German Peace Prize for Photography | Nominiert

Mattia Velati

Milano / IT

Yemen: beauty on the edge of war.

Concept

After eight years of war, Yemen is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The second ceasefire between the Houthi rebels, who carried out a coup in 2014, and the government, supported by the Saudi-led coalition, ended in October 2022 and the violence resumed a few kilometers from Marib, the last city in the hands of the government in the north of the country. Aden has become the de facto capital of the southern state of Yemen and is in the hands of the STC, a secessionist party. In the collective imagination, Yemen is a country torn apart by war and desperation, but it's not just that. Marib and Aden bear signs of war but in both cities, life is slowly starting to normalize despite the fighting. The civilian population crowds the streets and seeks places of aggregation and diversion from a life that for years now has brought so much suffering, divided or wiped out entire families. It is a story dedicated to the Yemeni people, which seeks serenity in a war context.

Vita

I’m a freelance photojournalist from Milan, Italy

Geo France, Geo Spain, Le Monde Magazine, Le Figaro, La Croix, Liberation, Mariannne, Causette, Le Temps, Le Vif, Zoom, Il Reportage, L’Espresso, D – La Repubblica, Internazionale.

Education

Master of Arts, Master in Photojournalism, Danish School of Media And Journalism (DMJX) - Aarhus, Denmark

International Centre of Photography - New York - workshop

Bachelor's Degree , Foreign Languages And Literatures, Università Degli Studi Di Milano - Milano, Italy