Arianna Speranza

Arianna Speranza is an Italian photographer and anthropologist based in Rome. Fascinated by the magic of photography since she was very young, she began as a self-taught photographer, working with both analog and digital cameras, before refining her skills at photography schools. Her photographic practice focuses primarily on street photography, reportage, and documentary photography, exploring the intersection of spirituality, culture, and human connection. Her approach is rooted in anthropology and visual storytelling. She is particularly drawn to crowded streets, religious and cultural rituals, markets, and spontaneous encounters, where individual stories become part of a larger social and human landscape. Through photography, she observes and interprets the ways in which people inhabit public spaces, create connections, and express identity and belonging. Her greatest motivation comes from curiosity and emotion: her favorite photographs are those taken in moments when she felt truly transported and immersed in the context. Her work combines an observational approach with the instinct and immediacy of a street photographer, using the camera to connect with people, places, and stories. Her background in anthropology shapes what she looks for: collective rituals and celebrations, the way people behave when they gather. Her ambition is to combine photography with cultural exploration. Her work has been exhibited and selected for international photography festivals and exhibitions. Her photographs have been selected in competitions in different countries and recognized by photography organizations and festivals, including WSP New York Exhibition, Mexico Street Photo Fest, Fujifilm Photography Awards, Brussels Street Photography Festival, and Urban Photo Awards. Alongside her personal photographic research, Arianna organizes workshops, photowalks, photographic laboratories, and photography-focused trips in collaboration with different organizations and communities. She has led photowalks in Rome and at the Brussels Street Photography Festival and served on exhibition juries. She is currently developing a long-term project exploring the energy, emotions, and human connections that emerge during collective events and celebrations across different cultures, documenting the ways in which people come together and experience shared moments. Arianna’s photowalks are rooted in her approach to street photography: observing, moving through the scene, and staying open to the unexpected. Rather than focusing on specific techniques or predetermined subjects, she encourages participants to explore the city with curiosity, patience, and an attentive eye, looking for spontaneous interactions, gestures, contrasts, and moments that reveal something about the place and its people. Istanbul, a city she particularly loves and has visited several times, is the perfect setting for this experience: suspended between continents, cultures, traditions, and modernity, it offers an extraordinary variety of human encounters, visual contrasts, rhythms, and unexpected moments. Its constantly changing streets make it ideal for observing, getting lost, and photographing. During the photowalk, participants will be encouraged to become actively involved in the scene, responding to what happens around them and developing their own way of seeing. The aim is to experience street photography as a form of exploration: being present, connecting with the environment, and capturing fleeting moments that cannot be planned.