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Slide #13113
Fausto Podavini

Photographer

Fausto Podavini

In the Middle of Black Christianity

“In the Middle of Black Christianity” is a photographic project made in the Tigray Region, located in the northern part of Ethiopia. This is an anthropological work that wants to give back its identity to a country that, in the last years, it’s been subject to investments both from Europeans and Chinese that are making important and irreversible changes. This is an in-depth analysis of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; a unique autochthon religion of central Africa.
Even though in the past years Ethiopia has been subject to many social-political dispute but Ethiopia has always been able to preserve its own history and religious institutions. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church became the spiritual guidance of the population.
Ethiopia represents the only case of African autochthon Christianity, not imported from Europe. Based on ancient tradition of direct apostolic.

Fausto Podavini

Fausto Podavini was born in Rome, where he currently lives and works. He began his photographic journey first as an assistant and studio photographer, to approach gradually to photo-reportage. Podavini has also been part of MIFAV Tor Vergata University, where got to know and been in contact with many photographers. After abandoning studio photography to devote himself exclusively to reportage, he then embarked himself as a freelance, working with various non-profit organization for the realization of reports in Italy, Peru, Kenya and Ethiopia, where he currently is pursuing some personal photo projects. In 2009 he began a collaboration with the Collective WSP, joined permanently in 2010, where, in addition to work as a photographer in collective projects, he works as a professor of Photojournalism. In addition to his various reports in Africa, South America and India, Podavini has carried out important work on the Italian territory such as a report on sport for disabled, a report in a juvenile prison and a work on Alzheimer's disease, with whom he won the Daily Life section of the World Press Photo 2013.  His works have won international awards such as The World Press Photo in 2013 and 2018, Il Poy in 2016 and 2018, Sony, Yves Rocher Grant and have been published in the most important international magazines such as 6Mois, LeVie / LeMonde, GEO ES, Stern, Internzainale, Donna Moderna, National Geographic, Days Japan and has exhibited in major cities such as New York, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome.