Ricardo García Vilanova
Spanish freelance photographer and video journalist
www.ricardogarciavilanova.com
Ricardo García Vilanova (Barcelona, 1971) has been a freelance photographer and video journalist for over 15 years. He specialises in conflicts and humanitarian disasters. In recent years he has witnessed at firsthand the Arab uprisings (first in Libya and since 2011 working fulltime on Syria). His purpose is always the same: to use his camera to show situations in which the human rights of people, especially children, are violated. As a video journalist he has worked for, among others, Channel 4, APTN, Reuters and Euronews. His photographs have been distributed by numerous agencies (AFP, Corbis, etc.), published in media around the world and used by Al Jazeera, BBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC and France24 among others. He has collaborated with organisations including the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch and Doctors Without Borders. His work has been exhibited worldwide and won prestigious photography and video awards and mentions including Rory Peck, POYI Pictures of the Year International, PX3 for war journalism, the International Photography Award and Global World: Through the Lens of Human Rights. When Ricardo covers a conflict, he believes that photographers have to share the story they experience with the victims of war so that they can tell it. In spite of the high costs involved, Ricardo continues to be a freelancer in order to preserve his freedom and independence. The award ceremony took place on 22 May at CaixaForum Barcelona, the Obra Social ‘la Caixa’ Social and Cultural Centre, and was chaired by Patrocinio Macián, President of the Miguel Gil Moreno Foundation, with Javier Bardají, Television General Manager at Atresmedia, Marc Marginedas, war correspondent of El Periódico, and David Trias, Literary Director at Plaza & Janés.
