The COVID-19 Visual Project | Fashion Italia
Photography immediately played an important role in the evolution of the Covid-19 emergency: from amateur images that will probably go down in history, to photographers ready to put their health at risk to photograph an invisible enemy, up to the multitude of projects personal photographs taken within the walls of the house ... in any case, the photographic image was a means of documentation, testimony and sometimes even therapeutic practice. At the most critical moment of the lockdown, photography allowed us to keep in touch with the outside world, giving us an idea of what was going on. In short, it allowed us to continue to relate to the world.
Telling stories and connecting people from all parts of the world is part of the DNA of Cortona On The Move, international photography festival (indeed, from this year of visual narratives), which at the beginning of July would have celebrated its tenth edition. Like most cultural events, the festival has also been suspended. But in this moment of crisis, Cortona On The Move he felt the need - and the responsibility - not to withdraw and to recount this historical period which will leave an indelible mark on contemporary and future societies. It was born like this The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance: a permanent archive constantly updated on the coronavirus pandemic which, through photos, videos, texts and sounds, documents its consequences on the lives of millions of people around the world. The platform will be updated with new content until a Covid-19 vaccine is found.
The project, created in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, collects works commissioned by Cortona On The Move to world-renowned authors and videomakers: their stories will tell about this period of crisis, focusing on issues such as the health emergency, the economic backlash, the consequences social and individual.
Among the projects already available we find Covid on Scene of Alex Majoli, who with his unmistakable style photographed Italy from north to south during the lockdown; Contingency Plans of Mattia Balsamini which, together with Raffaele Panizza, documented the realities of Made in Italy (including Prada and Bulgari) converted into health and medical production to remedy the needs of the health emergency; Simon Norfolk and Edoardo Delille, that with Lost Capital is Silence they investigate the beauty of empty cities, the first in London and the second in Florence; Still Air of Harsha Vadlamani, which recounts the experience of personal distancing in India.
However, the archive will not only consist of author photographs. The platform dedicates a special space to the narrative universe developed in this period on the web through two distinct sections: a collection of iconic images from Instagram and relevant services published on international newspapers. Obviously, the Covid-19 is the protagonist.
In addition to the author's projects, Cortona On The Move launches one open call open from today May 18th and made in partnership with LensCulture, One of the largest online communities of contemporary photography. The aim is to reach stories and projects from all parts of the world (more information on www.covid19visualprojects.org).
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The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance is designed and produced by Cortona On The Move in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo and enjoys the contribution of the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze Foundation and the Council of Europe * European Commission.
* English Text *Since the beginning, photography played a crucial role in the evolution of the Covid-19 emergency: from amateur images that will probably go down in history, to photographers ready to put their health at risk to photograph an invisible enemy, up to the multitude of personal projects developed within the domestic walls ... in any case, the photographic image was a means of documentation, a proof and sometimes even a therapeutic practice. At the most critical moment of the lockdown, photography allowed us to keep in touch with the outside, giving us an idea of what was going on. In short, it allowed us to keep relations to the world.
Telling stories and connecting people from all over the world is part of the DNA of Cortona On The Move, the international photography festival (or rather, from this year of visual narrative). Like most cultural events, the festival has also been suspended. But a time of crisis like this, Cortona On the Move felt the need - and the responsibility - not to back off and to tell this historical period that will leave an indelible mark on contemporary and future societies. That's why it conceived The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance: a permanent and constantly updated archive on the coronavirus pandemic which, through the use of photos, videos, texts, sounds, it will document its consequences on the lives of millions of people around the world. The platform will be constantly updated until a vaccine for Covid-19 is found.
The project, realized in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo, presents stories by international photographers and videomakers telling about this period of crisis, focusing on issues such as the health emergency, the economic repercussions and the social and individual consequences.
Among the projects already available there is Covid on Scene by Alex Majoli, who documented Italy from north to south during the lockdown with his remarkable style; Contingency Plans by Mattia Balsamini who, together with Raffaele Panizza, tell us about the realities of our Made in Italy (including also Prada and Bulgari) converted into health and medical products to meet the needs of the health emergency; Simon Norfolk and Edoardo Delille who, with Lost Capital and Silence, investigate beauty in deserted London and Florence; Still Air by Harsha Vadlamani who renders the phase of personal distancing in India.
The archive will not only consist of author's images. The platform gives a special space to the universe of narratives which developed in this period on the web, through two distinct sections: iconic images taken from Instagram and media with relevant reports published in international newspapers. Needless to say, the Covid-19 is the protagonist.
Besides the commissioned projects, an open call is launched today (May 18, 2020) in partnership with LensCulture, one of the largest online communities of contemporary photography. The goal is to reach many people and places around the world.
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The COVID-19 Visual Project. A Time of Distance has been conceived and produced by Cortona On The Move in partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo and is supported by Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze and Council of Europe - European Commission.
