly honoured to present to you all our guests photographers George Nickels, Quintina Valero, Ed Ram and Ines Gil, who will share their powerful photography, insights and experiences on war displacement.
Ed Ram is a photojournalist and reporter with an interest in conflict, security, and climate change. He has been based in East Africa for for nearly three years, reporting from countries including Kenya, Mozambique, DRC, Sudan, Somaliland and Uganda. Ed works on personal photography projects and for European and US news organisations including newspapers, photo agencies and broadcasters. Most recently, he has been covering the conflict in Ukraine for the Guardian and PBS Newshour. Before working freelance, Ed spent 8 years working as a filmmaker, journalist and senior producer for BBC News.
George Nickels is a freelance photojournalist and has been working in South East Asia and Europe since 2011. The primary focus of his work is covering social conflict and humanitarian issues. Currently based in the United Kingdom, he is a member of The Frontline Freelance Register. Born in Oxfordshire, England in 1982, he is a self-taught photographer, with work published in leading newspapers, magazines and media outlets worldwide.
Ines Gil is a French freelance journalist currently based in Lebanon, after having worked in Israel and the Palestinian territories for two years (Feb. 2018 to Apr. 2020). In August 2017, she travelled to Mosul to cover the developments in Iraq in the aftermath of the war against the so-called Islamic State. More recently, she covered the Beirut port explosion (August 2020) and the war over Nagorno-Karabakh (October 2020). She covered the situation in Afghanistan after the Taliban took power (November-December 2021). She has covered the war in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion. Writer and passionate about photography, she works on several media supports.
Quintina Valero is a Spanish freelance press and documentary photographer. Quintina moved to London in 2001 where she studied photojournalism at the University of the Arts and has since worked for London newspapers as The Archant Group, South London Press, Ham & High, Hackney Gazette, and as a stringer at Getty Images, and lately for the night digital editions of the Telegraph Media Group. Her long-term projects focus on documenting the lives of people affected by conflict, violence and poverty pursuing stories about human rights and social issues. Her work about migration, sex trafficking and the impact of Chernobyl’s nuclear accident have received international awards and featured in The Guardian, Sunday Times, Thomson Reuter Foundation, Stern Magazine, Internationale, BBC, and El País among others. She has exhibited in the UK, Spain, Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. She is passionate about cultural exchange collaborating often with international artists to produce art and educational projects. In June 2021, The History Press published her book “London’s Record Shops” in collaboration with writer Garth Cartwright.
Valentina Sinis is a documentary photographer and the moderator of the event. She is based in China and the Middle East. Valentina’s projects gravitate toward the quirky and unusual, and portray offbeat realities and people on the margins, they show a deep bond with he subjects. Her photos are a thorough but delicate insight into idiosyncrasies, hidden meanings, and all those little gestures that are either taken for granted or sensationalized — but rarely investigated. Fluent in Chinese , she started by working for European Pressphoto Agency, EPA, in China. Her pictures have been published in major newspapers and magazines worldwide; TIME, The Guardian, La Repubblica, among others. Her works have been exhibited in Europe and China. Among the recognitions and awards, Valentina was selected as one of the 6X6 Europe Talents, by World Press Photo, 2019. The following year, Valentina was the winner of Female in Focus 2020 by British Journal of Photography and she was recognised with the Award of Excellence for Issue Reporting Picture Story in POY 2021. https://www.valentinasinis.com
This event is co-organised with Frontline Club and hosted at Frontline Club in Paddington.
