Bastart meets Humans of Paris

When you’re 16, the world is at your reach. When you’re 16 and live in Paris, you know its people, streets and secrets a whole lot better than Google and Wikipedia put together. What you do next, is setting up a project – photography + short stories – to share that beauty with the others. Marco Hazan and Eytan Levi are two Parisian teenagers who one day wrote to Brandon Stanton, got his “Ok” and on the next morning, launched their own HO: Humans of Paris. Today, they are among the oldest (!) “Humans of” initiatives worldwide and are looking ahead. When you’re 16, nothing can stop you. Ok, the final exams in History and French can suspend you from posting… for a couple of weeks.

Bastart incontra People of Catania

Cento(mila) anni fa c’era il Film Muto, con il suo “handicap” splendidamente mascherato dal fascino del bianco & nero e dalle brevi didascalie tra le cornici stile Liberty. Cento(mila) anni dopo, una ragazza, fotografa, e un suo amico, scrittore, ci aggiungono un po’ di sole della Sicilia. Risultato? Colori e libertà di improvvisazione: una poesia di Pascoli diventa un verso di Baustelle, un incontro immaginario si trasforma in una storia vera, da una breve citazione nasce un racconto intero… E le cornici stile Liberty? Boh, se le sarà mangiate il solito lupo cattivo. Ornella Tartaglia ci racconta del suo progetto, “People of Catania”.

Bastart incontra People of London

Storie. Che siano nascoste nelle scarpe o stampate sul sorriso, tutti ne abbiamo almeno una. E i nove milioni di anime di Londra, quante ne avranno..? Il fotografo Roberto Zampino crea “People of London” per indagare l’aspetto più umano e meno riconosciuto della capitale inglese, ciò che ne fa la città multiculturale e multietnica per eccellenza. Raccoglie le storie una dopo l’altra, anzi le preleva con scatti “indolori e veloci”: brevi o lunghe che siano, fanno tutte parte della stessa “polpa” di Londra.

Bastart meets Humans of Karachi

Living Human Treasure, ever heard about such term? Put in very simple words, it is a kind of Oscar that some nations give to their most renowned artisans. Well, after a glimpse to Humans of Karachi, you might well start thinking it is not just “high art” that defines a country’s living treasures. The HO project, launched by photographer Khaula Jamil together with Citizens Archive of Pakistan, brings stories and images of common Karachiites – “resilient survivors with an almost unhealthy passion for their city” – into a photographic census of a touching beauty. Ode to the living human treasures, that’s right.

Bastart meets Humans of the Fiji Islands

Beauty, diversity, humanity – these are the three “elements” able to transform a busy lawyer, caught in the very middle of his busy day, into a street photographer whose camera avidly captures every colour, texture, emotion. Jon Apted founds Humans of the Fiji Islands for a pure joy of celebrating and sharing the beauty of his country – through its people. Although “free” from any long-term plans, his ever-growing archive of photo-portraits is a precious contribution to Fijians living home and abroad.

Bastart meets Humans of Buenos Aires

“People are strange when you’re a stranger. Faces look ugly when you’re…” Ok. You may keep the tune, but change the adjective: here in Buenos Aires people, first of all, are interesting. A single word can change an attitude? Humans of Buenos Aires believe that yes. Jimena Mizrahi set up the project to give a space where everyone could get to see a bit more of “specialness”, a bit less of a “stranger”. In each of us.