The Photojournalism Hub in partnership with the Sulgrave Youth Club is launching a unique documentary photography and photojournalism course for young people. The project is free for young people to join and it is part of the celebrations leading up to the 100th anniversary of the Sulgrave Youth Club.
We are looking for young people (aged16-30) who are dreaming to make a career in media or the creative industry and will benefit from receiving hands-on-training in documentary photography, video and sound recording.
Through three distinct phases, participants will receive teaching in documentary photography, one to one mentorship followed by specialist sessions in exhibition curation and presenting a large scale public exhibition.
Participants will be offered the opportunity to see their work published and showcased online, in print, and at the Sulgrave’s Centenary Exhibition!
The project aims to equip the young people with practical training and experience, a portfolio of work, and an exciting CV.
11th October 10:30 – 12:30 18th October 10:30 – 12:30 01st November 10:30 – 12:30 08th November 10:30 – 12:30 15th November 10:30 – 12:30 22nd November 10:30 – 13:30 29th November 10:30 – 13:30 06th December 10:30 – 13: 30
January – June: One to one mentorship with project review and presentation Curatorial workshop (Date to be confirmed)
June – August Exhibition and post exhibition involvement in the various aspects learning how to present and manage an exhibition. There will also be opportunities to be hired as photographers during the three days Sulgrave Centenary event in June 2026.
Facilitators Workshops will be delivered by Cinzia D’Ambrosi, founder and director of Photojournalism Hub and an experienced photojournalist, with support from guest photographers and video professionals.
Why join? This is your chance to gain professional level experience, build your creative skills, and be part of a large public event.
Important information Places are limited, so we recommend early registration. The workshops are Free. Commitment is required. If a participant misses more than 2 sessions, their place may be offered to someone on the waiting list.
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.
Between Gaza and Naples. A Childhood Story by Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya and Tylerdurdan is born from the encounter of two free voices coming from distant worlds, yet united by the same urgency to bear witness. On one side, Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya, a 29-year-old photographer from Gaza, who after years of hard work and recognition saw his career and his life shattered by war: his family displaced four times, the loss of his camera — his only working tool — and a daily struggle against hunger, disease, and constant bombardment. On the other side, Raffaele Annunziata, a Neapolitan photographer and artist known as tylerdurdan*, who for over a decade has combined music, images, and words as a form of cultural resistance, with the aim of denouncing injustice and restoring centrality to what makes us human. Together, they have chosen to tell — through parallel photographs — the everyday life of two little girls, one in Naples and the other in Gaza.
Soso – Gaza, 2025
Between Naples and Gaza. A Childhood Story Two distant cities, one childhood to defend.
Dede – Naples, 2025
Scenes that appear simple elsewhere (playing, going to school, having breakfast) become almost impossible under siege. Between Naples and Gaza. A Childhood Story is not only a photographic project, but a narrative and ethical bridge: to give voice to those at risk of being silenced, reminding the world that childhood is a universal right. The project also supports the campaign “Mahmoud Loves Photography, Family & Life ”, a concrete appeal to help Mahmoud and his family rebuild their life and his work as a photographer.
Wake up in NaplesWake up in Gaza
On the way to school in NaplesOn the way to school in Gaza
Between Gaza and Naples. A Childhood Story is a project bringing together two perspectives: Raffaele Annunziata (tylerdurdan), an artist from Naples, and Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya, a photographer from Gaza. Through parallel images, we tell childhood in two distant worlds, to remind the world that childhood is a universal right.
Soso and her friend, barefoot, play by gently touching each other and laughing. For a moment, there is nothing but joy. Dede runs and laughs with her friends, her world filled only with games and joy.
Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya Together, they have chosen to tell — through parallel photographs — the everyday life of two little girls, one in Naples and the other in Gaza. Scenes that appear simple elsewhere (playing, going to school, sleeping) become almost impossible under siege. Between Naples and Gaza. A Childhood Story is not only a photographic project, but a narrative and ethical bridge: to give voice to those at risk of being silenced, reminding the world that childhood is a universal right.
