The third Studio Aleppo will emerge at the Humanity House in The Hague (NL)! On 16 and 17 September the renowned Dutch photographer Robin de Puy will portray ‘old’ and ‘new’ citizens of The Hague in a pop-up studio. As a welcoming gesture, citizens of the city pay for two portraits: their own and a refugees’ portrait.
Portrait gallery of ‘all humans of The Hague’ at Humanity House
Just like the first Studio Aleppo [Amsterdam], all the portraits will be printed on the spot and exhibited, transforming the Humanity House into a Studio Aleppo with photos of all humans of The Hague. The remains of a collection of glass plates, negatives and prints from a photo studio in Aleppo by Issa Touma (the starting point of Studio Aleppo) are on show as well. The gallery can be visited free from 20 September – 30 October.
How to participate as a ‘Hagenaar’
Residents from The Hague: would you like to participate in this international project? You can register from 31 August on the Humanity House website. Locals pay €50,- for a portrait of themselves or their family (max. 4 persons per image). With this contribution they also make the portrait of a newcomer possible, so there are no costs for participating refugees. All participants receive a small (10 x 15 cm) print of the portrait taken at the studio.
Robin de Puy
Robin de Puy graduated from the Fotoacademie Rotterdam in 2009. She subsequently won the Photo Academy Award 2009 and was nominated for various photography prizes. Her work is published in a number of national and international magazines, including New York magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, ELLE, L’Officiel, Volkskrant, LINDA and many more. In 2016 she was named ‘Photographer of the Netherlands’ (Fotograaf des Vaderlands).
About Studio Aleppo
One morning, Syrian photographer Issa Touma found the remains of a collection of glass plates, negatives and prints from a photo studio in Bawabet Al Qasab street, made between the 20s and 70s. Studio Aleppo presents these images from the past today, in order to honour the lost people of Aleppo.
In addition, Studio Aleppo is a pop-up photo studio, where citizens of the city where the project is on display are invited to have their portrait taken by a prominent local photographer. Refugees who have arrived in this city are invited to do the same. The photos are added to an evolving collection, to be displayed side by side in a portrait gallery and online on www.studioaleppo.eu. Through photographing the recently arrived refugees and including them in a collection of portraits, the project aims to stimulate a feeling of recognition and inclusion.
Foto: Fred Ernst