Tag: Photojournalism

POLARITY

Latest News, Exhibition

Photojournalism Hub Open ‘24   
Photojournalism Hub Presents ‘POLARITY’ – A Documentary Photography Exhibition Exploring Global Polarisation.


“In the wake of a very polarised world, where nothing is certain, risking polarity means embracing the extremes. It challenges us to confront our differences and find clarity amidst the chaos. Polarisation seems to be behind or becoming the underlying cause of many conflicts and social issues of today, impacting global, national and local stability and peace, and impacting the lives of the most vulnerable people and economic places around the world.” – Cinzia D’Ambrosi

Photojournalism Hub is proud to present Polarity, a documentary photography exhibition showcasing selected works by photographers from around the world, responding to our Open Call on the theme of polarisation.

In an era increasingly defined by division, polarisation has become a powerful force driving social, political, and economic gap. From the ongoing war crimes in Ukraine and Gaza to escalating violence across Africa and deepening inequalities fueling conflict and division, our world faces profound challenges. Polarity brings together compelling visual narratives that confront these divisions, telling stories of resilience, resistance, and the human impact of conflict, inequality, and climate disasters.

At the heart of Polarity is the belief in the transformative power of photo documentary storytelling to amplify marginalised voices and humanise those often overlooked in global narratives. The selected photographs offer raw and powerful insights into the lives of those affected by injustices, shedding light on the complexities of our polarised world.

Polarity offers a space for reflection, dialogue, and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping our divided world today. Each image forms part of a broader photographic series that reflects, exposes, and bears witness to our shifting global landscape. As viewers, we are confronted with a vital question: In the face of such polarisation, where are we headed?

Polarity is curated by Cinzia D’Ambrosi, director and founder of the Photojournalism Hub.

Featured photographers are: Angelo Scelfo, Anna Maren, Ayan Das, Cinzia D’Ambrosi, Denise Felkin, Elisa Mazzucca, Ellie Švrlanská, Francesca Gabbiadini, Gašper Lešnik, Gianluca Colonnese, Justin Makangara, Mariusz Smiejek, Matteo Placucci, Nathaniel White-Steele, Racheal Tse, Rebecca Stella, Richard Zubelzu, Sabrina Merolla, Sloane Warren, Stuart Leech, Suzanne Valkenburg, Syreta Boost, Tommaso Stefanori.

The exhibition is accompanied by a Photobook fair showcasing photobooks and zines by contemporary photographers. The photobook fair is open daily from 11 am to 5 pm and during the Opening night from 5 pm to 9 pm.

We are very grateful and we express our heartfelt thanks for their support:

Sands End Arts & Community Centre
Studio Twenty7
Zelda Cheatle
Digital Lab

Press Inquiries: cinzia@photojournalismhub.org
website: photojournalismhub.org
Instagram: photojournalism_hub

RSVP

POLARITY
10-13 October

Opening: 10th October 5-8 pm at THE LODGE at Sands End Arts Centre and Community Centre, Peterborough Road, London SW6 3EZ
Continues 11th – 13th October 8:30 am – 5 pm

Be part of an International Exhibition showcasing Documentary Photography and Photojournalism.  Photojournalism Hub Open welcomes submissions from new, emerging and established photographers, working in the documentary photography and photojournalism genre.

Our Call:  In the wake of a very polarised world, where nothing is certain, risking polarity means embracing the extremes. It challenges us to confront our differences and find clarity amidst the chaos. Polarisation seems to be behind or becoming the underlying cause of many conflicts and social issues of today, impacting global, national and local stability and peace, and impacting the lives of the most vulnerable people and economic places around the world.
We are looking for photo stories that reflect, narrate, challenge, document, expose on the theme. Through understanding and dialogue, we can navigate the complexities of a polarised world and seek common ground.

Submit your entries by: 20th August 2024: admin@photojournalismhub.org

1st Stage
Please submit your entries, singles and stories by the 20th August 2024.

2nd Stage
Selected entries will be notified by the 25th of August.
Fee for selected entries:
£10 (single images)
£20 (series)

As this is our inaugural Annual Open Call, we would like to offer contributors a Photojournalism Hub Membership for the series entry which will grant unique access to Photojournalism Hub events and archives for a year.

