Paolo Troilo
Italy
Born in Taranto, Paolo now lives and works in Milan and Palermo.
A self-taught artist, he first began drawing in pencil at the age of 4.
Paolo studied Architecture and Modern Literature at the University of Florence, then in Rome at the European Institute of Design.
He has worked as Creative Director for several prestigious international advertising agencies. In 2007 he was nominated best Italian creative by the Art Directors Club Italiano (ADCI).
In April 2005, in parallel with his advertising activity, Paolo’s career as a professional artist began when he started painting with his fingers for fun (he had forgotten to buy the brushes). It is thanks to his technique of dipping the tip of his fingers directly into jars of black and ivory acrylic that he became one of a kind in the art world.
Paolo’s works have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, in Milan, Rome, Florence, Madrid, Paris, Singapore, San Francisco, Istanbul, Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.
“Be Water, my friend” said Bruce Lee in his famous interview on the Pierre Berton Show. Because water can understand and therefore take whatever form it encounters, adapting itself with the power to caress or destroy
Roberto Ridi
Italy
Born on the Island of Elba
From an early age Roberto nurtured a love for professional photography. Moving from the magic of B/W to a passion for colour, he has lived through the transition of the curiosity of photographic film to the speed of digital photography, replacing the blackness of the dark room with a screen overflowing with creativity and colour.
A professional photographer since 1980, Roberto is a visual storyteller specialising in naturalistic reportage, ranging from aerial photography to underwater, from portraiture to landscape, always keeping a close and careful focus on Man and Nature’s designs.
Roberto is author of numerous international publications and responsible for setting up the Tuscan Archipelago National Park’s photographic archive
The sea is what water means to me, a magnificent liquid, the sky's mirror. I live on an island, embraced by this immense element, changing, unstoppable, capable of instilling serenity but commanding respect, both gentle and mighty. From the transparency of the surface to its dark depths, it is like the human soul
GMB Akash
Bangladesh
Born in Bangladsh
He grew up in a home far removed from my profession.
Throughout His childhood he did not have access to photographers, their work, or even a camera.
Photography did not exist for him in theory or in practice. Then a decade later, he found his father’s old camera and his life took a different turn. His fascination for the captured image was uncontainable and overcame everything — even his inexperience. Not knowing what he was doing or why, he went everywhere shooting anything and everything that caught my attention. The only thing he was certain of were the subjects he photographed.
He concentrated on people living on the edge of society because their faces, lives, and living conditions held a particular fascination for him. Gradually he became absorbed in their daily lives for months on end, learning from their experiences.
His desire to capture it all on film pushed him to go to places and to meet people he never would have encountered otherwise. Each visit gave him a deeper understanding of humanity.
As he improved in his art over the years, his work has been featured in over 100 major, international publications including: National Geographic, Vogue, Time, Sunday Times, Newsweek, Geo, Stern, Der Spiegel, The Fader, Brand Ein, The Guardian, Marie Claire, Colors, The Economist, The New Internationalist, Kontinente, Amnesty Journal, Courier International, PDN, Die Zeit, Days Japan, Hello, and Sunday Telegraph of London.
He has received more than 100 international photography awards and recognition starting in 2002 when he became the first Bangladeshi to be selected for the World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass in the Netherlands. He was one of the speakers at the fifth Global Investigative Journalism Conference, held at Lillehammer, Norway in 2008 and as well as at Ted Talk at TEDxOporto 2011, in Portugal where He was the first Bangladeshi to speak for this event. Also He was one of the speakers at TEDxHyderabad 2017. In the same year, 2017, He was one of the speakers at the "7th Forum of Emerging Leaders in Asian Journalism", in Yogyakarta, Indonesia".
He has had Solo Exhibitions from 2006 to 2018 in Bangladesh, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, the USA in New York, N.Y. and Charleston, S.C, as well as in the Czech Republic and Greece.
Some people have no time to enjoy the rain because they remain too busy collecting drinking water. Please do not waste a drop of water, someone out there is spending hours just trying to get some!
Yann Arthus Bertrand
France
Photographer, environmentalist, filmmaker, the father of aerial photography
When taking a drink is as easy as turning a tap, it is easy to forget that our water supply is fragile and that hundreds of millions of people do not have clean drinking water or proper sanitation.
Elina Manninen
Finland
Photographer. Water lover
To have the waters clean for the coming generations is a big task and close to my heart.
Elia Locardi
United States
World Travel Photographer, Keynote Speaker, Creative Entrepreneur
The most extraordinary beauty can be found in the water.
Claudia Hinterseer
Hong Kong
Video producer and educator
Water is our lifeline and can be life threatening. Here’s to depicting and reflecting upon it in all its glory.
Mario Macilau
Monzambique
Photographer and environmental activist.
Issues addressed to both water crises and climate change with the natural catastrophes risks, it poses to particular people, places and human systems, mostly in Africa where the base of infrastructures are absents in certain location, locals are suffering for water and young children are often missing school due the taken long journey looking for water.
Ying Ang
Australia
Photographer, director and educator
Water is life.
Loredana De Pace
Italy
Photo Editor, art curator and journalist
Clear, sweet fresh water... (Petrarca)
