Editorial & Business
7 days of agencies
Majority World
At 14th August Independence Day celebrations at the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Karachi © Ayesha Vellani / Drik / Majority world
Women covered in typical blue Afghani Burqa (piece of cloth that is stitched to hid every part of women’s body from head to toe), awaits their turn for diagnosis and treatment at the Basic Health Center in Paghman District. Afghanistan © Shehzad Noorani / Drik / Majority world
Shapna, 13, works as a stone collector. Sometime she does not work because of her childish pranks. She is not old enough for the work. Between working times, she travels by her brother’s boat for fun. Jaflong, Sylhet, Bangladesh. January 16, 2008 © Khaled Hasan / Drik / Majority World
"The doctor said two bags of blood are needed with 20 Desferal injections each month. One bag of blood costs about 500 taka and it is also difficult to find. The Desferal costs 250 taka, moreover trips from Chandpur to Dhaka costs a lot. We are poor farmers, how will we get the money?” Says Khuki, mother of Khorshed Alam, a nine year old child suffering from Thalassaemia. Chandpur, Bangladesh. April 9, 2008 © Noor Alam / Drik / Majority World
Two young girls in colorful costume at the Boulevard of Sabana Grande during the carnival festival in Caracas, Venezuela. February 24, 2009 © Aaron Sosa / Majority World
Ghana, Accra, Jamestown. A young football player baths in a local bathroom at Jamestown fishing village. He plays for Kindoku FC of Accra and supports his football career by fishing. September 4, 2009 © Akintunde Akinleye / Twenty Ten / Africa Media Online / Majority World
At 14th August Independence Day celebrations at the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Karachi © Ayesha Vellani / Drik / Majority world
Probably because it was first invented in Europe and probably because it was, for a long time, a rich man's club, photography has been predominately a western hemisphere preoccupation. For a very long time both its creators ( photographers) and its support ( magazines) have been geolocated in those countries that had fought the second world war. The rest of the world was only involved in photography as a subject but not a participant.
No longer. Cameras have reach affordable pricing while the internet has made publishing extremely easy and cheap. It is the end of the western's world hegemony on photography. No longer can the so call developed countries can and should impose its photographic vision. Enters Majority World photo agency.
Majority World is a not just a new photo agency but rather, as they call themselves, a social enterprise, that works with very talented photographers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. They bring this vision to the old world, facilitating in the process the emergence of a strong local photographic creative culture. They bridge the gap between photographers from emerging countries and image buyers from developed countries, allowing the third world visual voice to be heard, or rather to be seen. Because they are not tangled in cultural cliches or image saturation like their North American or European peers, the Majority World photographers bring highly refreshing and extremely talented imagery.
Majority World has just recently relaunched it's online platform here : http://www.majorityworld/com
They are based in the UK and can be reached at : info@majorityworld.com
If you are a photo agency and would also like to participate to this weekly column, please send a note to Paul Melcher at:
paul.melcher@lalettredelaphotographie.com
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