Exhibition
The exhibition will take place on the 10th to the 13th of October 2024 at The Lodge, Sands End Community and Art Centre in London.

What will I gain?
– Exhibiting photographers images will be promoted across the social network partnerships, in a dedicated website page
– Exhibiting photographers images will have their work published in the exhibition photobook
– Participation and promotion in our Instagram exhibition focused residency
– Becoming a member of the Photojournalism Hub for a year (series entries) and access our Archives, discounted or free entry to our events and lots more!

Awards and Nominations
Three photographers will be Nominated for a portfolio reading with a with a world-renowned curator and gallerist Zelda Cheatle

PHOTOBOOK OPEN


BLOG

Blog, Press

Communities

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUTHS, Youth Magazine, Community Photojournalism Projects

The Photojournalism Hub is proud to present the latest edition of documentary photography and writings from our workshop participants. This issue focuses on the theme of ‘Communities’ in its broadest sense.

Our participants have captured stories using a social documentary approach, reported directly on community events, and explored the meaning of community from both personal and broader perspectives.
We feature stories of communities of skaters, Meanwhile Gardens and the fight for its survival, exploring graffiti as a community voice, local venues that forms hubs of community attraction and support, and much more. Additionally, we present stories that have been taken abroad as some participants find that communities is what they feel they belong to.

The photo stories in this edition demonstrate a strong level of ownership of the medium of photography and visual narrative. I am delighted to share them with you.

https://shorturl.at/0Uz0a

The Photojournalism Hub photography magazine is published by the Photojournalism Hub CIC and produced with participants of the documentary photography workshops. To learn more about the workshops please contact: admin@photojournalismhub.org

Support us
Help us to sustain our mission of photojournalism for action- change. Your donations and membership will help us transform lives through photography projects and education.

Featured Photographers

Featured photographers, Photo Stories

Federico Tisa: Tinuola

Photo Stories

2018 / ongoing

This is the story of Mary, born on the 2nd of May 1994 in Mushalash, a small town in Lagos State in Nigeria. Her grandmother called her Tinuola, meaning “full of wealth” in the Yoruba language.

After a journey of more than 2.500 miles and endless time, which took her from Lagos to Benin City, then to Kano, Agadez in Niger and finally to the seaport city of Zuara in Libya, she arrived in Sicily in October 2014 and was transferred to Florence shortly afterwards. Following the end of one of the hospitality projects, she was transferred to Chivasso, a small town near Turin in 2017. Mary is a guest of the Mary Poppins association, a non-profit organisation that works with trafficked women.

The journey that carries me to Chivasso is much shorter, just a few minutes’ drive from Turin, where I live and work. I turn to Mary Poppins thanks to the advice of a friend who works for the cooperative as an operator. After a series of introductory interviews I met Mary in April 2018. Time carried me to become her friend. Her white brother. That is what she calls me now when she has to introduce me to her friends.

In 2019, Mary leaves the project and starts a new life. A life not easy and full of difficulties, made of mistakes, steps forward, passions, pain, humiliation. A long bureaucratic path to regularization on Italian ground and the search for a job.

This is a small story about the world around her and her incredible story.

It’s the story of our friendship.

Mary poses for a portrait I took of her at the Sacra di San Michele. A place I absolutely wanted her to see given its strong spirituality. Sant’Ambrogio di Susa, February 2020.

Mary and Kate are getting ready for another birthday party for a friend of theirs who is in the Mary Poppins shelter project. Chivasso, July 2018.

Mary and her roommates during a birthday party for their friend’s daughter. Chivasso, May 2018.

Mary shows signs of Libya on her body, of the exploitation she was subjected to and the voodoo ritual she underwent before leaving for Europe. She has a story no different from the thousands of other girls imprisoned in hot spots and forced into prostitution to pay off the debt contracted for the journey.
A debt tha strangles them and forces them to be trafficked. San Sebastiano da Po, May 2018.

With the arrival of 2022, it has been more than two years since Mary has been undocumented, officially illegal. So, we decide it is time to begin to find a way out of this state of slumber and malaise. Through old contacts in the hospitality world and a lawyer friend, Mary is placed in a new project. Turin, March 2022.

Mary jealously preserves this photo. It’s the only photo of her mum with her and her brother. Her mother unfortunately died when she was still a child and Mary grew up with her grandmother in a house outside the city. Chivasso, May 2018.

