Between journalism and activism. How do photographers work in Belarus?

In 2020, the work of photographers in Belarus completely changed. Many old and new questions have come to the fore: is it necessary to distinguish between civic position and work? To what extent does going into society interfere with objectivity? Do we need objectivity when the ‘other side’ is not available and is most often dangerous? Yauhen Attsetski, a freelance photographer who photographed the events of 2020, proposes redefining the norms of modern journalism. Is this possible and necessary at all, we’ll discuss that with the photographer. The conversation will be moderated by Julia Volchok.

Yauhen Attsetski is a Belarusian photographer based in Minsk, working mainly in the field of documentary photography. As a photographer, he has worked with the UNDP, Red Cross, UNICEF Belarus, Sapiens Mag, and TIMER Mag. He is a co-founder of the school of photography fsh1.

Julia Volchok is a photo editor, producer and co-founder of the Belarusian photography platform SHKLO. She has worked as a photo editor on the Belarusian news portal TUT.BY and as a visual editor on the charity platform Imena. Engaged in multimedia projects, exhibitions, book creation, photographer consulting.