ISPA WINNERS 2020
GRANT
WINNER
Nicolò Panzeri
FEED US
Food and nourishment have always gone hand in hand with humanity, which has shaped the food industry in its own image and likeness. In turn, the food industry has remodeled the common perception of food. New breakthroughs in the biochemical, biotechnological, physics, IT and engineering fields have paved the way for precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, robotics and industry 4.0 automation models (the fourth industrial revolution), thus affording the agri-food production industry a certain degree of independence. It is an industry that moves forward on its own two feet and makes mankind the guarantor of the relationship between human and ecological systems, shining a spotlight on issues such as environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, the circular economy, the reduction of production waste and activities geared towards its recovery. Three years after completing the first part of ‘Feed Us’, I travelled around the Italian peninsula again to examine the country's most innovative production facilities, analyzing the advances and achievements of the agri-food production, technical and scientific sectors during this period.
The photos from the project funded by the first edition of the ISPA competition were shot in Italy between May and October 2020.
Biography
Nicolò Panzeri (Milan, 1991) graduated from the Fondazione Studio Marangoni in Florence after completing a three-year course. The recurring themes in his work are those relating to the environment and mankind’s impact on it. Whilst, in some cases, the approach might be considered somewhat conceptual, it always includes documentary research of social interest. In April 2018, his ‘Feed Us’ project was included among those selected for Fotografia Europea in Reggio Emilia. In May 2018, he was chosen as one of the participants in a Masterclass course organized by Magnum Photos and given by Alex Majoli. The resulting project was presented at the Triennale di Milano as part of the Milano Photo Week program. For his ‘Feed Us’ project, in December 2018 he was chosen as one of the 15 finalists for the Ponchielli award. From January to March 2019, he was invited by Project for People to work for two months in India in the area around Kolkata, documenting the NGO's projects. In September 2019, on behalf of Oman's Ministry of Tourism, he shot a photographic campaign on Oman's new generation, which led to the 'Young: a new Omani generation' exhibition at the Fabbrica del Vapore art complex in Milan and was featured in La Repubblica's D magazine. In June 2020, ‘Feed Us’ was one of three projects to get a special mention at the 7th edition of the Graziadei awards.
