Festival

PhotoVogue Festival 2025 Panels | Our Planet, Our Responsibility: Environment, Climate Change Social Issues

Moderated by Afsaneh A. Rafii, this panel focuses on the intersections of environmental degradation, climate change, and social justice.
Image may contain Person Sleeping Flower Plant Sunflower Accessories Bag Handbag Clothing Footwear and Shoe
A man sleeps on the edge of his truck while displaying his sunflowers for sale at the flower market in Villa Guerrero.08/21/2022 Villa Guerrero, Estado de Mexico, Mexico.In one of my visits to the flower market documenting the industry’s commercial activity, I saw this man asleep. I didn t wake him up, I just took the photo.BEAUTIFUL POISON is a long-term photography project documenting the public health problem associated to the unrestricted use of agrochemicals by the flower industry in the region of Villa Guerrero, Mexico. Despite conclusive medical studies linking pesticide and fertilizer components to the recurrence of congenital malformations, leukemia, lymphoma, degenerative blindness, stillbirths, infertility and cancer, the healthcare demands of the population in Mexico’s flower belt have largely been overlooked by local authorities and institutions.cristopher rogel blanquet

The PhotoVogue Festival, the first conscious fashion photography festival that focuses on the common ground between ethics and aesthetics, returns for its eighth edition. From March 6th to 9th, 2025, BASE Milano will host a series of exhibitions and talks analysing the interrelation between humans and Nature, and the relations of kinship we can create with animals, complemented by satellite events at the city s finest galleries.

Synopsis

Moderated by Afsaneh A. Rafii, founder and editor of Icarus Complex Magazine + Media, this panel tackles the pressing challenges of climate change and environmental justice. Rafii, whose work bridges compelling storytelling and visuals to make the climate crisis accessible, brings her expertise in sustainability and climate communication to guide this vital conversation.

The session features artists from The Tree of Life: A Love Letter to Nature and Latin America Panorama: Christopher Rogel Blanquet, Ali Marin, Charlie Cordero, Khashayar Javanmardi, Oded Wagenstein, Maria di Stefano, Andrea Alessi, Irene Ottaviani, Ronald Pizzoferrato and Javier Alvarez. Beginning with The Story Behind the Image, each artist will have six minutes to present their work and share personal narratives while their images are projected on a large screen.

Thematic group discussions will follow, focusing on the intersections of environmental degradation, climate change, and social justice. The panelists bring diverse perspectives, from documenting the devastating impacts of climate change on coastal communities to exploring human resilience in the face of environmental disasters. With Rafii’s insight and the artists’ evocative works, this panel promises a thought-provoking dialogue on how photography can raise awareness, inspire action, and advocate for a more sustainable future.

The Panelists

For more about the PhotoVogue Festival 2025, check out: All you need to know about the PhotoVogue Festival 2025

PhotoVogue Festival is a project directed by Alessia Glaviano (Head of Global PhotoVogue) and co-curated by Caterina De Biasio (Visual Editor, PhotoVogue) and Daniel Rodríguez Gordillo (Senior Manager, Education Community Initiatives Condé Nast).