photo_talks: What Moves You?
Gianni Cipriano: Politico
Editorial photographer Gianni Cipriano (New York Times, Le Monde) has been documenting the upheavals in Italian politics for l’Espresso for nearly a decade. He’ll present this ongoing project — Politico — in which he portrays the performers, audience, entourage and supporters, mimicry and gestures, of the farcical play known as Italian Democracy. The story features massive corruption, mismanagement, soaring youth unemployment, and economic and refugee crises that have led people to lose faith in the establishment’s ability to solve problems — which in turn has led to a startling rise in populism. Beyond the historical context and the geographical borders of the Bel Paese, Politico is a visual story about the art of politics and is a reflection on power and the capacity of individuals to influence the actions, beliefs, and conduct of others. Allen Frame leads the conversation and the Q&A after the presentation.
Watch the recording of this photo_talk
Gianni Cipriano is a Sicilian-born independent photographer based in Napoli, Italy. His work focuses on contemporary social, political, and economic issues. Gianni regularly works for The New York Times and has been documenting the ongoing upheaval in Italian politics for L’Espresso weekly magazine since 2013. His editorial work has also appeared in Time, Wired, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde Magazine, The Guardian Weekend Magazine, among others.
He graduated from the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism Program at the International Center of Photography in New York in 2008. He has received recognition and awards from POYI (Picture of the Year International), American Photography, New York Photo Awards, International Photography Awards, and the Ian Parry Scholarship.
Gianni’s work has been showcased in group exhibitions in venues such as the Rencontres d’Arles, FOLI Lima Biennale of Photography, MOPLA, Lumix Festival for Young Photojournalism and at the MAXXI museum in Rome.
Gianni teaches
lighting for environmental portraits
for StrudelmediaLive.
giannicipriano.com
Allen Frame is an artist, writer, curator, and educator based in New York, where his work is represented by Gitterman Gallery. In 2025, his solo exhibition Amalfi was presented at College of Charleston and his photographs exhibited at Kupper-Modern in Zurich and at the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College. He has released four books of photography, including Whereupon (Palermo Publishing, 2023); Innamorato (Meteoro Editions, 2023); Fever (Matte Editions, 2021); and Detour (Kehrer, 2001). He has also been the curator of many exhibitions, including Luxe, Calme, Volupte, co-curated with Sergio Bessa at Candice Madey Gallery, New York, in 2023, and Love and Jump Back, the Photography of Charles Henri Ford, at Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York, 2020-21. He received the Rome Prize from the American Academy in 2017/18. He teaches photography at Pratt Institute, School of Visual Arts, International Center of Photography, and for Strudelmedialive.com
Allen teaches"The Life You're In: The Joy and Pathos of Autobiography"
for StrudelmediaLive.
