Elisa Iannacone speaking at Xposure International Photography Festival

The Transformative
Power of Empathy

Award Winning Global Artist

Elisa is the recipient of the Alfred Fried Peace Medal (2024), a Nobel Peace Prize Legacy recognition, awarded in partnership with the Austrian Parliament and UNESCO. She is the winner of the Global Peace Photo Award for both Series and Photo of the Year ('24-'25), and her work is displayed in the Austrian Parliament and South African Constitutional Court's Permanent Museum Collections.

As an experienced journalist and cinematographer, she has developed a personal voice that combines journalistic interviews with magical realism, to address current affairs in a unique and impactful way. By delving deep into personal narratives and global events, she captures the essence of trauma and resilience, transforming raw interviews into compelling artistic expressions. Through her innovative approach, Elisa uses art not only to approach critical issues, but to explore the emotional and psychological layers of these stories, offering audiences a profound and immersive understanding of the subjects she covers.

“Sometimes I get frustrated that I am still on dialysis. I get very bored, I can’t get out or go anywhere. I dream of flying away to another country; the nurses would help me escape. Flying with balloons.”

From the 'Dreams of Childhood' series at the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital, addressing chronic illness in childhood.

“My first response was flight – to escape the horror I’d experienced. But soon after I realised I had survived and found myself turning back, determined to fight for change. Ballet became a creative outlet; it gave me a sense of grounding.”

From 'The Spiral of Containment' book and art exhibition, addressing the impact of sexual assault.

"At times you feel an unraveling, like yarn stemming from your brain."

From a mental health awareness campaign for L'Altre Festival in Spain.

"I can't take my mask off because my family, friends or property can be targeted back home."

From 'Humans of the Forgotten War', a project addressing the impact of the war in Cameroon.

"Everything around me felt like a circus."

From 'The Spiral of Containment' book and art exhibition, addressing the impact of sexual assault.

“Sometimes I feel like the walls are closing-in, but I picture myself as a model and designer. I am so in love with fashion, I imagine myself in this huge pink dress!”

From 'Dreams of Childhood', created at the Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital with kids suffering from chronic illness in South Africa.

"My mother burned my leg and left me. I only found my strength again when my adoptive mother took me in. Her favourite colour is purple. I want to ride a purple horse, with four legs to hold me"

From "A Place to Hide from Monsters", a project exploring the impact of severe trauma on young children.

“The morning after image is the one that stuck with me, like a hurricane, being in the centre, in the eye of the storm.”

From 'The Spiral of Containment', book and art exhibition addressing the impact of sexual assault.

The Anglophone Crisis taking place in Southern Cameroon is one of the most neglected conflicts happening in the world today. Hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the cross-fire between the Francophone military forces and the Anglophone separatists have become refugees and asylum seekers. Moving from one country to the next, they often spend months in the jungle, never able to settle or find 'home'.

From "Humans of the Forgotten War", a project addressing the impact of the war in Cameroon.

Elisa Iannacone on stage with His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Xposure International Photography Festival

After working and traveling to nearly 80 countries, Elisa has become a Canon Ambassador with a true global perspective, producing work for international exhibitions such as Xposure International Photography Festival in the UAE, the OXO Tower Bargehouse Gallery and Mexican Consulate in London, Nirox Sculpture Park and the Cape Town Art Fair in South Africa, and outlets such as Newsweek, National Geographic, and BBC World News. Through her travels, she has become an established interviewer and keynote speaker, having been a television guest in the UK, and presented at events for NATO, the Austrian Parliament and numerous international conferences.

Covering challenging environments, from the Rabaa massacre in Cairo, to domestic violence within Iraqi refugee camps as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, has fuelled her work with social consciousness. Her traveling art exhibition and book, The Spiral of Containment: Rape's Aftermath, detail her experience as a rape survivor healing trauma alongside 24 fellow survivors' voices, through the mediums of photography, film, holographic projections and soundscapes. Her work as Director of Photography has screened on television, film festivals around the globe, and online platforms such as Amazon Prime.

Elisa Iannacone - TV Show Guest Appearance UK

A Revolutionary Storyteller

The Transformative
Power of Empathy

SHARJAH GOVT
MEDIA BUREAU

AS SEEN ON

The Transformative Power of Empathy

SHARJAH GOVT MEDIA BUREAU

AS SEEN ON

The Transformative
Power of Empathy

SHARJAH GOVT
MEDIA BUREAU