Visual Storytelling

Light, Land, and Language - Reimagining Documentary Practice

79 min · October 2026 · Featuring Ed Kashi

How does the place we come from shape the way we see, and what happens when light, land, and language become part of photographic vocabulary itself? Photography is often described as a universal language, but there is no singular perspective or neutral way of seeing. Geography, culture, spirituality, memory, and personal history all shape what we view, what we overlook, and how we interpret the world around us. Light may influence atmosphere and belief; landscape can hold history and belonging; and language can determine not only how stories are told but also how they are understood. This conversation challenges established documentary practices. What kinds of images emerge when photography is allowed to carry belief, memory, cultural inheritance, and the particular language of a place? Artist Marwan Bassiouni, whose work explores faith, identity, landscape, and belonging through a distinctive conceptual photographic language, is joined by contributing photographer to The VII Foundation Ed Kashi, whose long-standing practice in documentary photography and visual storytelling has continually expanded the boundaries of the form. Together, they reflect on how place, culture, and lived experience shape photographic vision, and on what becomes possible when documentary practice moves beyond simply recording the world toward more personal, layered, and interpretive ways of understanding it. This event is held in collaboration with Laura El-Tantawy of PLATFORM2020, an online hub for documentary photography, rooted in Africa & SWANA and open to the world.