The first trial period, the first activated internship is officially over. It lasted six months. The tailoring job currently is the only way she can afford money to help pay her rent and everything else. Turin, February 2023.

Mary poses for a portrait in the room of her host cohousing. Turin, March 2023.


Federico Tisa – BIO
From architectural studies to photography the step is short

Federico Tisa Turin. April 1982. In 2013, following a trip to Perugia, Federico fell in love with documentary photography and totally dedicated himself to this new direction, which became totalizing and inspiring.
In 2015 he obtained a master’s degree at the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan. He continued his studies in photojournalism in Rome, where he completed a master’s degree in photojournalism in 2017, focusing on the use of photography as a means of communication dedicated to an anthropological narrative and the development of medium- and long-term projects. His work explores the human condition from a broad perspective, with a focus on the social and cultural context.
Since 2017, Federico has been working as an independent photographer and his work is published by national and international magazines.


Federico Tisa | Documentary photographer
email: tisa.federico@gmail.com
tel: +393384611573
web: www.federicotisa.com
instagram: /federicotisa

Photojournalism Hub x Riverside Studios 03rd June

IN FOCUS
03rd June 2024, 7 pm

Riverside Studios
101 Queen Caroline Street
London W6 9BN
To join: HERE

We are honoured to present renowned and award winning photographers Mariusz Smiejek and Roland Ramanan to the In Focus event on the 3rd of June. Both photographers’ long term work are deeply rooted in the documentary photography tradition presenting social justice issues combined with strong visual narratives.

Mariusz Śmiejek is an independent photographer, visual storyteller, and educator with over 20 years of experience specializing in capturing the raw narratives of human and social conditions. Renowned for documenting a wide range of subjects including post-conflict communities, refugee crises, child slavery, human trafficking, and systemic abuse. Recipient of prestigious awards in international photography competitions, his work has been exhibited globally and featured in renowned publications globally including The New York Times, National Geographic, and the British Journal of Photography, among many others. www.mariuszsmiejek.com

Not Surrendering tells a visual story specifically about the struggle of loyalists to shape a distinct identity in post-conflict Northern Ireland. The documentary narrative introduces us to the daily lives of the local British working-class as well as members of its illegal paramilitary groups. Recognised as terrorist organizations until recently, these associations still carry weight, sow fear, and control Northern Ireland’s Ulster.
By focusing on the spaces which the book’s subjects inhabit, aspects of their daily lives, and the particularities of their neighbourhoods separated by ominous ‘peace walls,’ the photography brings to the fore the psychological state of siege which permeates working-class districts in Northern Ireland. The story also spotlights the atmosphere of despair which accompanies each successive generation – trapped socially and mentally in unprocessed traumas from which it cannot escape.
The aim of the Not Surrendering is to increase awareness and knowledge about processes of reconciliation in post-conflict societies that are divided territorially, politically, nationally, and religiously.
The story this volume highlights the difficulties NGO and other grassroots projects face while working with difficult youth from families deeply involved in the conflict.
The photographic images illustrate the tensions arising during celebrations of national identity, during which especially members of paramilitary groups openly fan the flames of hatred towards their neighbours. This directly affects the indoctrination of the youngest who actively participate in numerous events of this type, leading often to recruitment of young people into paramilitary associations or organised criminal groups.
This has been a personal, individual project from the very beginning to the end (2010-2020); partly supported at the very end stage by Artists Emergency Programme grant from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and The National Lottery.

Roland Ramanan is a London based documentary photographer, born in 1966 with a background in music and education. He developed a passion for photography around 2010, initially through street photography. In 2012 he started a long term documentary project on a vulnerable group of people who gravitate towards a corner of east London called Gillett Square which is to be published by Dewi Lewis as the book “Dominoes”. This work has been featured in Vice magazine among others and has won various awards including being shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society documentary awards 2023. In 2022 he was one of the finalists in the Portrait of Britain awards. Roland’s current project focuses on the London roller skate scene and its relationship to black culture. https://rolandramanan.com/

Dominoes is a unique and vibrant mosaic of the lives that float in and around a particular corner of Hackney in London’s East End. The book is populated by intimate pictures of people who have experienced addiction and pain as well as the deep joys of the community of which they are a part. Gillett Square was derelict and underdeveloped for years until, in the 1990s it became an experiment in urban regeneration. Like the Dominoes they play in the square, those lives are often precarious. For ten years from 2012 I was privileged to be allowed into the lives and homes of some of those I have met, to photograph their fights and struggles; their families and their lovers. Some of these people are now my friends and some are no longer with us. The participants I am closest to form the heart of the book and I’m sure that bond will continue. The work gives us honest glimpses into lives that we may often turn away from but always with a sense of hope. Dominoes touches on universal themes of love, death, hope and the evolution of urban communities.

