five year anniversary

Five years ago, with the aim to work in a collaborative effort, a group of friends and like-minded photographers, started an agency, NOOR, which in Arabic means light. Our desire was born out of a longing to break free of commercial constraints, of management dictates, of big agency politics and the devaluation of images. We came together not just to create a photo agency, but also a foundation, with the hope that independent, in-depth visual reports would contribute to a growing understanding of the world and impact views on human rights and global concerns.

More than just a journalistic enterprise, we actively engage in developing and promoting broader documentary projects, through our individual and collective work, such as our multi-year climate change project, which has been seen by millions in international print and online publications, exhibitions, street posters, projections, conferences, public art installations and social media. NOOR is also committed to the development of young photojournalists and through a partnership with Nikon we have offered every year, free workshops to students in cities underserved by professional instructors: Lagos, Cape Town, Bucharest, and St. Petersburg.

That we still exist five years later, and envision a future five years from now, is a testament to our friendship and respect for each other’s visions and our collective dedication to the communicative power of photography.

We would like to thank everyone who has been supportive of our mission these past years, our personnel, our agents, our clients and partners.