Part of New Narratives: a mini-series of online events co-programmed by British Journal of Photography and Belfast Photo Festival exploring photography’s role in our changing world.

We are living through an unprecedented moment of environmental, political and social change. How has the role of photography in reportage changed in recent years? This event explores the authority of the photograph in our era of mass media and mass (mis)information.

This talk is in conjunction with Against the Image: Photography. Media. Manipulation. at Ulster Museum, part of Belfast Photo Festival 2022. Supported by the US Consulate.

Speakers:

Host: Dr. Paul Lowe is an award-winning photographer and is Course Leader for MA Photojournalism and Documentary Photography (Part Time/Online mode) at London College of Communication. Paul has covered breaking news across the world – including the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela’s release, famine in Africa, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the destruction of Grozny – with his work having been published in Time, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer and The Independent, amongst others. He is a consultant to the World Press Photo foundation in Amsterdam, advising online education of professional photojournalists in the majority world. His research interests focus on the representation of conflict in photography and the ethical issues this raises.

Noemí (Co-Founder, Now You See Me Moria): Now You See Me Moria, was started by Amir in August 2020, a young Afghan refugee, and Spanish image editor Noemí, who lives and works in the Netherlands. In an effort to make people in Europe aware of the inhumane situation in Moria - Europe’s largest refugee camp - they launched an Instagram account sharing photos and stories about daily life in the camp. In a co-authorship with Noemí, Ali and Mustafa from Afghanistan and Qutaeba from Syria, Amir and other refugees also residing in Moria recorded life there. The resulting photographs portray the intimate everyday world of the camp's residents.

Pierre Terdjman (Dysturb Collective) has worked as a conflict photojournalist for over 15 years for publications such as the New York Times, Paris-Match, GQ and Haaretz. He is co-founder of Dysturb, a socially engaged creative studio based in Paris and New York City, who use visual storytelling and site-specific installation to make the news accessible to as many people as possible, including those who do not have access to information or who no longer trust traditional media outlets. In recent years, they have taken on public projects addressing disability rights, women’s rights, climate change and Covid misinformation and have developed an innovative media literacy program to fight against misinformation and disinformation, and develop the critical thinking skills of future citizens.

Marcus Yam (Photojournalist) is a roving Los Angeles Times foreign correspondent and staff photographer. Born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he left a career in aerospace engineering to become a photographer. His goal: to take viewers to the frontlines of conflict, struggle and intimacy. His approach is deeply rooted in curiosity and persistence. In 2019, Yam was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award for his unflinching body of work documenting the everyday plight of Gazans during deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. His previous work has earned him an Emmy Award for News and Documentary, World Press Photo Award, DART Award for Trauma Coverage, Scripps Howard Visual Journalism Award and Picture of the Year International’s Newspaper Photographer of the Year Award.