BECOME A PJH MEMBER
Consider becoming a member of the Photojournalism Hub and receive the benefits of free access to events, resources, premier editorial content, portfolio reviews, and discounts on entry to our photography exhibitions, training and in our shop, whilst you will be supporting our work advocating, advancing social justice and human rights, amplifying community voices and enhance access to media to those facing social, economic and structural challenges. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Support the Photojournalism Hub from as little as £1 every month. If you can, please consider supporting us with a regular amount each month. Thank you. JOIN US HERE

Angelo Scelfo: The Strip

Featured photographers


Italy: Marina di Acate – April 2024.

It has been called the ‘transformed belt’ and consists of a set of territories in southern Sicily where greenhouse farming activities have replaced the original crops. This transformation has led to the partial destruction of dune environments with the consequent pollution of the coast, the loss of biodiversity and a strong marginalisation of migrant communities. In fact, migrants are the majority of the workforce.

Those who work in the greenhouses are also hidden from the rest of the community as they live, in most cases, in rural settings and in employer-provided housing that is often shacks or company sheds. Throughout the area, entry into the labour market is a profoundly precarious process, marked by daily relationships and articulated solely in terms of exploitative relationships.

In recent decades, the number of greenhouses on the island has practically tripled. An example is the case of Santa Croce di Camerina (RG) in which has the highest percentage ratio of migrant population employed in agriculture and the municipality hosts half of the foreign population registered in the province. A simple estimate of the area covered by the greenhouses, which changes every year, shows an area of about 61 square kilometres surrounding the town.

The NGO Emergency operates in the entire area of the transformed belt. In addition to having a psychological support programme for the labourers, it is vital for those who otherwise would not have access to basic health services.

Finally, there is the environmental factor. Greenhouse agriculture requires an intensive use of pesticides and fertilisers that lead to a progressive loss of fertility and a high rate of soil consumption. Residues seem to be a determining factor in the pollution of water analysed by ISPRA. The institute calculates that at least 66,176 tonnes of fertilisers are released annually into the island’s agricultural systems. To this is added atmospheric pollution from dioxins due to the numerous fires lit at the end of the day to burn greenhouse maintenance waste often made of plastic.

Further links:

https://www.instagram.com/lo_scelf

https://www.facebook.com/paul.ferdinand.984

Bio
Angelo Scelfo, Italian photojournalist based in Bologna (Italy). Born in October 1979 in Bologna and grown up in Sicily. I studied philosophy at Università degli studi di Palermo and photography at ISFCI in Rome. Since 2005 I have been involved in photography, today I dedicate myself full time to photojournalism as a freelancer. I also like to write: the world of self-productions and fanzines has always been the most congenial to me. I live between Bologna, Rome and Palermo.

Angelo Scelfo photographer

INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

+39 351 6151659

Gendered face of London’s housing crisis

Featured photographers

Photos and text by Cinzia D’Ambrosi

After years of documenting the lives of individuals in insecure housing in London, a clear pattern emerges: a significant portion of this demographic comprises single mothers in either no or low-paid employment. This raises the pressing question: why are so many women and their children being failed so profoundly?

Melissa fled domestic violence, seeking refuge far from her former home. However, living in a shipping container with her three young children has aggravated her depression and anxiety, failing to provide the safety and comfort she desperately needs.

