Biography

Marco Garofalo started working in the field of photography over two decades ago as a traditional printer and as an assistant to fashion and advertising photographers. He then moved onto photojournalism, covering social and cultural issues in his native Italy and around Africa, as well as pursuing architectural and personal research projects that connect photography and literature. After working as a Grazia Neri agency staff photographer for 5 years Marco went freelance.

His work has been published in numerous Italian and European magazines and showcased in galleries and at international photography events. He is currently staff photographer and exhibition curator for Africa Magazine, an Italian publication which documents the lesser known face of the African continent with the collaboration of some of the best reporters on the international scene.

Marco has published a number of photo books including 'Milano Porta Nuova' about the decade long urban transformation of an important central area of Milan, 'Tower Tales' covering art and design events at Milan's Torre Valesca and 'Energy Portraits', the culmination of three years of travel to three countries looking at the theme of energy in parts of the world where over one billion people still lack access to electricity.

With images from 'Energy Portraits', a collaboration with Matteo Leonardi, Marco won two important international photo competitions: InnoEnergy, Copenhagen 2018 and Gruppo Italia-Energia 2018. The work was also shortlisted for the Sony World Photo Award 2020 and was showcased at the COP26 UN Climate conference in Glasgow in 2021.

His work as set photographer for the documentary 'On the Bride's Side', about five Syrian refugees on their way to Stockholm, was screened at the 71st Venezia Festival and has been published in magazines worldwide.

In 2022 Marco started a new multimedia project called Concrete Jungle. The protagonists are young people living on the peripheries of society in various parts of Europe who express their sense of alienation through trap and drill culture that unites disparate groups of people across the world. This project was showcased at the Council of Europe in 2022 as one of the 40 best solutions to key challenges facing democracies worldwide.