PORTFOLIO REVIEWERS 2013

LAURA SASSI

Laura Sassi born in Reggio Emilia where she lives and works. Professional photographer since 1977; since 2003 you have collaborated professionally with the Diocesi of Reggio Emilia and Guastalla in relation to the Cultural Project for the Archiving of the Artistic Heritage of the Churches in the Province of Reggio Emilia. Specialized in traditional black and white photography, she personally takes care of the development and printing laboratory for her professional work and personal research.
She is vice president of CNA Comunicazione and Head of the Professional Photographers sector of the Province of Reggio Emilia. ‘Qualified Teacher’ for IPP Professional Training Course for Photographers, training courses organized by the OrvietoFotografia International Fund and by the CNA and Confartigianato Nazionali associations.
You have achieved important awards at national and European level, receiving for her works, in 2002 the QIP (Qualified Italian Photographer), and in 2003 the QEP (Qualified European Photographer), qualifications recognized by the most important Associations European photographic.
Since 2004 you have been part of the FIAF Jury for the ‘assignment of the’ QIP ‘Italian Professional Qualification and since 2010 you have been President of the same Jury. Since 2010 you have been a member of the Board of Directors of the Palazzo Magnani Foundation in Reggio Emilia. You have carried out personal research projects that have converged in some exhibitions exhibited on the national territory.

SILVIA OMEDES

Independent curator, picture editor, and documentary photography professor. Director and founder of Photographic Social Vision Foundation in Barcelona, a non-profit platform that supports photojournalism through the creation and coordination of high quality photographic exhibitions, conferences and workshops, since 2001.
She is currently working as an independent curator for private and public spaces in Spain and as a free-lance photography editor at BLUME publisher. Combines visiting lectures on documentary photography at Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Institute of European Design (IED) in Madrid, Gris Art School of Photography in Barcelona with the creation of alternative photography projects that challenge our society and provide light and awareness on social issues worldwide.

ESPEN RASMUSSEN

Espen Rasmussen (b. 1976) is based at Nesodden, close to Oslo, Norway. He works as a photo editor in VG Helg — the weekend magazine of the biggest daily Norwegian newspaper VG. At the same time he is constantly working on his own photo projects. Rasmussen focuses especially on humanitarian issues and the challenges related to climate change. He is represented by Panos Pictures. He has won numerous awards for his work, including two prizes from World Press Photo, several in the Picture of the Year international (POYi) and 32 awards in the Norwegian Picture of the Year.
In 2007, he received 60.000 dollar from the Freedom of Expression Foundation to continue his long-term project on refugees and IDPs around the world, which was published as the book TRANSIT in 2011, as well as a major exhibition.
Rasmussen is freelance lecturing photography at schools such as the Oslo University College and Bilder Nordic school of Photography. He is also frequently giving presentations at photo festivals and for a wide range of other audiences. For the last two years, he has been one of three editors/mentors in Norwegian Journal of Photography (NJP).
His work has been exhibited at the Nobel Peace Center (Oslo), The Humanity House (The Hague), UNHCR headquarter (Geneva) and Photo Romania photofestival, among other places. Clients include the New York Times, The Independent, Intelligent Life, Fader magazine, MSF (Doctors Without Borders), NRC (The Norwegian Refugee Council) and UNHCR.
His work has appeared in magazines such as Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, Der Spiegel and the Economist and newspapers such as The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian and the New York Times.

CLAUDIO COMPOSTI

Claudio Composti was born in Milan in 1973. Gallerist and curator, raised in the historic Galleria Toselli, by his father Gianfranco and Franco Toselli, after humanistic studies he transformed an early vocation into a passion that led him, in 1997, to open the Gallery with his father first. Cà di Frà and later, in 2009, the mc2gallery in Milan together with the young collector Vincenzo Maccarone, with whom he shares artistic tastes and passions. mc2gallery has become a reference point for photography over the years. They organize exhibitions and meetings with international photographers and young artists. Cultural debates are organized, in collaboration with the State University of Milan, with the desire to create a transversal language that combines every discipline of knowledge and art. In the new space, in a former leather tannery, there is also a section of books dedicated to photography. Since 2010 he has collaborated with the photography centers Phos (Chieri, TO) and MACULA (Pesaro) and organizes exhibitions in collaboration with Italian and international galleries or institutional spaces. For 3 years he has been invited as an external professional to the portfolio reading of theses at the IED in Turin.

ARIANNA RINALDO

Arianna Rinaldo is a freelance professional working with photography at a wide range, from photo editing, to curating exhibits and book projects as well as teaching. She is the Director of OjodePez, the documentary photography quarterly published by LaFabrica, Madrid. In 2012, she has been appointed artistic director of Cortona On The Move, the annual international photo festival focusing on photography and the Journey, taking place in the beautiful region of Tuscany, Italy.
Rinaldo’s relationship with photography started in 1998 in New York, as Archive Director at Magnum Photos. Back in Italy in 2001, as picture editor for Colors magazine she commissioned international photographers to produce documentary and research projects around the world. Between 2008 and 2011, she was photo consultant at D-La Repubblica, the weekend supplement of Italy’s main newspaper. She collaborates with major publishing houses for special projects, and has been on several portfolio review panels worldwide (including Fotofest in Houston, USA; Fotobild in Berlin, Germany; Format Festival in Derby, UK; PhotoEspaña in Madrid, Spain; Kaunas Photo Days, Lithuania; Lensculture in Paris, Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles, and Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan, France); as well as an international prize jury member (World Press Photo in 2009, Czech Press Photo 2010, FNAC Talento Fotografico 2011, La Caixa Fotopres 2012, OjodePez Award for Human Values, among others).
In 2012 Arianna moved her base to Barcelona and continues developing photography projects at an international level, as well as teaching and consulting.