Since 2006, Francesca recounts: “I have been evicted 3 times. The first time, I was living in a private rented accommodation through Hammersmith and Fulham council. I was living with my two children and expecting a third child when I was handed over an eviction notice. I was made homeless and then the council offered me a home in East London. My only financial support was my work as a mobile hairdresser and my clients, my children’s school and everyone I could ask any support to, is living in West London, however I had no where to go. I checked the place and it was rife with crime and I did not want my children to live there so I refused. Then they looked for a place for me in the private rented sector. I was told to go to Ealing Housing Team and at first they sent me to Willesden Green to live in one room. We had to move out and had to rent a storage for all my things. I could not live there with the children going to school miles away. Everyday they were late at school and getting detention so I went back to the council and told them of these challenges and that was when I was allocated a container flat in Meath Court in west London.”

Francesca and her three young children have been evicted many times before being moved to Meath Court.

Francesca has 3 children who in their entire lives have only lived in temporary accommodations. Living in the shipping containers is very difficult with no space for any privacy. One of the children, who has asthma, sleeps in the kitchen. On the very first day they moved into the container, he had an asthmatic attack.

Families that live in the containers report their shock when they first arrived at the site, some at first not realising that the shipping containers were to become their homes.

“How could it be humanly possible that containers could be offered as homes?”

Nathalie Bangama, from Congo, with three children, moved to Meath Court after a fire destroyed her home last year. Despite living in Ealing for over 15 years, she was shocked to be offered shipping containers as housing instead of promised flats. She couldn’t believe it, knowing even in Congo, women and children aren’t housed this way.
Nathalie is a single parent and she has had to strlie is a single parent and she has had to struggle with being on her own with three children and with the awful circumstances of her living conditions at Meath Court.

Similarly to many other women, Nathalie could not believe her eyes when she was given shipping containers as a home. “Even in Congo, we don’t house women and children in shipping containers.” Nathalie Bangama, originally from Congo, has three children 15 years old, 4 years old and 9 months and she ended up at Meath Court after her house caught fire. When she was given the keys to the container flat, she was crying and crying. She was told that within 6 months, she would be given a proper flat, but 2 years later she is still waiting.

Another resident of Meath Court is Melissa, a victim of domestic violence that was to be housed, in a different borough under the protection scheme. Melissa and her three small children were housed in the shipping containers. It has led her to depression and anxieties. Living in a container, it has not helped her to heal from her traumatic experiences. Instead, it is continuously making her feel unsafe and deeply anxious about herself and her children as the environment is characterized by rampant drug use, theft, and a pervasive sense of insecurity.

Like herself, many women in Meath Court have experienced sexual harassment and incidents of intimidation by drug users using the shipping containers as a space to deal, or to sleep for the night. “There was an incident of a woman falling down from the stairs and she is currently in coma – Melissa recounts. And my front door was tempered and broken, she continues- and I have taped it with a black bin bag and I am still waiting for someone from the council to come to repair it. I feel very anxious about my safety and that of my children.” Melissa’s broken door was not repaired at the time of my interview with her, weeks after the incident. Her rent is £370.55 + £19.05 service charge per week to live in shipping containers without a secure front door.

When Zara received the one-bedroom flat, she had just given birth. Her baby was only a week old. Given the top floor, she found walls riddled with bullet-like holes from the previous tenant’s mental health struggles. It was a frightening, lonely, and disheartening experience for a first-time mother.

When Zara was given the one bedroom flat she had just given birth. Her baby was one week old. She was given the last floor and one which all the walls were plastered by bullet like holes. She was told that the previous resident was suffering mental health issues and was using a hammer to bang the walls. “It felt scary, lonely and very disheartening for a first time mother who had just given birth.” Since living in the container, her wellbeing is deteriorating. She has pleaded to be allocated even in another one-bedroom in the containers, one without the violent markings on all the walls, but her pleas have gone unanswered.

Following the unanswered calls for the installment of security cameras or the placement of a security guard at Meath Court, women have resorted to create a WhatsApp group to ensure each other’s safety by sharing their whereabouts.

As policymakers and stakeholders seek solutions to London’s homelessness crisis, it is crucial to recognize and address the specific challenges faced by women. Failing to do so not only perpetuates the cycle of homelessness, but also deepens existing inequalities within society.

The question arises: why have so many women and their children been failed so miserably? Is it due to perceived vulnerability and social standing, perpetuating prejudices that hinder their access to decent living conditions?

All images ©Cinzia D’Ambrosi

Cinzia D’Ambrosi
Journalist and Documentary Photographer
www.cinziadambrosi.com
@cinziadambrosi