Julia Gelezova

Pascual Ross (b.1977) is a Spanish photographer, who lives and works in Andalusia. His photographic practice is based on the people and the stories that each of us carry inside, this being his central axis of work. It reflects on the individual, his natural environment and the customs that condition him in one way or another. The minimal stories are the most important in the story line of your work.

Anna Adamo land on this planet on September ’91, born and raised in the suburbs of Milano, north of Italy, investigate intimate, detailed portraits of her mother and her daily life since she was a teenager. She approached to photography in her childhood with her brother's camera. After the artistic studies she took part on the first national competition established by Leica, with the project ''This is our youth'' and won along with 5 others. Here she got scouted by a member of the jury, Magnum’s member Alex Majoli, whom later proposed her a work experience with the collective of photographers and photojournalist, Cesura, which he founded in 2008. After having worked there as an intern for three months, she’s since been working there as a collaborator for five years. She has documented various underground scenarios such as Gabbers, Punks. All of this drives me in search of stories surrounded by human presence, emotions and families. From 2018 she works as a photographer freelance developing long-term personal projects, but also began to take her first steps in the fashion and editorial’s world.

Top researches the topics of mass surveillance, privacy, data collection.In his practice, he layers a traditional approach to documentary research with a more experimental use of new technologies (such as facial recognition, movement analysis, and deepfakes). The artist uses these technologies to visualise and examine scenarios in which people can protect themselves and their rights by gaining knowledge and reclaiming control of surveillance tools.  ​ Top’s projects addressing human rights, police misconduct and facial recognition during protests aim to contrast the abstract nature of the algorithmic mechanisms behind mass surveillance, by providing a concrete visualisation of the phenomenon and confronting the public with the extensive amount of surveillance societies are subjected to and the ethical risks deriving, finally offering theoretical solutions.

Dev Dhunsi (b. 1996) is a multimedia artist working at the intersection of photography, textiles, and installation. Utilizing water and movement as central elements in his projects, he creates works that invite reflection on complex themes such as identity, belonging, migration, social justice, and injustice. Through his art, Dhunsi provides space for stories that are often overlooked or suppressed, illustrating how historical, cultural, and political forces shape our lives and experiences. Addressing global issues like migration and colonialism as well as personal experiences of loss and belonging, he creates works that connect past and present, diverse geographies, and identities. His work encourages viewers to reflect on how we understand and relate to the world around us as he simultaneously look at the world through a lens of queer theories and diasporic gaze. Recent exhibitions include: Fotogalleriet (Oslo; NO), Mint abf (Stockholm; SE), MELK (Oslo; NO), Kunstnernes Hus (Oslo; NO), National Sports Museum in Stockholm (SE; Stockholm).

ROXANA RIOS *1994 (they/them) currently based in Leipzig, Germany. In 2017 Roxana picked up a double study at HGB Leipzig and AdBK Nuremberg and studied in the classes of Heidi Specker and Juergen Teller. After graduating in 2020 Roxana joined Isabel Lewis' class of the performing Arts.They received their Diploma in July 2023. Roxana's work has been shown at Museum Folkwang Essen, DEICHTORHALLEN Hamburg, Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig, Fotomuseum Winterthur and FOTOHOF Salzburg. Roxana was nominated for the Federal Prize for Art Students in 2020 and won the Contemporary German Photography Grant in 2024                                                                   Roxana's current practice engages in critical discussions concerning the development of (hegemonial) narratives, as well as the relations between image- and knowledge-production. Roxana examines ‘the’ body as a construct, material and representative within social orders.In this function, the work understands itself as an exercise in utopian thinking, seeing and speaking – a contribution to contemporary, social and aesthetic discourses.

Daniel Chatard is a German-French documentary photographer and visual researcher. He investigates themes revolving around power structures, collective identity, and trauma. Looking at landscapes as vessels of collective experiences and memories, he tells human stories in their environmental context. Daniel graduated in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hanover, and in Photography & Society at the Royal Academy of Arts The Hague. He lives in Hamburg and works as a freelance photojournalist with media outlets such as Die ZEIT, Der Spiegel, and Bloomberg. Daniel describes his approach as involved documentary, making his own relations to his subjects part of the work and using collaboration to create new knowledge. His long-term project Niemandsland was awarded at the World Press Photo Award and published by the Eriskay Connection in 2024.

Julius Thissen (1993, the Netherlands) lives and works in Arnhem, NL. Their work investigates themes of community and representation, masculinity, sports, and competition. Originating from their background as a performance artist, Thissen's photographic practice aims to create narratives that explore the fine line between performing and failing. These themes are closely tied to contemporary performance-driven culture and the influence of societal expectations on behavior. Their work is deeply rooted in personal experiences as a genderqueer and transmasculine individual. Thissen strongly opposes the restrictive and often binary narratives imposed on transgender and queer individuals. Thissen has been nominated for the Hendrik Valk Prize, Arnhemse Nieuwe, and the Warsteiner Blooom Awards. In 2023, they received the Artist Basis Fund and, more recently, a Mondriaan Fund Artist Project Grant for their new project Bones of Graphene, Skin of Kevlar.

