The story behind
the movement
Eyewitness was created by Fabrizia Costa, a photographer, mentor and creative director with over a decade of experience helping professionals in the photography industry build meaningful, human-centred businesses.
The idea began years ago, seeing how many families and photographers had lost touch with the physical photograph. Thousands of images were being taken, yet almost none were printed – and whole chapters of people's lives were disappearing into digital storage.
In 2020, the project was due to launch at The Photography Show UK, but was postponed when the pandemic began. During that time, Fabrizia and the Collective of Ambassadors helped coordinate a global print auction for Médecins Sans Frontières, with works donated by internationally recognised photographers – including members of Magnum and other leading names in the field. That experience confirmed what Eyewitness is built on: photography's power to unite people across borders and make a tangible difference.
photo © Gabrielle Motola
The founder
Who's behind this
Fabrizia Costa is an award-winning photographer who has spent her working life in the photography industry. For over ten years she ran Outside the Box, a structured coaching programme through which she mentored hundreds of professional photographers – on craft and on the business of photography alike.
When the pandemic stopped the world, she became the driving force behind Senza Arte Sei Nudo Anche Tu ("Without Art You're Naked Too"), a national movement in Italy involving hundreds of photographers, covered by national press. Together, those photographers raised €100,000 for hospitals and local surgeries across Italy during the Covid emergency.
She is the author of Stop F*cking About, a book about turning creative ideas into finished projects, has spoken at The Photography Show UK, and brings a background that runs from an architectural design degree through fashion, music and photography. Eyewitness is the project all of it was leading to.
From idea to institution
Eyewitness today is not an idea waiting for its moment – it is a structured organisation being built in the open. It is being established as a Community Interest Company in the UK, with a fully costed two-year plan, a defined launch programme, and founding partnerships opening to the companies who make photography possible.
Fabrizia leads the creative and communications direction of the movement, working with international collaborators, educators and partners to bring it to life.