Xposure showcases gripping images of global realities

Sharjah: From war zones and migration routes to communities living through prolonged crisis, the Photojournalism Zone at the Xposure International Photography Festival’s landmark 10th edition in Sharjah from 29 January to 4 February brings together photography created under risk and driven by the need to bear witness.

It brings together visual narratives produced from the field, including long-term documentation of enduring humanitarian crises, first-hand coverage of migrant journeys across borders, and work examining the lasting scars left by war on people and place. Collectively, these images position photography as a record that helps audiences understand unfolding realities around the world.

The Photojournalism Zone is structured around two core categories, Social Issues and War and Tragedies, offering a clear visual narrative that examines what lies beyond the image, including causes, consequences and the human cost often absent from headlines.

Social issues: long-term readings of society

The Social Issues theme brings together long-term documentary projects that examine how people live within systems shaped by change and pressure. These bodies of work are based on sustained observation rather than breaking news, allowing social conditions to emerge over time.

From Ricardo Lopes’ Blessed Ground, an image portraying Manica, Mozambique. Jaime (left), 14, Bernardo (centre), 13, and Filipe (right), 9, look into a pan as the eldest of the three brothers washes sediment, ensuring that mercury in the pan amalgamates any traces of gold.

Lisbon-based documentary photographer Ricardo Lopes represents this approach through ‘Blessed Ground’, a project that reflects his transition from daily news coverage to long-form visual investigations examining the social effects of economic and environmental change.

Ilvy Njiokiktjien draws on nearly two decades of experience documenting post-apartheid South Africa in ‘Born Free – Mandela’s Generation of Hope’, which follows a generation grappling with entrenched economic inequality.

Carol Allen-Storey presents ‘Defying the Myth: A photographic journal of love, resilience, and survival’, focusing on communities affected by conflict and disease, with particular attention to women and children, restoring depth and agency to stories often reduced to statistics.

Iranian-Canadian photographer Kiana Hayeri, who lived in Kabul for eight years, documents daily life in Afghanistan through ‘No Woman’s Land’, with a sustained focus on women and adolescents navigating shifting social realities.

From Ilvy Njiokiktjien’s Born Free - Mandela’s Generation of Hope, the work Farewell Nelson Mandela portrays a poster of former President Nelson Mandela placed on a chair during his memorial service at FNB Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. Due to rain and logistical challenges, the stadium is half full.

Migration and displacement are explored through Olivier Jobard’s ‘Our Afghan Family: A Memory of a Life Gone By’, produced through years of close engagement with migrant journeys across borders.

Paul Lukin examines the psychological dimensions of isolation and displacement in ‘Shadows of Solitude’, using restrained black-and-white photography to reflect inner states of uncertainty and loss.

Smita Sharma extends this examination through ‘We Cry in Silence’, a visual investigation into human trafficking and violence in South Asia, also published as a book.

War and Tragedies: when images serve as testimony

Within the War and Tragedies’ category, Xposure 2026 presents work produced under extreme conditions, where photography functions as testimony shaped by risk, urgency and consequence.

From Michael Christopher Brown’s The Difference Between Bullets and Stones, the work Release of a "Prisoner” portrays a scene in Al-Khader, West Bank, on May 15, 2018.

Michael Christopher Brown is recognised for his pioneering use of smartphone photography during the Libyan revolution in ‘The Difference Between Bullets and Stones’, a project rooted in first-hand experience on the front line.

Iraqi-American photographer Salwan Georges presents ‘The Syria I Found Again’, documenting contemporary crises from Ukraine to the Middle East through images that have since entered the US Library of Congress collection.

María Ximena Borrazás Cataldo focuses on the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in ‘The Scars of the War’, examining the human impact of violence and famine through award-winning work produced under restricted conditions.

From Syria, Ali Haj Suleiman presents ‘A Fight for the Truth’, drawing on years of documentation of displacement and human rights violations in Idlib, produced in collaboration with international organisations.

From Smita Sharma’s We Cry in Silence, the work Rekha and Deepa portrays Rekha and Deepa washing dishes at a public tubewell in Torpa, Jharkhand.

The category concludes with ‘A Decade Documenting Humanitarian Crisis’ by Giles Clarke, whose career spans major emergencies in Yemen, Somalia and Haiti. It includes field missions alongside former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Xposure 2026 expands the Photojournalism experience through dedicated sessions in which photographers present their professional journeys as complete bodies of work. Each session draws directly from field experience, addressing decision-making under risk and the ethics of working with affected communities.

Sessions include Ilvy Njiokiktjien on ‘Storytelling and Presenting Your Work’; Michael Christopher Brown on ‘The Difference Between Bullets and Stones’; Carol Allen-Storey in a panel discussion; Kiana Hayeri in ‘How Freedom Endures in Afghanistan’; Olivier Jobard in ‘A 12-Year Documentary Relationship’; Salwan Georges in ‘The Syria I Found Again’; Smita Sharma in ‘The Illusion of Snow’; and María Ximena Borrazás Cataldo in ‘The Scars of the War’.

Supporting independent photojournalists

Xposure 2026 reinforces its commitment to photojournalism through the Independent Freelance Photojournalist Award (IFPA).

Presented on 31 January as part of the festival programme, the award grants winners $15,000 alongside international recognition on the Xposure platform.