Romane Iskaria is a French photographer and artist based in Brussels, Belgium (1997). The photographer highlights the injustices and inequalities of invisible communities with a documentary and fictional approach. Her images, specific to “Care”, tell a story and allow her subjects to become aware of their painful stories. She creates a connection with these subjects that goes beyond the simple link between the photographer and her model. The artist uses photography and the field of video, but also textiles, sound, and sculpture to create immersive installations. She tells stories that take the form of a long-term investigation across several territories. Romane replays specific rituals and stories that also transcend borders, addressing questions around migration and exile. The photographer creates plastic forms allowing her to subvert the codes of documentary. She graduated with a Master's degree in photography from ENSAV La Cambre in 2022 and a DNA (National Diploma in Plastic Arts) from INSEAAM Beaux Arts in Marseille in 2018. She also completed an exchange at the U-LAVAL Visual Arts school in Quebec, Canada. Romane is laureate of TIFF 2024 Emerging Belgian Photography, by FOMU Fotomuseum Antwerpen and the european platform FUTURES Photography. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions: in the United States (ART-ARK Gallery in San Jose, California; Assyrian Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.), in Brazil (João Pessoa Paraíba Nordeste Art Gallery of the Energisa Institute), in France (Circulation(s) Cent-Quatre Festival in Paris, Lille Art-Up Centre Photographique in Lille, La Grande Vitrine Gallery in Arles, HLM Gallery in Marseille), in Belgium (FOMU Fotomuseum Antwerp, S.M.A.K Museum in Ghent, House of European History Brussels, TAMAT Museum in Tournai, BPS22, Art-Brussels Off, Prix Médiatine, Hangar Art Photo Center, TICK-TACK Gallery, Tiny-Gallery, Fondation Carrefour des Arts), in Armenia (French Consulate in Yerevan), in Italy (L’Asilo in Naples), and in the Netherlands (Flemish Cultural Center). Brakke-grond, Noorderlicht Festival). Romane was selected as part of the call for projects launched by Polka Magazine and Kickstarter for the creation and support of an artist's book, with the self-publishing of her first work, "Assyrians," in a print run of 300 copies in 2022. The book "Assyrians" was also a winner of the Belgian Photo Books selection, presented at the Rencontres d'Arles in July 2022.

João Bragança Gil (Lisbon, 1989) is an artist, based in Lisbon, Portugal. Attended the Painting course at the Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon between 2008 and 2010; Graduated in Industrial Design in 2013 from Escola Superior de Artes e Design. In 2014, Bragança Gil moved to London, graduating in MA Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins UAL in 2016. In 2019 Bragança Gil, moved to Lisbon, and started practicing fine arts full-time. Currently he’s pursuing a Media Arts PhD at Faculty of Fine Arts of Lisbon.‍Recent exhibitions include “Drop me in the river, Dip me in the water!” (2021) at Galeria Pedro Cera; “The sun, the oldest, the sheep, as the origin (on and on) and the klecks klecks” (2021), by Sismógrafo at Casa das Artes, Porto; “CODA” (2022) at Buraco, Lisbon, “Uncertain Strata” at EGEU; “Estudo do Meio”, Carpintarias de S. Lázaro; “Midnight Sun”, Mono. Recidency at Arquipélago — Centro de Artes Contemporâneas, São Miguel, with FetArt (France) and CiCLO (Portugal). In 2023, Bragança Gil presented “Artificial Paradises” (2023) a solo exhibition at the National Museum of Science and Natural History, resulting from more than two years of research.‍In 2024, participated in the group exhibition “Entre Margens” curated by João Pinharanda and the group show “Passages” at Galeria Encounter; and the solo exhibition “Trouble in Paradise” at (Projectspace) at the Encounter and Jahn und Jahn Gallery, in Lisbon.

Paweł Starzec (Ph. D) is a documentalist, photographer, sociologist, academic teacher. Mainly interested in long-term projects focusing on envisioning broader processes through their aftermath and consequences. Recipient of the Young Poland 2024 Ministry of Culture scholarship, PixHouse Talent of the Year Scholar award, Artistic Scholarship of the Mayor of Wrocław 2024, winner of Urbanautica Institute Award, Enconctros da Imagem Discovery Award and Spojrzenia Award, received honorable mentions in Allegro Prize, Lodz Fotofestival Grand Prix, and CDS Documentary Essay Prize, finalist of the Polityka Passports Award and Grand Press Photo. His works are in collections of Encontros Da Imagem (PT) and National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism (PL). As a sociologist, he researches modern iconographies and visual narratives. Vice- Dean of the Faculty of Design at SWPS University and Head of Communication Design speciality at the School of Form USWPS. Creator of workshop programs, co-founder of Azimuth Press art/ education collective. Member of APP platform. Graduate of Applied Sociology Department of University of Warsaw, and of Institute of Creative Photography of Silesian University in Opava (MA). Part time musician and sound artist under various monikers. DIY / zine culture enthusiast.