Bio
Marcio Pimenta “Pepper” is an explorer, photographer, filmmaker and speaker.
He is a member of The Explorers Club and a National Geographic Explorer. His work is dedicated to witnessing the history of humanity, marked by conquests and losses.
With the support of the National Geographic Society, between 2022 and 2023 he embarked on a solo expedition of more than 11,000 km (6,835 miles) across land and sea following the trails described by Charles Darwin in his travel journal. Pimenta documented the socio-anthropological observations, the landscapes and Darwin's legacy still present in Patagonia.
A graduate in economics, with doctoral work in international relations and specializing in American studies, Pimenta abandoned his academic career in 2013 to focus on a career as a storyteller.
In 2016 and 2017, he was in Iraq to cover the war against ISIS and the rebirth of Yazidi women. This work resulted in his first photobook, published in 2020, "Yazidis."
Between 2018 and 2020, he traveled to several countries in South America to document how human beings transform landscapes to obtain water, energy and food.
As a witness to important events of our time, Pimenta hopes that the result of his work will be used for anthropological, sociological, economic, geographic, historical and aesthetic studies.
Pimenta splits his time between Patagonia and the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, with his wife.
Rory Peck Trust and Pulitzer Center Fellow.
Rory Peck Trust and Pulitzer Center Fellow.
Books
Yazidis, 2020. Photo Book. Hard Cover. 88 pages. ISBN: 978-65-991632-0-3
Publisher: Artisan Raw Books.
Awards and Grantees
National Geographic Explorer 2022
Gabriel Garcia Marquez Prize 2022 (Finalist)
Mário de Andrade Prize for Ethnographic Photography - National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN), Brazil 2022 (Honorable mention)
Princess Isabel Photography Prize, Palmares Foundation (Finalist)
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - 2021 - "Clash of Civilizations", Tierra del Fuego, Chile
XVI Marc Ferrez Photography Award 2021 with the project “Mata-Fina: the history of Bahian cigars that conquered the world"
Grantee - Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - 2021 - "Clash of Civilizations", Tierra del Fuego, Chile
Bartur Photo Award 2021 - Main Award - Climate Change (Shortlisted)
World Report Award - Documenting Humanity 2021 in the Spotlight Category (Shortlisted)
IPA - Int’l Photography Awards 2020. Honorable Mention. Editorial / Press, Environmental
IPA - Int’l Photography Awards 2020. Honorable Mention. Professional: Book “Yazidis”
PX3 - Prix de la Photographie 2020. Silver in Press/Nature/Environmental 2020
Grantee - Rainforest Journalism Fund / Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - 2019 - 2
Grantee - Rainforest Journalism Fund / Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - 2019 - 1
Grantee - Projeto Colabora - 2019
Massey Ferguson Award for Photojournalism 2017
Massey Ferguson Award for Photojournalism 2016
New Holland Photojournalism Award. Finalist. 2016
Petrobras Journalism Award 2015
New Holland Photojournalism Award. Finalist with two works. 2015
Kontinent Awards 2013. Official Selection in Nature and Unique Image. Uckuyular / Izmir - Turkey
Exhibitions
Lanceiros Negros (Black Lancers), Porto Alegre, Brazil, September 14 to December 19. Solo exhibition.
Parada 7 - Arte em Resistência - Centro Cultural da Justiça Federal, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 07 to Octubre 30, 2022. Collective exhibition.
XXII International Biennial Art of Cerveira, in Portugal, July 16th to December 31st, 2022. Collective exhibition.
"Nobody's Listening” Exhibition Promoting Justice for Iraq's Forgotten Genocide ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. Karlsruhe, Germany, October 2021. Collective exhibition.
OpenWalls Arles 2020 at Galerie Huit Arles by British Photojournalism Journal. From 01 July until September 2020. Collective exhibition.
Education
Universidad de Santiago de Chile – PhD in American Studies (incomplete) - 2007 - 2012
United Nations - Internship - International Trade Department - 2007 - 2008
United Nations - Summer School on Latin American Economies - 2007
Universidad de Santiago de Chile - Master in World Politics - 2007 - 2008
University of Salvador - Bachelor of Economics - 2002 - 2006
Hostile Environment & First Aid Training
Hostile Environment and First Aid training by 1st Option Safety Group. Manaus, Brazil - 2019 (Pulitzer Center Grant).
Hostile Environment and First Aid training held from the 24th – 27th October 2016 by 1st Option Safety Group. London, England - 2016 (BBC Grant).
Talks and Lectures
II Digital Exhibition of Visual Essays, Visual Anthropology Nucleus of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, 2021
Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, D.C. 2020
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting,Washington, D.C. 2020
Swarthmore College. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. 2020