Press releases and newsletter
Three AFP Photo Exhibitions at "Visa pour l'Image"
Chilean photographer Pedro Ugarte and British colleague Ed Jones, based respectively in Hong Kong and Beijing, present pictures from North Korea which, exceptionally, opened its borders to foreign reporters to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of former leader Kim II-Sung. They described their trip as akin to traveling back in “a time machine”.
The exhibition by Louisa Gouliamaki, Angelos Tzortzinis, and Aris Messinis -- three Greek photographers working for AFP in Athens – offers a glimpse into 24 months of often violent protests as people took to the streets to oppose austerity measures brought on by the financial crisis. «Now everyone is resorting to violence. Even old people are throwing stones,” said Aris. The pictures have been awarded a number of prizes at recent international competitions (Picture of the Year, CHIPP and Fotoweek).
Afghan photographer Massoud Hossaini’s exhibition looks at his country at war, and includes the picture which earned him a Pulitzer prize, that of « the girl in green » screaming following a suicide bombing in Kabul. « I could hardly see through my lens because I was crying, » said Massoud. In addition to a Pulitzer prize, the picture was awarded a 1st prize at Pictures of the Year, a 1st prize at the National Press Photographers’ Association, and a 2nd prize at World Press Photo.
Visa pour l’Image is also show casing an AFP projection entitled « Fukushima a year on », the work of Japanese photographer Toru Yamanaka who, one year after the tsunami disaster, returned to take pictures of the places and people photographed by colleagues at the time of the catastrophe.
«These exhibitions highlight the diversity of our news production which is the true richness of our agency,” said AFP President Emmanuel Hoog.
“Our photographers are above all field professionals. Whether it’s looking at daily life in Afghanistan, revisiting the disaster in Japan, monitoring clashes in Greece or peering at life in North Korea, they know the actors, often the dangers, and what’s at stake. Never has our production been so broad in range or of such quality as can be seen by the Pulitzer awarded to Massoud Hossaini, a first for the agency,” he added.
Highlights of this year’s news in pictures, including shots from the Olympic Games, will be shown at the AFP stall. Visitors will also be able to view AFP productions on real time data bases (ImageForum, VideoForum and AFPDirect).
About AFP
AFP is a global news agency delivering fast, accurate, in-depth coverage of the events shaping our world from wars and conflicts to politics, sports, entertainment and the latest breakthroughs in health, science and technology. With 2,260 journalists spread across almost every country, AFP covers the world 24 hours a day in six languages. AFP delivers the news in video, text, photos, multimedia and graphics to a wide range of customers including newspapers and magazines, radio and TV channels, web sites and portals, mobile operators, corporate clients as well as public institutions.