Mahmoud Abu Al-Qaraya is a 29-year-old photographer and online trader from Gaza, whose life has been marked by passion, tragedy, and resilience. Before the aggression of October 7, 2023, Mahmoud was building a promising career: photography and Amazon trading were not only his livelihood but also his way of capturing the beauty of his city and telling the story of his people. Since the beginning of the war, his family has been displaced four times; he lost his home, his camera — the starting point of his entire work — and all of his savings were consumed. Many of his friends and relatives have been killed or remain missing. Mahmoud himself was ill, and airstrikes — but he holds on to his dignity, his art, and his voice. He was abducted and tortured for two weeks, an experience that left deep scars. Despite all this, he keeps on fighting: every day he faces hunger, thirst. His mission is clear: to use photography not just to witness pain, but to carry hope — so the world can see, remember, and act. Through Between Naples and Gaza. A Childhood Story, Mahmoud aims to share both his story and that of those who, like him, live under the weight of conflict but continue to resist with humanity.
Raffaele Annunziata is a Digital Media Strategist, author, and speaker, and the founder of Seed Media Agency, established in 2012. He holds degrees in Cultural Heritage Management and Cinema, Television and Multimedia Production, combining his artistic background with over 20 years of experience in digital communication. At Seed Media Agency, he has designed storytelling strategies that merge creativity, ethics, and digital innovation for clients across multiple industries. A passionate urban photographer, he documents reality through the lens of a Fujifilm X‑T5, crafting an authentic visual narrative. With the project ‘ Raffele Annunziata (tylerdurdan), he brings together his technological and visual expertise with music and poetry, becoming the unmistakable voice of a human author in the age of AI. With his media account tylerdurdan, he weaves photography, writing, and generative AI music into a single narrative, convinced that every artistic act is a political one — a gesture of resistance in defence of minorities and, above al, of the Palestinian cause.
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
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.
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.
June 14 marks eight years from the Grenfell Tower fire. The grief remains deep. Grenfell tower stands as a painful reminder of a preventable tragedy that claimed 72 lives on the night of June 14, 2017.
These photographs of the community coming together to grief the loss of lives, are not just a documentation of a moment in history, they are a call to remember, to reflect, and to remind us that the fight for justice continues. Above all, to uphold the principle of equality for all.
The pain felt by the Grenfell community is not just personal. It is the pain of institutional failure, of systemic inequality, of lives devalued. Inequality cost lives. This was not simply a tragedy. It was, and continues to be, a profound human rights failure.
We are delighted to present Bruno Saguer as our featured photographer this month. His photographic stories shed light on some of the most harrowing labour conditions, conveyed with a poetic vision and powerful sensitivity that both compel and move us deeply.
This work is neither a protest nor a technical chronicle, but an aesthetic immersion into the decaying beauty of corrosion, into the imprint that time and human toil leave on every stranded hull. Photography as an addiction to decomposition, to the texture of the ephemeral.
From its nest, the seagull takes off over the sea. From the shipyard, the vessel sets sail. Everything tastes of salt. The salt of life, the salt of death.
To launch, to hoist, to depart, to sail, to weather the storm, to board, to dock… A ship always carries the emotional weight of a journey toward the horizon, rocked by waves. Whether carrying people, treasure, or trade, every ship bears the significance of its voyage. Iodine drifts in the air, sea spray weaves into tangled hair flowing in the wind. A maritime symphony whispers all around. But many ships don’t reach a dignified end. After 20 or 30 years riding the waves, they’re cast aside, pushed to die like abandoned animals, left to scavengers.
Bound for slaughter.
Some places in the world have become their graveyards. And the locals—made their executioners. But this isn’t Père Lachaise in Paris. No Balzac, Camus, Chopin, Oscar Wilde, or Jim Morrison lie here. Instead, ships bear flags of convenience—fiscal loopholes, legal evasions, flags with no country.
There is no grey bin for maritime waste. No final place where all things belong. They simply end. Nowhere.
