Striking when you consider that an “estimated [that] USAID assistance—aimed at combatting diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and polio, reducing maternal and child deaths, and fighting malnutrition—had saved 92 million lives over two decades”
To see the impact of the loss US AID, ‘Rovina’s Choice’ brings into stark reality what goes when aid goes.
I was sorry to miss Paris Photo 2025 which was hosted at the Grand Palais. The last time I went to the Grand Palais was in 2017 for the Irving Penn Centennial which was outstanding. The Grand Palais is one of my favourite buildings in Paris.
Beate Gütschow’s latest book was launched at Paris Photo ‘25 and offers depictions of disaster in the aftermath of recovery:
People on the brink, depopulated areas, desolate villages—it only becomes clear after a second glance that Beate Gütschow’s photos show protests, reconstruction work after catastrophic flooding, and the impact of forest fires on villages and landscapes: dystopian events that have happened in the recent past, and in Central Europe at that. It is not until weeks after the events that Gütschow arrives in the places concerned. Her long-term photographic studies give rise to counter-images to set against the usual depictions of disaster. These are more tranquil images that are emotionally accessible and make it possible for events to be analyzed. Gütschow is also part of the climate justice movement. Here, she participates in and records what she finds, documenting actions, occupations, and demonstrations: an interior perspective in which the photographs combine with diaristic notes to create a composition of text and images.
There is huge potential for scenario based table top exercises in ‘virtualised environments’. Emergency role play scenarios grounded in digital twins allow for better responder preparedness or in schools, can engender drill preparedness in a more engaging way.
The “special event” held on November 20, where players took on different roles that reflect real-life ICE raids, was the first initiative by New Save Collective, a baker’s dozen of gamers with backgrounds in activism and organizing, whose goal is to educate gamers and teach people about their rights when dealing with ICE in real-world situations.
When it comes to global climate action, the COP30 consensus is the floor – the bare minimum of what the world must do – not the ceiling that limits what is possible.
I discovered the work of Davina Jogi via Akashinga and browsed her portfolio site. Filtering her stories, I found a series entitled ‘The Portrait’ which immediately transported me home to Zimbabwe.
It was a legal mandate to publicly hang an official portrait of Robert Mugabe at registered business premises. They were supplied by the Ministry of Information and were a symbol of ZANU-PF rule. In the wake of Mugabe’s forced resignation in 2017, the ramifications of the transition were unclear, and with an abundance of caution, many business owners left them in place.
I went to the Cecil Beaton exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery last week. It’s always a pleasure to see original prints that have been overseen by the artist themselves. I’d only ever seen the image of Eileen Dunne on the cover of Life magazine. The Life cover which was displayed next to the print was tonally quite different - much higher key, probably a feature of the press and lacked the tonal nuance of the original print.
“Beaton was commissioned by the Ministry of Information and the show contains strikingly beautiful photographs which show not only the devastation caused by Nazi bombs but also resilience and camaraderie. There are also photographs from the Middle East, India, Burma and China.
In particular his photographs of Winston Churchill, the royal family and a little girl called Eileen Dunne all played a propaganda part in helping to bring American public opinion round to intervening in the war. The Dunne photograph is especially poignant, showing a three-year-old girl with her stuffed toy and a bandage round her head after getting caught up in the blitz.
It is an incredibly important image, splashed all over the world, but who Dunne was or went on to be is still something of a mystery. “It is a story waiting to be told,” said Roberts. “But the impact of it was extraordinary.” - The Guardian
