NOOR is an international

photo A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and pra ...

agency and foundation owned and directed by the member photographers under a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...

model. It is headquartered in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, with photographers based worldwide. The agency is known for producing independent visual reports that stimulate positive social change, and impact views on human rights and other issues of global concern.

History

NOOR Images was launched in 2007 at Visa pour l’Image festival by the former managing director Claudia Hinterseer and member photographers Pep Bonet, Stanley Greene, Yuri Kozyrev, Kadir van Lohuizen, Francesco Zizola and former members Jan Grarup, Samantha Appleton, Philip Blenkinsop and Jodi Bieber. The agency later received new members: Jon Lowenstein in 2008, Nina Berman in 2009, Alixandra Fazzina in 2010, and Andrea Bruce in 2011, Bénédicte Kurzen in 2013, Sebastián Liste and Asim Rafiqui in 2014, and Tanya Habjouqa and Robin Hammond in 2016. As of August 2015, Clément Saccomani is the new managing director of the agency. In March 2009, the NOOR Foundation launched its first masterclass in documentary photography in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, inviting 15 African photojournalists from seven countries. Since then, the NOOR Foundation has organized workshops, masterclasses, seminars, lectures and other educational activities, in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(2010),

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

(2011)

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

(2011),

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

(2012),

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

(2013),

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

(2013, 2015),

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

(2014),

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(2015) and

(2015). NOOR works in close collaboration with educational organizations and professional photographers, all experienced teachers and lecturers in documentary photography.

Photographers

Climate Change by NOOR

Climate Change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

by NOOR is a long-term group project that focuses on two issues. The first, ‘Consequences by NOOR’ is an eyewitness record of the devastating effects of climate change around the globe. Produced in the autumn of 2009, these visual reportages show not ‘what might happen’ in the future but what is happening right now, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the issues at stake. NOOR continued the project in autumn 2010, with 'Solutions' a visual project investigating what is and what can be done to slow down or reverse climate change. This focuses on human stories about alternative power sources, renewable energies, and attempts to alleviate, adjust or cope with the rise of global temperatures, the biggest challenge our world has ever faced.

Urban Survivors by NOOR

In 2011, NOOR partnered with

Doctors Without Borders Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...

to raise an awareness campaign on the living conditions in the urban settlements around the world. The project has been executed in Bangladesh, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, Pakistan, Honduras and South Africa by seven NOOR photographers with the aim of casting a light on the challenges that overpopulation is setting up for the future. The project resulted in the Urban Survivors web documentary made by Darjeeling Productions featuring photo-films – the website was nominated for the 2012

Webby Awards The Webby Awards (colloquially referred to as the Webbys) are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over three thousand industry experts a ...

– and a travelling photo exhibition.

The New Brazil by NOOR

The New Brazil is a group project by NOOR photographers focusing on the fast development that Brazil is experiencing in recent years. Through a multifaceted approach, NOOR photographers put a spotlight on this growing and complex modern society, creating an eyewitness record of the many faces of the world’s fifth largest country, both geographically and in population count, and the seventh – and fastest growing – economic power on the planet. The New Brazil has been produced by NOOR photographers in 2012 and consists of 8 different features.

Za'atari by NOOR

The Syrian war has created an unprecedented refugee crisis with millions of Syrians displaced. Nearly 100,000 refugees live on a stretch of land in northern Jordan at the Za’atari camp, now the second largest refugee camp in the world. Located 12 kilometers from the Syrian border, the camp opened with just 100 families in July 2012. In December 2013 – January 2014, four NOOR photographers documented life at Za’atari. Around 100 of these photographs were then printed larger than life and pasted on 120 meters of the camp’s security walls as a way to humanize the architecture and give visitors and stakeholders an immediate impression of the people and life inside. The Za’atari project was a collaboration between UNHCR, JEN, and produced by Nina Berman.

References

External links

NOOR Photo Agency

NOOR Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:NOOR Images Artist cooperatives Photojournalism organizations Dutch photography organisations Cooperatives in the Netherlands Companies based in Amsterdam Photo agencies