Exhibition by French photographer Christophe Simon opens at Visa pour L'Image festival
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Wednesday, December 25, 2024


Exhibition by French photographer Christophe Simon opens at Visa pour L'Image festival
Employees place framed photos on a wall before the opening of the exhibition "Football as seen through the eyes of children in Cidade de Deus favela" by French photographer Christophe Simon, on August 28, 2014 in Perpignan, as part of the International Visa pour L'Image Photojournalism Festival. The Festival will take place from August 30, 2014 to September 14. AFP PHOTO / RAYMOND ROIG.



PERPIGNAN.- In Brazil, kids in favelas play football all the time and anywhere they can, kicking battered old footballs around vacant lots or up against walls. Before the 2014 World Cup, Christophe Simon set out to find a way of showing the story of the Brazilian love of football. And what better way could there be than to ask children from the favelas to depict their love for the sport as they see it?

Christophe Simon settled in Rio in 2011, and reported on many “pacification” operations in the favelas conducted by the security forces as part of efforts to improve the image of the city in the lead-up to the Football World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. He would be seen on the streets with his cameras, following soldiers and police through back alleys; and every time he was surrounded by a cluster of kids fascinated by what he was doing. They followed him everywhere, asking endless questions.

In 2011, Christophe turned 50, an age when he wanted to share and pass on some of his skills to the younger generation. He contacted Tony Barros, a local photographer running Lente dos Sonhos photography school in Rio, and they put together a group of eighteen children, between 10 and 15 years old.

From February to May 2013, the two photographers went out nearly every weekend with groups of three to ten children. Each one had a camera and a job to do, and that was to produce pictures related to the subject of football. Working sessions usually ran for three or four hours, but sometimes lasted all day. Christophe taught them the basics of the job, and set a number of rules, such as no posed pictures (quite a challenge in a country where people love to pose) and no flash photography. The project was an immediate hit, and the children were totally involved, with some of them showing genuine promise.

The Cidade de Deus (City of God) favela had recently been “pacified,” but it was still a tricky area where anything might happen, for example, drug dealers coming face to face with children wielding cameras, a challenging situation that was successfully defused by Tony Barros using all his diplomatic skills.

Christophe Simon has been reporting for AFP for thirty years. He has covered conflicts and historic events in Arab countries, Africa, the Balkans and Eastern Europe. He joined AFP in 1984, starting in France at the office in Nice, and in 1989 went to the Strasbourg office. During the First Gulf War, in 1991, he was one of the first photographers to enter Kuwait City after it had been liberated by U.S. troops. In 1994 he was appointed chief photographer for West and Central Africa, based in Abidjan, then, after a short period back in France at the Montpellier office, went to Madrid in 1999 as chief photographer for Spain and Portugal, establishing a sound network of photographers there.

In 2005, Christophe Simon came to AFP head office in Paris, where he was head of reporting for the chief photo editor. In 2007, he went to Italy as chief photographer, reporting on events that included the earthquake in the city of L’Aquila. In 2011, he was appointed to the position of chief photographer in Brazil.










Today's News

September 1, 2014

Exhibition by French photographer Christophe Simon opens at Visa pour L'Image festival

Final exhibition from the Kainen Collection opens at the National Gallery of Art

Groundbreaking works by Pop Art's biggest names on view at the Cantor Arts Center

Major exhibition of photographs from the estate of British photographer David Farrell opens at Osborne Samuel

Henry Moore's 'Reclining Mother and Child' returns to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Mexico's most important numismatic treasures to be auctioned in November at Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC

Old Master paintings, silver, porcelain and glass included in Koller Zurich's autumn auctions

Galerie Neue Meister celebrates 20th anniversary of the Society for Modern Art in Dresden

Julien's Auctions announces the sale of the collection of Country music superstar Naomi Judd

Memorial to Nazis' disabled victims to open near Berlin's central Tiergarten park

Hello Kitty not a cat, has never been: Company says Hello Kitty is a cheerful and happy little girl

State Museum and Exhibition center Rosphoto opens exhibition of works from The Minsk School of Photography

Solo exhibition of French Berlin-based artist Agathe de Bailliencourt opens at Art Plural Gallery

Belgian startup develops secure platform for creators and fans to procure, trade and enjoy cloud-based art

Christian Vind exhibits at Overgaden Institute of Contemporary Art

Exhibition of Indian paintings from the 15th to 19th centuries on view at the Fralin Museum of Art

Historic landmarks in U.S. & Canada light up in Stand Up to Cancer colors

Exhibition highlights North Carolina artists who create hand-drawn works in a variety of graphic mediums

Logical Thinking; Illogical Thoughts: Sculptures & installation by Simeen Farhat opens at Pentimenti Gallery

Taiwan honours 56,000 WWII soldiers killed in Myanmar




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful