[PhotoSparks] ‘Photos can change the world’ – Daryanto Wibowo, Antara Gallery

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this photo essay, we showcase some of the outstanding examples of photojournalism for social change at the Antara Gallery in Jakarta!

In the earlier 130 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

My recent travels took me to Southeast Asia for the Jakarta Java Jazz Festival and Singapore Design Week. I also had a chance to visit the Antara Gallery and Neo Journalism Club, which promote photojournalism and citizen activism in Indonesia. Photographs and investigative reporting have a major role to play in raising awareness about social, political and environmental causes – though concerns have also been raised about the rise of ‘fake news’ and ‘doctored’ pictures for propaganda purposes.

International awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo regularly promote outstanding works of reporters using the photographic medium (see also my earlier photo essays on the exhibition ‘60 Solutions’ by Yann Arthus-Bertrand for promoting awareness about climate change). Cartoonists have also taken up creative ways of expression for social awareness using satire and humour (see my photo essays on Ukrainian cartoonist Vladimir Kazanevski and the Women’s Day exhibition at the Indian Cartoon Gallery).

“Photos can change the world. Use the power of photographs for the cause of justice and progress,” said Daryanto Wibowo, Program Manager for Partnerships and Education, in a chat at the Antara Gallery.

The photos in this showcase capture peaceful citizen protests, empowerment of the differently abled, environmental destruction, animal poaching, natural disasters, urban congestion, river pollution, and protests against terrorism. So how are you using photographs this week to nudge our world in a better and more progressive direction?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.