Photographers Sanne De Wilde and Bénédicte Kurzen publish their book: Land of Ibeji

Sanne De Wilde and Bénédicte Kurzen / NOOR

Discover all about the Land of Ibeji

Sanne De Wilde and Bénédicte Kurzen investigate the mythology of twins in Nigeria where the rate of natural twin births is higher than anywhere else in the world. As sacred beings, twins’ magical and spiritual powers are celebrated with mythical fervour, but also condemned as unnatural.It was a path he never would have taken, because he never could have imagined it. 

‘Land of Ibeji’ is a collaborative photographic project about the mythology of twinhood in Nigeria“Ibeji” meaning 'double birth' and ‘the inseparable two’ in Yoruba stands for the ultimate harmony between two people. The centre of this twin zone is Igbo-Ora, a sleepy southwest town in Nigeria. Through a visual narrative and an aesthetic language that is meant to reflect and empower the Yoruba culture that celebrates twins, the two photographers extend their gaze beyond appearance - with symmetry and resemblance as tools- to open the eyes to the twin as a mythological figure and a powerful metaphor: for the duality within a human being and the duality we experience in the world that surrounds us.

They played with the concept of doubling to create an imaginative photographic story, using double exposures, mirror reflections and colour filters. Through these pictorial processes, the two artists produced inventive double portraits, while also working together as twin-like co-authors. Land of Ibeji is the magical, colourful result.

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About the book

Now for sale in the NOOR Shop!

Next to the regular signed book there is also a limited edition that includes a signed print. There are only 44 of them available!

Order now and receive your book in August 2021

Signed book for €59  excl. VAT and shipping costs

Signed book + signed Fine Art Baryta print (only 44 units available) for €248 excl. VAT and shipping costs

Photographer Pep Bonet publishes his photobook: Hellbangers

Discover all about Botswana’s underground metal culture

Photographer Pep Bonet has been following Overthrust, a heavy metal band from Botswana, Africa, and shows us a growing, exciting and thoroughly organic heavy metal community. Ten years ago, one group existed. Today there are more than ten – and their fans are growing every year.

“Hellbangers is an affirmation that at its core shows the strength and power of the metal community in Africa, and how it connects around the world. The love and devotion to the music that these wonderful maniacs show scream out to us with absolute conviction – we are all united by the essence of the metal heart and spirit of the Hellbangers!”

— Rob Halford (Judas Priest)

The inhabitants of Botswana portrayed in this book are tattood, wear loudly and proudly leather jackets, leather trousers and play heavy death metal music. Imagine the DIY ingenuity of their ‘costume creation’ involving harvested animal skulls and other natural elements.

With names like Demon and Gunsmoke, it would be easy though to think they are thugs, but “We try to be exemples. Rock is a wild thing, but also something for the heart”, says Gunsmoke, the heavy metal head. Here too, the lyrics of the songs are very critical towards societies, just like their western peers. Metal in Botswana is rebellious movement against authorities. This is the story of what looks at first to be an unlikely union, yet one which powerfully illustrates how music, how heavy metal music, has become a positively unifying force in an unlikely part of the world.

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About the book

Now for sale in the NOOR Shop!

PRE-SALE OFFER WHEN YOU ORDER BEFORE JULY 31ST 2021:

Signed book + original photograph (numbered, signed and stamped) for €199 + VAT and shipping costs

Only 50 units available

The second Stanley Greene Legacy Prize & Fellowship now accepting submissions

Stanley Greene / NOOR

NOOR & the NOOR Foundation are extremely proud to announce the second Stanley Greene Legacy Prize & Fellowship. The Fellowship will support the work and professional aspirations of underrepresented photojournalists who create work that echoes the passion with which Stanley approached photography.

This chapter of the fellowship prize will focus on applicants based in the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

Find more information about the Fellowship and Submission deadlines here

'Arctic: New frontier' exhibited at Gallery Vriend van Bavink

Yuri Kozyrev / NOOR

Kadir van Lohuizen's and Yuri Kozyrev's work about the arctic is exhibited at Gallery Vriend van Bavink from April 23rd until July 10th. The double expedition project focuses on the consequences of the melting sea ice for the planet, and the medium-term prospect of its total disappearance.

Register to visit here!

The 2021 Nikon-NOOR masterclasses

The 2021 Nikon-NOOR masterclasses are finished. Participants from around the world worked together with NOOR authors Andrea Bruce, Pep Bonet, Heba Khamis, Jon Lowenstein, Sanne De Wilde, Kadir van Lohuizen, Olga Kravets and Tanya Habjouqa to share experiences, work on portfolios, improve editing skills, and learn how to create visual stories.

Discover the names of the Nikon-NOOR Academy participants!

Andrea Bruce on assignment for Ipondr

Andrea Bruce / NOOR

Andrea Bruce went on assignment for iPondr. She captured Brant Ireland, who broke his leg severely in 2013 while on an operation in Afghanistan. His leg got amputated in 2015 and since then he is using a high-tech prosthetic limb. Ireland saw adaptive sports as a chance to get out of his comfort zone and try new things.

Read the article here!

Watch Olga Kravets' films for the Martin Ennals Awards

© Julie de Halleux / Olga Kravets

NOOR Filmmaker Olga Kravets, in collaboration with Pierre-Julien Fieux, Julie de Halleux, Anaïs Chic and Irene Servillo, directed three short animation films to present the three nominees of 2021 Martin Ennals Awards Ceremony that took place on February 11th. The three nominees of this year were Yu Wensheng - Laureate (China), Soltan Achilova (Turkmenistan) and Loujain AlHathloul (Saudi Arabia).

We are also proud to announce that Soltan Achilova's short film will be featured at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights (FIFDH), which will take place in Geneva from 5-14 March, 2021.

Watch all the animations here!

Ayün will take over NOOR in honor of International Women's Day

Ana Maria Arévalo Gosen / Ayün Fotógrafas

Ayün will take over NOOR this week to announce their print sale for International Women's Day! Ayün Fotógrafas is a collective of eight female photographers united by Latin America, developing projects about human and environmental rights, identity, and territory.

The proceeds from this sale will help fund their next group project focusing on maternal health in Latin America and beyond.

Support Ayün’s print sale!

The first Nikon-NOOR Masterclasses have started!

The first round of the Nikon-NOOR Academy mastercalsses have started on the 18th of February!

Andrea Bruce, Pep Bonet and Heba Khamis will be teaching the first 15 participants of the Nikon-NOOR masterclasses until the 26th of February.

Stanley Greene Legacy Fellowship & Prize Winner Announced

©️ Sasha Phyars-Burgess

Today, on Stanley’s birthday, the NOOR Documentary Foundation USA, and NOOR are excited to announce that Sasha Phyars-Burgess is the inaugural Stanley Greene Legacy Prize & Fellowship winner.

Additionally, launching today, we’re excited to share that our long-term partner Nikon Europe will sponsor the second edition Stanley Greene Legacy Prize & Fellowship.

This second fellowship will be open to early-career photographers, in the first ten years of their professional career, who show great promise and an unquenchable desire to practice photojournalism with a purpose.

Read all about it in our latest newsletter!