Eid Mubarak. August 2012. Chittagong, Bangladesh.
A northern “still life” made of open-air scrap. These shores should be erased from nautical charts, kept beyond the reach of any compass or bearing.
The poetry of the sea ends here. The carnage begins. No blood is spilled—only oil, diesel, and thick, contaminating fluids.
Dignity slips through the scuppers. Humiliation pools in the bilges at the end of this tragic journey.
Paints, heavy metals, asbestos— A corrosive cocktail you won’t find on a Mediterranean cruise. There will be no dinner at the captain’s table tonight.
No necks are cut, but every part of the ship is dismantled—hull to deck, cabins to engine room, even the prized bridge, where only hours before the horizon was scanned from a privileged perch.
The swords and guillotines of old revolutions are now acetylene torches and cutting saws.
A metallic roar. No siren songs here—just horns of iron pain.
Tons of steel are fed into the maw of shredders. As far as the eye can see, rusted carcasses marooned at low tide. No longer sand, but rare metals of another periodic table. Human termites gnaw at metal, wood, plastic, rope.
Dusk falls on the “unshipyard” of cruise liners, cargo ships, and freighters. Floodlights flicker on. Stripped of rest, the pillaging continues—plates, bolts, no loose ends. In three to six months, the vessel is no more.
A ship scrapped in three or four months in Bangladesh nets a million dollars in return—on a five-million-dollar investment.
And yet, this apocalyptic landscape seduces. It releases photographic endorphins. The eye, the camera’s viewfinder—both tint crimson under a leaden sky.
Steel skeletons run aground in rhythm with the tides. Swarms rush port and starboard, scrambling for the best loot—not astrolabes or sextants, but lifeboats, portholes, wires, propellers, spark plugs, pistons, lamps, sensors, sonar, radar, GPS. All of it cloaked in raw rust.
Rust merchants. Steel auctions. Everything is for sale. Even souls. Recycling without activism—just a euphemism. Melted down, but not damned.
Some pieces will sail again—aboard new vessels, or hanging in chic homes and restaurants. Better that than being left to rot on a deserted beach after a failed escape from a cyclone.
Such is the cycle of the sea. Knots and nautical miles become cubic meters of waste and steel.
Personal stories cling to these corroded remains. Like that of Hossain Khatun. A Bengali man, generations deep, rooted in toxic mud. His descendants likely will be too. There’s no way out, unless you swim—to nowhere.
His nephew Kamal, 14, walks him to the shoreline each day as the fishermen return. If the tide’s low, they can get closer. Hossain is 64 and blind. Kamal guides his arm so he can stretch his hand toward the fishermen and beg.
Kamal has spent nearly all his life working in the yards. The toxicity took his vision. Hossain is on the same path—unless he’s hurt first (they use the blind to crawl into dangerous crevices of the ships), or unless he tries to swim away…
To earn a plate of rice or dhal, they cut through plates of steel. They travel from Panchariya to Faujdarhat—almost 20 km of sandy graveyard. No insurance. No safety gear.
Roughly 200,000 souls live trapped like fish in a stagnant pond. Over 80 yards compete for the dying.
But the rust—captivates.
Nearly one in five of the world’s aging ships end up here.
Many NGOs have reported the working and environmental conditions.
That ship lamp from the Singaporean vessel “Green Earth” will look lovely somewhere. It’s docked in port now, set to sail for Malaysia tomorrow. But it’ll be back. I won’t.
How strange that so much decay can be so visually fascinating. Corrosion addiction could be the title of this landscape.
Thankfully, my memories are rusting. Only images remain. Another contradiction.
Anchored in rust, one becomes a witness to one of the most extreme forms of circular economy—a cycle both toxic and hauntingly poetic.
Bruno Saguer
“The greatest photos are those no camera can capture, yet only a photographer can see. My quest is never to miss one again.”
