Michele Spatari
Michele documentary practice has been shaped by his architectural background and it is focused on the study of bodies and space: how politics, religions and collective rituals shape contemporary societies. The melancholic loneliness and alienation of our world, the relationship between people and their surroundings, the belief that personal stories can bear the weight of history are recurrent and sought-after elements of his work.
His first long-term project Rising Water about public showers and housing crisis in Turin won the 2018 Canon Italy Young Photographer Award – Multimedia and has been exhibited at Cortona On The Move Festival, Geopolis – Centre du Photojournalisme, Lumix Festival, among others. In 2019, he has been selected by Canon as the Italian representative in Visions from Europe, an artistic residency for Matera European Capital of Culture 2019. In 2020, Michele has been assigned a grant by Cortona On The Move Festival to document the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa: the final project has been exhibited internationally and it has won the 1st Prize at the 2021 WARS Photography Award.
From 2019 to 2023, Michele was one of the main contributors in Southern Africa for Agence France-Presse. With AFP, he has covered some of the most significant events in the region: the deadly waves of xenophobic violence in Johannesburg and the general South African elections in 2019, the devastating consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, the years long drought in the Somali region of Ethiopia, the 2022 Kenyan general elections, the 2023 Nigerian general elections, and countless other stories from more than 12 countries.
His work has been featured on various international media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, TIME, Le Monde, Libération, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, El País, Internazionale, amongst others.
Michele has also worked for UNICEF, FAO, MSF – Doctors Without Borders, WWF – World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, European Commission, FIFA, FactStory, AFP Services. As a videographer, DP or camera assistant he has worked with CNN, Vice News, FIFA, African Development Bank, AFPTV, VOA, and more.
Awards & Achievements:
2023: Hamburg Portfolio Review – Selected
2022: Magnum Portfolio Review – Selected
2021: WARS Photography Award – 1st Prize
2021: Encontros da Imagem Discovery Awards – Winner
2020: Lumix Digital Storytelling Award – Honourable Mention
2018: Canon Italy Young Photographer Award – 1st prize
Books:
2022: A Time of Distance – Skira editore (collective)
Exhibitions:
2023: HPR Exhibition, Hamburg
2023: Alliance Francaise, Johannesburg
2021: Encontros da Imagem, Braga
2021: Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen
2020: Representation of the Federal State of Low Saxony, Berlin
2020: Espace Cosmopolis, Nantes
2020: Cortona on the Move
2020: Galerie f 3 – Freiraum für Fotografie, Berlin
2020: Lumix Festival, Hannover
2019: Geopolis – Centre du Photojournalisme, Brussels
