Per 1 July 2014 Sebastián Liste and Asim Rafiqui join NOOR as associate members, with the aim to become full members and to expand the roster of NOOR’s accomplished and award-winning photographers. The coming twelve months will be used to explore the mutual relationship and reassure from both sides this beneficial collaboration.
Sebastián Liste (Spain, 1985) is a documentary photographer and sociologist devoted to documenting contemporary issues and the profound cultural changes in Latin America and the Mediterranean. Currently, he divides his time between Brazil and Spain.
Asim Rafiqui (Sweden/Pakistan, 1966) is an independent photojournalist who has reported from Haiti, Japan, India, Pakistan, USA, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Sweden and Ukraine, among other places.
On joining NOOR Sebastián said, “We, as a photojournalists, confront a transformed media environment thanks to the new digital platforms. I'm excited about those new horizons and I really want to be part of NOOR in this crucial moment of transforming the landscape for socially engaged, visual storytellers.”
Asim shared, "Joining NOOR is for me an act of tremendous optimism because I believe in the work we do - the ideas we argue, the issues we document and the challenges we raise through photography. Our work is a critical part of the civil societies and democracies we either belong to or are working to strengthen. Being part of an agency that believes in the same values can only make my own work stronger and clearer."
About taking on Asim, NOOR photographer Nina Berman explained, “The group was really taken by Asim's ability not just as a photographer, but as a writer and investigator. His Pakistani Justice Project is stellar work that left a deep impression on the group. He is also a generous collaborator and kind person. We are so excited to have him with us, especially on our group projects.”
On Sebastián’s joining the agency, NOOR photographer Pep Bonet said, "I have known Sebas for some years now. I'm very excited that he will join the NOOR family.” Fellow NOOR member Andrea Bruce added, “Sebastian's intimate and passionate long-term work in Latin America drew us to him immediately. We are excited to bring his enthusiasm and energy to the agency.”
SEBASTIAN LISTE
Sebastián Liste’s work has been exhibited internationally in numerous shows and festivals including Visa Pour l´Image, Look3, Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism, Noorderlicht Photo Festival, Angkor Photo Festival, The New York Photo Festival, Speos Gallery and Host Gallery.
In 2010, while pursuing his Masters degree in Photojournalism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Sebastián won the Ian Parry Scholarship for his long term project Urban Quilombo. In 2011 he was selected to participate in the 18th World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in Amsterdam. The same year he was named one of the 30 photographers to watch at PDN 30 and received a Citation at the Olivier Rebbot Award.
Sebastián’s numerous industry accolades include a Lucie Award, the Rémi Ochlik Award at Visa pour l´Image and the Community Awareness Award at Pictures of the Year International. In addition, Sebastián received a Magnum Emegency Fund Grant, the Getty Editorial Grant to develop a new project in the Brazilian Amazon, a Spanish Fotopres Grant and the Alexia Foundation Grant to continue developing his ongoing project about crime, punishment and security in Latin America.
A selection of Sebastián’s work and a full biography can be viewed on the NOOR website. Sebastián’s archive will be integrated into NOOR’s online archive in the coming weeks.
ASIM RAFIQUI
Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Asim Rafiqui moved to New York in 1984 to study engineering at Columbia University and has since lived, at various times, in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Lahore, London, Munich, Bangkok, Stockholm and most recently, Kigali, Rwanda.
Asim was recently the recipient of an Open Society Fellowship and has since 2012 been using a variety of media to present a more nuanced and personal perspective on the issue of access to justice in Pakistan. Previously, Asim was a Fulbright Fellow to India, where he worked on a project that looked at India’s heritage of cultural and religious pluralism and syncretism. For this project he was also a recipient of an Aftermath Grant. Asim also received a Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting grant to document the impact of the Israeli closure of the Gaza Strip on its residents. He authors the photography blog The Spinning Head.
A selection of his work and a full biography can be viewed on the NOOR website. Asim’s archive will be integrated into NOOR’s online archive in the coming weeks.
For additional information or for publications, please contact NOOR at office@noorimages.com or +31(0) 20.616.4040.