Born in Barcelona in 1972, half French and half Spanish, my earliest memories of photography are rooted in the dim red glow of my father’s darkroom at home. A passionate Nikon enthusiast, he introduced me to the magic of framing life in black and white. Though he passed away when I was 18, his legacy deeply shaped how I perceive the world through a lens. My journey as an amateur photographer truly began with my Nikon D700 and a humble Tamron 17-50 lens, ignited by a simple desire to feed my curiosity. My first solo photo trip was to India, a welcoming place where capturing slices of everyday life and close portraits came naturally. Inspired by a mesmerizing documentary about the shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh, I organized a photographic expedition with friends, driven not by activism but by a fascination with the stark beauty of rusted giants awaiting dismantlement. From bustling Dhaka to the surreal graveyard of ships extending for kilometres, the contrast between human vitality and industrial decay was captivating. Beyond the dismantling itself, it was the vibrant recycling economy—shops filled with salvaged lamps and life jackets—that left a lasting impression. One such lamp now hangs in my home, a constant reminder to seek out the next photographic journey. Balancing the roles of father and founder of an advertising and branding agency, my greatest challenge remains finding time to pursue these personal photographic projects, each an exploration waiting patiently for its moment. My job has also exposed me to brilliant work, and both creativity and art direction continually spark my curiosity. Among the photographers I admire most right now is Edward Burtynsky. Of course, I follow many others, specially Martin Parr, and depending on the mood—documentary, street, colour, black & white, or portrait—but I find Edward’s perspective uniquely compelling. Website | Instagram | Email
We are delighted to announce the next IN FOCUS event at Riverside Studios, featuring guest photographers Denise Felkin and Sabes Sugunasabesan, whose powerful work explores identity, memory, and marginalised lives. Felkin’s In Site documents a hidden Traveller community in East London, revealing an alternative way of living beneath the arches of the city. Sugunasabesan reflects on the legacy of war in Sri Lanka through a diasporic lens, with Kunkumam tracing memory, loss, and land. Together, their work challenges dominant narratives and brings overlooked voices to the fore.
IN FOCUS will be hosted by documentary photographer/ journalist and Photojournalism Hub’s founder and director Cinzia D’Ambrosi alongside photojournalist Sabrina Merolla. The event includes photography presentations, Q&A sessions, and time to socialise and connect.
Denise Felkin is a UK-based editorial and fine art documentary photographer whose work challenges social taboos to promote values of sustainability, inclusivity, and compassion. She aims to amplify marginalised voices and explore themes of identity and social justice. Her photography has been featured in national press, included in numerous awards, and exhibited nationally and internationally. In Site (1997–2024) reveals an underground lifestyle rooted in Traveller communities. Under three railway arches and beyond a padlocked gate in East London, an alternative lifestyle was documented. Respect, freedom, truth, and beauty are conveyed through an unpretentious perception of the experience and expression of an urban subculture. Felkin details an enriched cultural existence within a clan that had found a safe place to sustain their creative lives. The community was innovative and packed with independent souls. Embedded are elements of citizenship and domesticity, offering a strong societal message in contrast to industrialisation and capitalism. In Site was shortlisted for the British Photography Awards, exhibited in the Polarity exhibition at Photojournalism Hub, as well as selected in the Inequality open call at Photo Frome. Her next exhibition will be at Lambeth Courthouse, 7–8 June 2025. IG @denisefelkinphotographer www.denisefelkin.com
Sabes Sugunasabesan is a photographic artist living in England. He migrated from Sri Lanka over four decades ago. At the end of the thirty-year long war in May 2009, in Sri Lanka there were 90.000 widows in the north and east of the country. With the deaths on the army side the numbers would be much higher. During the repression of suspected People’s Liberation Front members (JVP) between 1988-90, 60,000 mothers lost their children in the south of the country. Sabes works on the theme of war, memory and land from a diasporic point of view. It is a view from distance of time and space. Kunkumam builds on his previous work shown under the title of the Last Walk to the Beach (2018). To prepare for Kunkumam he travelled to Sri Lanka during the August-September 2024 and enacted a performance at Mullivaikkal. IG @sabessuguna
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