{"id":24529,"date":"2015-10-16T11:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-16T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=24529"},"modified":"2018-01-15T13:10:52","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T16:10:52","slug":"imagens-do-povo-photography-collective-part-1-activist-reporters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=24529","title":{"rendered":"‘Imagens do Povo’ Photography Collective Part 1: Activist-Reporters [IMAGES]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This post is the second\u00a0of four RioOnWatch contributions to Blog Action Day 2015<\/a> in which\u00a0bloggers around the world reflect<\/a> on this year\u2019s theme: Raise Your Voice. Check out\u00a0our full series here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the first in a three-part series<\/a> on the Imagens do Povo<\/a> photography collective.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The right to communicate<\/a> is recognized among the third generation of human rights<\/a>, which are commonly framed in the context of the collective rights of peoples or communities. While Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the individual’s freedom of expression, the right to communicate responds to increasingly globalized and homogenous media structures in asserting that holders of minority opinions and marginalized communities have the right to access information and to be heard. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a video interview last year<\/a>, famous Brazilian photo-documentarist\u00a0Jo\u00e3o Roberto Ripper<\/a> said:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cIt is emblematic and dangerous in communication <\/span>when you end up creating a one-sided story\u2014about people, about places, about communities, about countries, even.\u201d Concerned with an increasingly homogenized media, threats against minority rights, and dissenting and local voices not being heard, Ripper founded the favela-based photography collective and school for popular photographers, <\/span>Imagens do Povo<\/a><\/span> (Images of the People), in 2004<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Ripper praises the \u201ccitizens who use images to shout out how beautiful they are, how different they are from how they’re being portrayed.” The use of image to tell stories can be transformative when guided by the respect for people\u2019s dignity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ten years of empathetic photography against stereotypes<\/b><\/h3>\n

Imagens do Povo is based in Mar\u00e9<\/a>, a complex of favelas in Rio\u2019s North Zone<\/a>, and hosted at the Favelas Observatory<\/a>,\u00a0a center that coordinates research, capacity-building, consulting work and public action around\u00a0favela-related issues and urban phenomena. The project’s School for Popular Photographer<\/a>s combines instruction on\u00a0photographic technique with discussion of social issues and the democratization of communication. So far the school has trained more than 200 photographers, 70 of whom have returned to the school as teachers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an excellent photography course: ten months, 540 hours, with access to photographic language, photojournalism, human rights, the history of arts and philosophy,\u201d explains Imagens do Povo coordinator Rovena Rosa. \u201cAbove all, people learn how to think about photography, not only how to photograph.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Widely recognized and award-winning<\/a>, the Imagens do Povo collective, made up of photographers who participated in the course, boasts an online archive<\/a> of over 10,000 images <\/span>and its first published book<\/a> is also available online. In 2014 the project proudly celebrated its 10th anniversary with an exhibition and corresponding book titled ‘<\/a><\/span>N\u00f3s’<\/span><\/i><\/a>\u00a0(Us). <\/span><\/p>\n

The collective’s\u00a0<\/span>photographs are\u00a0notable for the visible empathy between photographers and the photographed subjects. <\/span>The beauty present in everyday life is the core focus. Rosa says: “We often work in the field\u00a0of symbolism,\u00a0precisely in the resistance<\/a> to stereotypes<\/a> and the single story,\u00a0giving people the chance to see other gazes and perspectives in relation to [the favelas].\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

In my research on the work of Imagens do Povo, I developed\u00a0two distinct, albeit often overlapping, categories to group the photographers according to their approach to photography. This article will look at the \u2018activist-reporter\u2019 photographers whose work denounces social issues and asserts rights, while the next article will feature \u2018archivist-documentarian\u2019 photographers who focus on\u00a0memory and everyday life.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Activist-Reporters:
\n<\/b><\/h2>\n

