Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
“Noor” by Beatrice Brandini
From 19 May to 8 October at the Museo degli Innocenti in Florence opens the beautiful exhibition “Steve McCurry Children” by the famous American photographer.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
It is no coincidence that it is precisely this museum that hosts an exhibition dedicated to the theme of childhood, since the Istituto degli Innocenti has been involved in promoting and protecting children’s rights for more than six hundred years. A place designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, conceived to give a future to less fortunate children, entrusted to the care of the community.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
The exhibition, curated by Biba Giacchetti and Melissa Camilli, promoted by the Municipality of Florence in collaboration with the Istituto degli Innocenti, produced and organized by Civita Mostre e Musei, will be a gallery of portraits that narrates childhood in all its facets, children different in ethnicity, clothes, traditions, culture, uses and customs, but united by what that age represents (or should absolutely represent), or joy, light-heartedness, aggregation, play, feelings that you will see expressed in the splendid images, even in difficult contexts, characterized by conflicts or absolute poverty.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
Steve McCurry is certainly known all over the world, his iconic portrait of the Afghan girl immortalized in a refugee camp in 1984 has traveled around the world, becoming an emblem of the conditions suffered by children in war-torn territories. A photo that certainly raised awareness of a dramatic and absolutely urgent issue, even before the United Nations drafted the Conversion on the Rights of the Child, which came into force “only” in 1989.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
However McCurry’s message is one of trust in the future, the great photographer seems to tell us that as long as there are children there is hope, in fact the images on display show how children try to play even in the most difficult conditions. From Afghanistan to India, from Mexico to Lebanon to Italy, the exhibition describes the conditions of childhood, characterized by different lifestyles, but united by a universal language, that of children.
Steve McCurry Children press conference
Press conference Steve McCurry Children, the deputy mayor Alessia Bettini
Press conference Steve McCurry Children, the curator of exhibition the Biba Giacchetti
We admire, with a touch of emotion, refugee children, workers, the poor, in danger, but children who, despite everything, still want to play.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
McCurry’s shots strike and excite; in a world where wanting to appear and superficially prove to be someone has become necessary (why?), to see a teacher inside a shack who heroically tries to educate attentive students, in precarious conditions, to say the least, should be the cover image of books for students from all over the world.
Photos from the Steve McCurry Children exhibition
McCurry has published numerous books and won many of the top international photography awards, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award, and four times first prize in the World Press Photo Competition. In 2019, McCurry was inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame. He was made a knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture and the Royal Photographic Society of London which awarded him the Centenary Medal for Lifetime Achievement.
Steve McCurry
We have a great responsibility, and Steve McCurry slams it in our face, that of guaranteeing a better future for the next generations, since a different future depends on us and on what we already do today.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice