#58 - From Magnum Photos to the Banlieue: William Keo on building bridges through photography

Recorded live at Les Rencontres d'Arles, this episode brings you into conversation with World Press Photo winner William Keo, a French photographer born into a family of Cambodian refugees. His work has taken him from NGO assignments in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon and the Syrian refugee crisis, to conflict zones in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, and eventually into Magnum Photos, where he was represented from 2021 to 2024. William talks openly about being an introvert in an industry that rewards extroversion, about the years he spent testing his own limits as a young photojournalist, and about the project closest to his heart: Extra Muros, a deeply personal document of the French banlieue where he grew up. For this project, he received this year's World Press Photo Award. Together, Kaat and William talk about resilience, why photographers are terrible at editing their own work, why he believes a photo book outlasts everything else, and what it takes to build bridges between your images and the people who will never walk into a gallery.What you'll learn in this episodeHow William turned a low social battery and years of shyness into a way of connecting quickly and honestly with the people he photographs.Why he believes photographers are among the worst editors of their own work, and how an outside eye (Peter van Agtmael among others) reshaped the edit of his portfolio.What three years inside Magnum Photos taught him about identity as a photographer, and why he chose not to pursue full membership.How Extra Muros grew from small chapters shot among friends and neighbours into a World Press Photo-winning body of work about the French banlieue.Why he's convinced a photo book, not an exhibition or a magazine cover, is what actually resists through time.About the guestWilliam Keo (b. 1996, Paris) is a French photographer born into a family of Cambodian refugees. His work explores migration, social exclusion and intercommunity intolerance. He began his career working for NGOs, covering the Syrian refugee crisis, the conflict in Darfur, migration in Europe and the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, before turning to the cycles of violence following the fall of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and international news including the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Israel and Palestine. He was represented by Magnum Photos from 2021 to 2024. His work has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, Le Monde, Libération, Vogue and New York Magazine. For his ongoing personal project Extra Muros, documenting the lives of marginalised descendants of post-colonial immigrants in the French banlieue, he received a World Press Photo Award this year.William Keo, website World Press Photo, website MasterclassesWant more input like this? Join our online masterclasses with international top photographers. Next up: Iranian documentary photographer Ebrahim Alipoor on August 27 at 4 PM, on how to plan a project without budget, access or a network. After that, an in-depth class with Pieter van Agtmael. Join live or get the replay for a small additional fee. All info at here Free webinarAfter years of working with top photographers through this podcast, in masterclasses and in 1:1 mentoring, Kaat noticed a clear pattern: the photographers who keep growing all do a handful of things remarkably consistently. In a free webinar, she walks you through those five things and shows you how to apply them in your own way. It's free, and full of insight. Sign upPartner: CameraNUThis episode is supported by CameraNU. Need honest advice on your next lens, or a camera you can rely on during a client shoot? Their specialists think along with you. As a De Donkere Kamer listener, you get 10% off your next purchase with code DDK10 at cameranu.be.If you want to work on your own photography or your business, check out donkerekamer.com. That is where you'll find everything about mentoring, masterclasses and workshops.