ANSA has unveiled the 2024 edition of
PhotoANSA, its traditional year-end book of photographic
reportage.
The year was marked by US President-elect Donald Trump's return
to the White House, which opens new scenarios on the worldwide
stage and on the future of ongoing wars.
And the images tell stories of suffering and destruction, from
Gaza to Ukraine, which are part of our daily lives and appear to
increasingly push away a dream of peace.
They portray elections in a divided, lost Europe that seeks to
reaffirm its role in the world, while European cities, like
Valencia, appear unable to bear the brunt of climate change.
This and much more is portrayed in the special 20th edition of
the book, which includes iconic images of the past few years.
"Uncertainty grows on the future and on imminent events at the
end of the electoral campaign most filled with hatred that we
can remember: Trump's past endeavours, which culminated in the
Capitol's occupation, are not reassuring", wrote ANSA President
Giulio Anselmi in the preface.
"New questions are open on the consequences of the aggression
unleashed by Putin against Ukraine and on the Middle East, which
occupy the subsequent chapters of the photo book dedicated to
2024 and intensify an increasingly extensive anguish that
involves Russia, China and flares up in the Middle East, from
Gaza to Lebanon, from Israel's attacks to the Blue Helmets.
Behind reported stories it is possible to see consolidated
balances cracking. The very idea of liberal democracies is
weakened and questioned: will they be able to support our
institutions? Will the global economy have in store more bad
surprises".
The opening photo dates back to November 6, when Donald Trump,
elected president of the United States for the second time,
points to his people, gathered at his headquarters in West Palm
Beach, Florida, symbolically handing them victory.
He addresses them with his raised fist after surviving an
assassination attempt on July 13 at a rally in Butler, he
mingles with the crowd at a McDonald's, he poses with a
metalworker's helmet and dances on stage, while enthusiasm
around Kamala Harris's candidature, supported by the star
system, inevitably appears ephemeral.
The images portray a reality that is far from the one seen in
the chapter dedicated to wars, where the children of Gaza, who
are hungry, dirty, without shoes, survive amid the rubble, while
one of them poses in a wedding gown, almost as if she wanted to
reaffirm a desire for life.
Meanwhile, in many parts of the world, people head to the
ballots, including in Europe, as portrayed by images of people
queueing to vote and of crowded squares, evoking the strength of
democracy, threatened by autocracies and by the unshakable power
of the economy's giants.
The world unites at the Paris Olympic Games with photos
unveiling the marvel of athletic bodies amid joys and
disappointments and in bidding farewell to Alain Delon,
described by the Figaro and Parisien newspapers as "The Last
Samurai", who poses alone or with the most fascinating actresses
of his time.
Italy can be seen in the images on the 70 years of television,
with programs from Indietro Tutta to Ballando con le Stelle
(Dancing with the Stars).
The last chapter features iconic photos from the last two
decades, from the drowned boy who washed up on a Turkish beach,
a symbol of the thousands of people who have died in the
Mediterranean Sea, to the lighting bolt striking St Peter's
Basilica, to the Costa Concordia cruise ship sinking in front of
the Giglio island, showcasing the strength of photography in
portraying the world.
Photoansa 2024 was unveiled on December 9 in Rome, at the Maxxi
contemporary art museum, at an event attended by Defence
Minister Guido Crosetto and physics Nobel laureate Giorgio
Parisi, among others.
It will debut on December 11 in Milan, at Palazzo Lombardia, at
a ceremony to be attended by Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana,
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, Intesa Sanpaolo President Gian Maria
Gros-Pietro and the interim President of Milan's Tribunal Fabio
Roia.
Guests from the world of sports will include judo champion Alice
Bellandi, Paralympian athlete Simone Barlaand and Roncadelle
Mayor Roberto Groppelli while principal dancer Roberto Bolle
will represent the world of ballet.
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