Luiz Baltar<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Dawn during the army occupation of Mar\u00e9, with the word \u2018paz\u2019 (peace) hanging from the power lines. Photo by Luiz Baltar, April 5, 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Social documentarian photographer\u00a0Luiz Baltar<\/a><\/span>\u00a0was\u00a0trained\u00a0at the School for Popular Photographers in Mar\u00e9. Since 2009, he has worked to record the experiences\u00a0of eviction<\/a> in several communities, resulting in a collective work entitled \u2018<\/span>Tem Morador<\/a><\/span>\u2019 (There\u2019s a Resident) which aims to\u00a0denounce human rights violations<\/a> and provide support and solidarity to people\u2019s struggles. <\/span><\/p>\n

In his bio, Baltar explains that he \u201c[believes] in photography as a form of activist and critical expression, pursuing the establishment of a dialogue between photography and social issues, above all regarding views on the city.\u201d Among other projects, Baltar is also part of the Favela em Foco<\/a> (Favela in Focus) photography collective which<\/span> documents struggles and daily life while giving visibility and support: the key to this approach, he told RioOnWatch<\/em><\/a>, \u201cis to do this with<\/em>,\u00a0<\/span>not for, [communities].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He provided the photos for the book SMH 2016<\/a>\u2014<\/em>named<\/span>\u00a0after the eviction code painted on houses before demolition\u2014which documented Rio\u2019s evictions from 2009 until 2013, a period that saw more forced removals<\/a> than\u00a0in the\u00a0Pereira Passos and Carlos Lacerda administrations combined.\u00a0<\/span>Baltar has also documented military occupations of favelas and the pacification<\/a> process, participating in the network of communicators and tracking task forces coordinated by the Network of Communities and Movements against Violence<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out Luiz Baltar’s work on Flickr<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
March Against the Genocide of Black People in Mar\u00e9. Photo by Luiz Baltar, September 6, 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naldinho Louren\u00e7o<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The occupation of Rocinha. Photo by Naldinho Louren\u00e7o, November 13, 2011.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Naldinho Louren\u00e7o is a resident of Mar\u00e9 who studied at the\u00a0School for Popular Photographers in 2006. He served from 2006 to 2009 as the coordinator of the Mar\u00e9 Center for Studies and Solidarity Actions<\/a>‘ \u2018Work, Communication & Art<\/a>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0project to link art<\/a> and language<\/a> with employment opportunities. He participated in Imagens do Povo’s collective exhibitions <\/span>Olhar C\u00famplice<\/a><\/span><\/i> (The Complicit Gaze) on paralympic sports and <\/span>Esporte na Favela<\/a><\/span><\/i> (Sport in the Favela)<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>among many others. Louren\u00e7o’s focus shifted i<\/span><\/span>n\u00a02008 when an 8-year-old child called Matheus was killed<\/a> by the police near his place of work and he documented the scene<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Following that incident, Louren\u00e7o\u00a0continued to document issues of police violence<\/a>. He\u00a0criticizes the mainstream media’s portrayal of favelas<\/a>, distorted by \u201cthe view of the photographer who\u00a0doesn’t live in the favela and goes accompanied by the police, already planning for violence.\u201d In his opinion, the lack of dialogue with residents and the abuse of police and army authority are main sources of conflicts, but so is the mainstream media’s criminalization of favelas as primarily producing drug traffickers<\/a>. Beyond the fact that criminality does exist \u201cto a certain extent,\u201d Louren\u00e7o’s\u00a0endeavors\u00a0aim to\u00a0\u201cdemystify what [conventional] media do\u201d and keep \u201cstate oppression\u201d in check.<\/span><\/p>\n