GIGLIOLA FOSCHI

Gigliola Foschi is a critic of art and photography, graduated in Aesthetic Philosophy. She teaches History of Photography at the Italian Institute of Photography in Milan. She has written extensively for L’Unità, Zoom and Photo, and currently for Camera Austria; People of Photography; Doppiozero. Essays by her have been published in various books and catalogs. You have curated numerous exhibitions in public and private spaces including: Portraits in Black (Scavi Scaligeri di Verona, 2006; Museo del Santo, Padua, 2007); Three generations of Italian artists facing time (Photo Biennale, Thessaloniki, Greece, 2008); Variable Memory (Galleria Milano, Milan, 2011); for Fotografia Europea of Reggio Emilia the group exhibitions Beyond opaque appearances (2010) and La Giovine Italia… (2011). She is a consultant for the Paci Contemporary galleries in Brescia and Podbielski Contemporary in Berlin for which she has also written numerous texts for the exhibition catalogs. You also collaborate with the San Fedele Gallery in Milan, where, since 2004, you have curated numerous exhibitions including Guido Guidi 19692004 (2004), up to the most recent: Loris Savino-M.A.R.E. (2011); Michele Palazzi & Alessandro Pensi – Migrant Workers Journey (2012); Aniello Barone – Igboland (2013). In 2013 you also curated the exhibitions: Paolo Ventura, The theater of memory, FAR / Fabbrica Arte Rimini and Museo della Città (Rimini) and Massimiliano Gatti-Proximum Est, Palazzo Libera in Villa Lagarina (TN). You are part of the scientific committee of the MIA fair (Milan Image Art, www.miafair.it) directed by Fabio Castelli: the first Italian fair dedicated to the art of photography and video. In 2002 the Sannita Photographic Club of Benevento awarded her the “Oscar of photography” for critics. She is in charge of “Portfolio Europa” for the Reggio Emilia European Photography Festival.

DIMITRI BECK

Dimitri Beck is the editor-in-chief of the Paris based photojournalism magazine, Polka.
Dimitri has been part of the executive management of Polka since 2008, contributing to the development of the magazine, gallery and website.
During his spare time Dimitri gives lectures on photojournalism at conferences and educational institutes.
Prior to working at Polka, Dimitri was the Director of the Aina Photo Agency based in the Afghan capital Kabul from September 2004 to December 2006, where he was also the Editor-in-chief for the Anglo-French feature magazine Les Nouvelles de Kaboul – New Afghanistan. His thirst to travel to Afghanistan was inspired when he was working as editor-in-chief of Reza Deghati’s photo agency “Webistan”.
His love for photojournalism started in the Caucasus mountains of central Asia at a young age when he started out as an independent journalist filing reports to French and international media outlets.

CLAUDIO CORRIVETTI

Claudio Corrivetti is founder and director of the Italian publishing house Postcart.
He was born in Rome in 1960 from Neapolitan parents. He started to photograph in 1977 with an OLYMPUS OM1 camera. He worked as a photographer for newspapers, magazines and cinema. In 1994 he founded the publishing house Postcart, specialized in photobooks.
Postcart catalogue included more than 100 photobooks and several series such as “Postwords”. Since 2011 all the books are distributed worldwide. Some of Postcart’s books – Anima russa by Davide Monteleone, Terre di sud by Emiliano Mancuso, Protagonisti by Sandro Becchetti, Buenos Aires Cafè by Lucia Baldini, Bosnian Identity by Matteo Bastianelli, Memoria by Palmera e Bianchi, Voci by Carmelo Bongiorno, Fault Lines by George Georgiou, L’unico eri tu by Stefano Giogli, Genti di Dio by Monika Bulaj – have won national and international awards.

JIM CASPER

Jim Casper is editor-in-chief and co-founder of the web magazine LensCulture.
Lens Culture is one of the largest online destinations to discover curated contemporary photography from around the world, reaching a global audience of over 1.5 million monthly. LensCulture sponsors several international photography awards every year (with photographers participating from 140+ countries), and promotes the winners and finalists with photography exhibitions in leading cities and projections that are screened at international photography festivals. LensCulture is also a leader in online education and career development for photographers through LensCulture Sessions.
Casper works as an author, critic, lecturer, curator, events organizer, consultant, portfolio reviewer, nominator and juror for photography awards worldwide. He currently serves on the board of directors of SPE, the Society for Photographic Education. He currently lives and works in Amsterdam.