Stefanos Kouratzis is an award-winning visual storyteller, photographer, and writer based in Cyprus. He serves as the Artistic Director of LiPhoFe - Limassol Photography Festival.

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He studied at Focus, School of Art Photography, Video, and New Technologies in Athens, Greece, and has continued his professional development with online courses at the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art, New York) and Magnum Photos.

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His first photobook monograph, “Ammochostos – The Algos of Nostos” (ISBN: 978-9925-632-16-9), was published in July 2024.

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In 2018, he participated in the 16th Venice Biennale of Architecture as part of the Cyprus Pavilion (I Am Where You Are), presenting three photographic projects.

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In 2021, Stefanos was invited by the curatorial team to contribute a series of photographs to the first retrospective exhibition "Past-forward: Stavros Economou Unarchived" at SPEL, the State Gallery of Contemporary Art in Nicosia. The photos were also projected when the exhibition was showcased at Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation in Marseille, France.

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In 2024, he curated Marat Hasanov's photography exhibition "Duality" in Limassol, Cyprus. In 2022, he curated two exhibitions by the award-winning photographer Sebastian Rich: "Fleeing to Safety" at Kasteliotissa Hall in Nicosia and the University of Cyprus, organized in collaboration with UNHCR Cyprus and Universitas Foundation.

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In 2023, as the Artistic Director of LiPhoFe - Limassol Photography Festival, Kouratzis co-curated the festival's main exhibition, 'Place or Landscape.' The following year, in 2024, he continued in this role and co-curated all seven exhibitions of the festival, titled 'Athlos,' also authoring the accompanying texts.

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The Press and Information Office of Cyprus commissioned the projects "SHE Cyprus in the Feminine" and "Kticic," which were presented at various locations, including the Nicosia International Festival in 2022 and 2023. The exhibitions were also showcased at institutions such as the National Austrian Library in Vienna, the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki and at The House of Cyprus, Center for Culture in Athens.

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Selected awards include Gomma Photography Grand 2021 (Finalist), PDN Photo Annual, IPA (International Photography Awards), PX3 (Prix de la Photographie, Paris), and Fujifilm EuroPress Awards (Cyprus).

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Over the years, Stefanos has collaborated with local and international media organizations, including AFP, Reuters, Associated Press, Xinhua, France24, Arte (France), and BBC Radio. He has covered major stories in hostile zones, including the Lebanon War (2006), Gaza Strip, Iran, and the Bam City earthquake. During Operation "Iraqi Freedom," he was embedded on a USS aircraft carrier.

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Kouratzis' photographs have been collected by private collectors in Cyprus and abroad, as well as featured in publications such as books and catalogues.

His articles on photography and journalism have been published in Cyprus, Greece, the USA, England, and Poland.

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He is a member of the Union of Cyprus Journalists, the IFJ (International Federation of Journalists), and the Performance Evaluation Committee of the THYMELI Scheme (EAP) of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Cyprus.

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Constantly exploring photography as a medium, Stefanos' work is diverse, multidimensional, and multi-layered. He balances long-term projects with explorations of different realms of expression.

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"Photography unlocks the chains of reality."