Quick Facts
Biography
Alex Majoli (born 1971, Ravenna, Italy) is an Italian photographer associated with Magnum Photos known for his documentation of war and conflict.
Career
Majoli joined the f45 studio in Ravenna at age 15 where he worked with Daniele Casadio, and then studied at the Art Institute in Ravenna, graduating in 1991. While there he joined the Grazia Neri Agency for which he traveled to Yugoslavia, Kosovo, and Albania to document the conflict. In 1999 he went to Greece and documented the closing of an insane asylum on Leros and the reintroduction of the inmates to society. In 1995 he went to South America to work on his project Requiem in Samba, and where he also worked on Hotel Marinum about port cities all over the world. In the late 1990s he also began making documentary films.
In 2001 he became a full member of Magnum Photos, at which time he also began documenting the Taliban in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has contributed to such publications as Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, Granta, Vanity Fair and National Geographic. In 2004 he created an exhibition, Off Broadway, along with Thomas Dworzak, Paolo Pellegrin and Ilkka Uimonen, which was shown in SoHo.
He was one of the photographers who trained Andrea Rocchelli, the photojournalist killed in Ukraine in May 2014 while reporting on the Ukrainian conflict following the Maidan Protests.
Alex Majoli and his wife Daria produce L'Amata brand olive oil in Sicily.
He lives in New York City. He has worked with Leica and Olympus cameras.
Awards
- 2002, Pesaresi Prize, Festival Foto
- 2003, Infinity Award for Photojournalism, the International Center of Photography
- 2004, Feature Photography Award, the Overseas Press Club
- 2004, Magazine Photographer of the Year, Best of Journalism Contest, National Press Photographers Association
- 2004, Honorable Mention, Oskar Barnack Award
- 2002/04 Several citations at the Picture of the Year International Award
Exhibitions
- 1988, Pensiamoci stanotte, La Galleria, Ravenna, Italy
- 1997, Slave, Casa do Olodum, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
- 1998, Bambini, Palazzo Reale, Genova, Italy
- 1999, Leros, Galleria Immagina, Venice, Italy
- 1999, Massacre, Radiosity Gallery, Milan, Italy
- 2000, Leros, Ospedale Psichiatrico Paolo Pini, Milan, Italy
- 2004, Leros, VeryTrolley Gallery, London, UK
- 2006, Mi manchi Magazino dello zolfo, Ravenna, Italy
- 2006, Leros Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, Italy