Wednesday 12.7. / 6:00 p.m. / Lemonaid HQ / Neuer Kamp 31

Panel:

Jean Bizimana, Photographer (Kigali, Ruanda),

Kevin McElvaney, Photographer (Berlin),

Maria Feck, Photographer (Hamburg)

Moderation: Aileen Puhlmann, Managing Director, Lemonaid & ChariTea e.V.

The event is in English.

Perspectives on photography when speaking about the so-called Global South.

In order to be able to provide information about the work of the foundation and the projects of the organisations we work with, visual material is important.
We aim to work in a power-critical manner, which should also be reflected in our visual language. This applies both to the images themselves and to those who produce the images. In recent years, we have increasingly paid attention to only hiring creative people on site and have generally had very good experiences with this.

Jean Bizimana has not only been a highly valued photographer and videographer for the association for a few years, but has also become a good friend. His sensitive way of documenting the work of our project partners in Rwanda enables those of us who cannot get an idea of the great work of these people on site to at least get an impression of it.

Kevin McElvany and Maria Feck are both photographers from Hamburg who have been working here as well as in many countries of the Global South for years.

On this evening we would like to encourage the photographers present to exchange ideas about their work and their different perspectives.

We want to ask ourselves, among other things, what kind of stories pictures can tell. What influence does the perspective of the photographer have and what responsibility do they have in their work?

And on the difference between perspectives from the Global North and Global South:

What is the added value of a local photographer’s perspective and what can photographers from outside see that the “local lens” may not be able to capture and vice versa?

The event is free of charge and takes place in English at the Lemonaid Beverages GmbH headquarters at Neuen Kamp 31 (above “Rindermarkthalle”, entrance north) on July 12th.
at 6 p.m. / Hamburg St. Pauli.

For better planning, it would be great if you could register, briefly indicating the number of people you plan to attend with, at: info@lemonaid-charitea-ev.org.
Thanks!

Panelists

Jean Bizimana

Jean Bizimana is a Rwandan photographer/ videographer who learned this art from Through The Eyes of the Children, an organization that teaches photography to children in vulnerable communities. He became part of the organization at a very young age when he was still living at the orphanage in Rwanda, the place where he grew up. Following his training with Through the Eyes of Children, Jean Bizimana attended other professional photography workshops to improve his skills. His passion for photography droves him to pour all of his efforts into the art and made it his career.

Jean Bizimana’s photos helped pay for his education and for the education of some of the kids he grew up with in the orphanage. In addition, the income from the photos supported the orphanages in purchasing food and clothing for the kids.

After graduating from University, Jean Bizimana chose to focus his career into documentary photojournalism so as to be able to highlight some of the social issues his was seeing in his home country, Rwanda. Jean Bizimana has extended his photography services to other countries. He has taught photography to various under privileged kids in refugee camps and Foster Care systems in countries such as Haiti, the United States and Nepal.

For Jean Bizimana, photography has taught him that in life, people will always be in disagreements and differences. However, these disagreements and differences should not be an excuse for continued hatred or conflicts among people.

https://www.instagram.com/biziphoto/

Maria Feck

Maria has been working as a freelance photographer for magazines and newspapers since 2010. She is particularly interested in people caught between social upheavals, socio-political issues, migration and gender issues. Her photographic focus is on reports and portraits. Research has taken her to numerous countries and almost every continent, including Greenland, Iraq, the USA, Cambodia, Moldova and Rwanda. Among their clients are u.a. DER SPIEGEL, DIE ZEIT, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin and Greenpeace e.V. In her work, she repeatedly explores narrative possibilities beyond the field of photography. Maria has implemented numerous award-winning visual storytelling projects for SPIEGEL, for which she has produced photos and videos.

Her work has been recognized with prizes and grants. It is represented by the agency laif.

https://www.instagram.com/maria.feck/

Kevin McElvaney

Kevin McElvaney is an independent photographer and artist based in Hamburg, Germany. Since the start of his career in 2014, he travelled and worked in more than fifty countries, always driven by his interest in environmental and humanitarian stories. His work covered the electronic-waste scandal in Ghana, sulphur mining in Indonesia, albinism in Tanzania, and the so-called refugee crisis in the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea. At Berlinale 2017, he presented his first video-project, which was produced in Iraq.

Kevin McElvaneys’ stories reached millions through National Geographic, The Guardian, Stern, The Atlantic, Vice, Wired, AlJazeera or Der Spiegel. His work has been exhibited in London, New York, San Francisco, Hamburg, Berlin, Edinburgh, Lyon, Milan and Palermo.

Besides his photographic career, Kevin McElvaney has been guest-lecturer in universities and schools and took part in panel discussions around the globe.

https://www.instagram.com/kevinmcelvaney/