Ricardo Garcia Vilanova (born 1971, Barcelona) is a freelance Catalan
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
and videojournalist, specialized in conflict zones and humanitarian crises. He has reported on the
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
and
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
conflicts. He has published his work for journals and magazines like ''Life, Newsweek, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, Liberation, Paris Match, The Guardian, The Times, Die Welt, Der Spiegel, Stern'', and many more. As a freelance video journalist, he has worked with CNN, BBC, Aljazeera, Channel 4, VICE, PBS, and Euronews, among others.
Biography
He studied photography at the
Polytechnic University of Catalonia
The Technical University of Catalonia ( ca, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, , es, link=no, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña; UPC), currently referred to as BarcelonaTech, is the largest engineering university in Catalonia, Spai ...
. He also studied image and sound at the School of Audiovisual Media of Barcelona ( EMAV). He started as a freelance journalist in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, working for NGOs. In
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
American magazine. Welford opened him the door to other international media, such as the
Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
, whose cover came to publish his works.
In November 2011, as part of the so-called
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
, and attended the first demonstrations against the
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
regime. Ricard Garcia Vilanova works with both a camera and a video camera. He uses a wide-angle lens for both tools. During the
Libyan civil war
Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...
, Garcia Vilanova made, together with Alberto Arce, his first documentary, ''Misrata, to win or die'' (2011), a
Rory Peck Award
The Rory Peck Award is an award given to freelance camera operators who have risked their lives to report on newsworthy events.Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in October 2011 and followed that country's conflict from the first popular protests until March 2014. During the Syrian Civil War, on September 16, 2013, he was abducted with journalist Javier. Thorny at the border control of
Tell Abyad
Tell Abyad; ku, گرێ سپی, Girê Spî; hy, Թել Աբյադ; syr, ܬܠ ܐܒܝܕ. is a town in northern Syria. It is the administrative center of the Tell Abyad District within the Raqqa Governorate. Located along the Balikh River, it const ...
, in the governorate of Ar-Raqqa, by Islamic State, as they attempted to leave Syria after two weeks covering the conflict. On October 4, the journalist Marc Marginedas had also been captured in Syria.
In 2015, the ''Ricard Garcia Vilanova, llampades en la foscor'' solo exhibit took place at La Virreina Center of Image, in Barcelona, curated by Ricard Mas Peinado.
Prizes and awards
He was candidate for the Pulitzer Prize in 2010, as promoted by The Wall Street Journal. Since then, he has been awarded with PX3 four times, and is a two-time winner from the following organisations: Pictures of the Year (POY), International Photography Awards (IPA), Moscow International Foto Awards, and LensCulture. He has also received awards from the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), Days Japan International, Mika Yamamoto International Journalist Award, and the International Press Club. As a video journalist, he has received the
Rory Peck award
The Rory Peck Award is an award given to freelance camera operators who have risked their lives to report on newsworthy events.World Press Photo of the Year Award.
Publications
* ''Fade to black. Rise and fall of the caliphate of ISIS. 2011-2019 Syria, Iraq and Libya''