Louren\u00e7o criticizes the mainstream media’s portrayal of favelas<\/a>, distorted by \u201cthe view of the photographer who\u00a0doesn’t live in the favela and goes accompanied by the police, already planning for violence.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Check out Naldinho Louren\u00e7o’s work on Flickr<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201cWall,\u201d taken as Mar\u00e9 residents shut down a highway in memory and protest of police killing a 16-year-old resident, six years prior. Photo by Naldinho Louren\u00e7o, April 14, 2009.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Adriano “AF” Rodrigues<\/b><\/h3>\n
\"\"<\/a>
\u201cLife continues in Rio\u2019s favelas regardless.\u201d Photo by AF Rodrigues, December 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Previously educated in Agricultural Sciences and Geography, AF Rodrigues graduated from both the School for Popular Photographers and Popular School of Critical Communication (Espocc)<\/a> in 2006.\u00a0<\/span>His work accompanies Louren\u00e7o’s photos in the Olhar C\u00famplice <\/span><\/em>and Esporte na Favela\u00a0<\/em>among other Imagens do Povo exhibitions. His work was featured in the 2007 exhibition <\/span>Belonging: An inside story from Rio\u2019s favelas<\/em> at London’s Canning House, and The Becontree Hundred<\/a><\/em>, also in London, earlier this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGeography is necessarily a part\u00a0of the discussion of space in the photography I\u2019m developing, together with my colleagues from Imagens do Povo,\u201d explains Rodrigues. “[It’s about] everything that encompasses this dynamic: residents, workers, students, those who live in popular spaces and those who live in the formal city.” He sees his photography as \u201ca provocation for those who don\u2019t usually have access to the information that permeates these popular spaces,\u201d and his photos as “dialoguing, interacting with spaces, with the people who inhabit and build them.” Rodrigues aims “to provide\u00a0information that\u00a0counters historical understandings of what a favela is, imposed\u00a0by people who do not live there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Through his Flickr album <\/span>Revelando Favelas<\/a><\/span><\/i> (Revealing Favelas)<\/span>, Rodrigues aims to “reveal untold stories,\u201d untold \u201cnot because they\u2019re omitted by the characters [living them], but because they go unheard.\u201d Rodrigues writes that through his collection he\u00a0\u201creveals, for others, a different version of favelas: a place of daily labor, of continuing\u00a0study, of struggle, of fraternity, affection, art and leisure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Check out more of AF Rodrigues’ work on Flickr<\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u201cFather runs to protect his baby\u201d from the album \u201cViolence in Complexo do Alem\u00e3o,\u201d taken during the police occupation of the favela. Photo by AF Rodrigues, September 26, 2010<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andrea Cangialosi holds\u00a0an International Masters in Sociology from the universities of Freiburg, Buenos Aires and Bangkok. This series is based on his research as a reporter for RioOnWatch<\/a> and fieldwork for his thesis Vida Pulsante<\/a><\/span>: Rio\u2019s Mega-Events Footprints, Oppressions and Resistances in Mar\u00e9 Favelas as Pictured by <\/span>Imagens do Povo<\/span> Photographers<\/span><\/a><\/em>.<\/em>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas This post is the second\u00a0of four RioOnWatch contributions to Blog Action Day 2015 in which\u00a0bloggers around the world reflect on this year\u2019s theme: Raise Your Voice. Check out\u00a0our full series here. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":24544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1294,1290,1268,1271,1284,1332,1282,336,1329],"tags":[24,396,1013,1839,1653,756,258,280,910,1042,1501,11,188,25,1650,1681,1900,37,523,15,572,17,1555,270,2634,1953],"writer":[1398],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-24529","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-communitymedia","8":"category-civilsociety","9":"category-favelaculture","10":"category-favelaqualities","11":"category-interviews-profiles","12":"category-photo-essays","13":"category-research-analysis","14":"category-violations","15":"category-by-international-observers","16":"tag-alternative-media","17":"tag-art","18":"tag-blog-action-day","19":"tag-blog-action-day-2015-raise-your-voice","20":"tag-community-media","21":"tag-community-organizing","22":"tag-community-solution","23":"tag-complexo-da-mare","24":"tag-creative-organizing","25":"tag-espocc","26":"tag-community-media-favela-em-foco","27":"tag-forced-evictions","28":"tag-history","29":"tag-human-rights","30":"tag-imagens-do-povo","31":"tag-media-collective","32":"tag-media-narrative","33":"tag-north-zone","34":"tag-observatorio-de-favelas","35":"tag-pacifying-police-unit","36":"tag-photography","37":"tag-police-brutality","38":"tag-redes-de-desenvolvimento-da-mare","39":"tag-resistance","40":"tag-series","41":"tag-series-imagens-do-povo","42":"writer-andrea-cangialosi"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=24529"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=24529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}