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28.10.2014

SMART IS LAUNCHED WITH THE TWO PHOTOGRAPHERS LUANA LETTS AND NIELS ACKERMANN

Luana Letts arrived in Sierre (Valais, Switzerland) in mid-October and Niels Ackermann in Huaraz (Peru) almost at the same time. With the arrival of these first two artists, SMArt is now truly underway.

Luana Letts is a Peruvian photographer living in Lima. Motivated by the environmental situation in her country – Peru faces severe environmental problems linked to climate change, water distribution, waste management and mass migration – she has been developing her work around the transformation of the landscape, as well as the different uses people make of the land and their integration strategies.
During her residency she has chosen to work on natural risks and water. Her artwork will be shown at the Maxxx art gallery in Sierre from 27 November to 7 December 2014.

 

Niels Ackermann is a Swiss photographer with a background in photojournalism and political sciences. In his personal projects he likes to focus on small, delimited communities. He spends as much time as possible in the same location, developing an intimate connection with the people he photographs, learning their language, culture and experiencing their daily life.

 

For SMArt Niels Ackermann has chosen to work in the region of Huaraz. This city, which is as large as Lausanne, is threatened by huge glacial lakes formed by the melting Andean glaciers. In the past few decades, more than 20,000 people have already died in this region because of deadly landslides. Nonetheless, people continue to build there. By living in the city, Niels Ackermann will try to understand how the people of Huaraz live under this constant threat.

 

A joint exhibition of the work of Luana Letts and Niels Ackermann will also be held at COP20, the international conference on climate change, in Lima in December 2014.

Niels Ackermann's first photos

Luana Letts