Congo in Conversation is an innovative collaborative chronicle, presented by the Carmignac Photojournalism Award and Finbarr O’Reilly, laureate of its 11th edition. It addresses the human, social, and ecological challenges that the Democratic Republic of Congo faces today.

The global health crisis and the urgent need to hear African voices testifying to local realities prompted O’Reilly, as well as the award team to create Congo in Conversation, a collaborative online photo essay, produced in close conjunction with Congolese journalists and photographers.

Health, confinement, the informal economy, artistic production, business, difficulties with access to water, as well as attacks by armed militias, human rights abuses, and the environment—by detailing the often cruel realities and the gigantic challenges facing the Congo, these photo essays sketch out the country’s present and future with tangible proof, powerful images, and prudent optimism. The contributing reporters, based in several places in the vast territory, are the representatives of a new generation which aspires to enact change in a country exploited, plundered, and oppressed for so long.

This collaborative photo essay gives us a picture as diverse and nuanced as life in the DRC, exposing the unprecedented crisis from many perspectives.

The PHOTOVILLE Festival, New York City’s free premier photo destination, returns for its 10-Year Anniversary as an immersive hybrid experience, featuring over 75 public art exhibitions in public spaces throughout New York City, in-depth panels, and interactive workshops.