“I thought of you yesterday… and the day before. I laid in bed, pondering about ma vie Bruxelloise. I wanted a fag, but I didn’t smoke it–since we all know that each cigarette will take two seconds of our lives–I would have preferred to dedicate at least those two seconds fucking each other’s minds instead, like Martín Haché once said.”.

Many of us have had the chance of travelling, of broadening our horizons and exploring new cultures. As much as travelling in a group or with a travel buddy is life fulfilling, doing by yourself is life changing. Travelling solo brings a whole lot of layers to the experience whereby the journey is not only a cultural one but a voyage that will touch you deeply on a personal, spiritual and emotional level.

The international jury of the 2014 World Press Photo Multimedia Contest has awarded prizes in three categories: Short Feature, Long Feature and Interactive Documentary. Each category holds first, second and third prizes. View all the winners in the online gallery here: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/multimedia-gallery/2014-multimedia-contest. Main task: quotes and proofreading.

World Press Photo announced the 12 young photographers who have been selected for the 21st edition of the annual World Press Photo Joop Swart Masterclass. The announcement was made during the Awards Days. During the six-day masterclass, to be held from 2- 8 November 2014 in Amsterdam, the participating photographers will interact with six prominent experts, discussing technical and visual aspects of their work, as well as their role as a photographer.

One of the largest in its genre and arguably the most prestigious documentary film festival out there, IDFA is back and ready to take over the Dutch capital in all its glory. The 26 th edition of this mind-blowing event will be held from November 20 to December 1 and it promises, once gain, to premiere unseen gems and exceptional screenings of the documentary scene.

Born and raised in Teheran, the Iranian artist Samira Hodaei is relentlessly inspired by her home country. Daily experiences as a woman and as an artist in a country where both are constantly neglected and sometimes totally forgotten, serve as an unconscious drive for her to practice her art.

The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), the most prominent dance event in the world takes over the city once again. For five days, from 16 to 20 October the city of Amsterdam will become the greatest and biggest stage of electronic music. The ADE is indeed the moment of the year when this culturally loaded music phenomenon conquers the city and with more than 50 extra venues this year, the capital city underlines its status as the mecca of electronic music worldwide.

The Canary Projects is a research hub for artists with the goal of deepening pubic understanding of climate change. For this interview, I worked closely with the two minds behind this project, Susannah Sayler and Edward Morris. We discussed how contemporary art can be used to raise awareness about pressing environmental issues - a never-ending challenge.

The beautiful islands of Cape Verde lie scattered like pearls over the ocean, 500km off the coast of West Africa. An exotic mix of African, Brazilian and Portuguese influences, they are set to become a holiday hotspot.

The ‘whirls’ created by Empower Playgrounds are fun for children and they provide actual energy that increases education, school attendance and social development in Africa. In a world where technologies are advancing rapidly, one could hardly imagine what life would be without electricity. This burden evidently has severe repercussions for general social progress in more rural areas across developing nations.

Elevated Urban Gardens Laura recounts how an old piece of railroad running along the lower west side of Manhattan was brought back to life as an integral part of the city.

Nominated by the gallery Espacio Mínimo, Juan Luis Moraza won the Audermars Piguet prize for his project called “Arules” shown at ARCO Madrid 2013 (February 13-17). Laura Beltrán Villamizar asks the Basque sculptor about contemporary art in Spain, his sources of inspiration, and the future of art.

The High Line is a park built on an historic high railroad lane. Two New Yorkers developed this project to save an old piece of infrastructure that runs along the lower west side of Manhattan. They brought it back to life by turning it into a fully functioning, ecological and contemporary piece of urban design. The NGO Friends of the High Line was founded in 1999 to provide economic and urban value to the elevated 13-mile high railroad line. Laura Beltrán Villamizar spent a month in New York City and was able to highlight the development of the urban elevated green area called The High Line Park.

In South Africa, mining has been a blessing and a curse, particularly for those who were drawn to work on gold mines since the late 1880’s and the uranium mines since the late 1940’s. Once the industry was established, gold and uranium fields were settled in Soweto (South Western Townships). Beyond basic health issues related to mine waste management, dealing with dust storms from the mines, tailings and dumps can cause long-term health issues, such as asthma, skin and lung problems. This series is about combating contaminated dust, exposure to radiation and the destruction of eco-systems in areas surrounding uranium mines and their respective dumping areas.

As one of the winners of the Photo Academy Awards 2012 Serge Maes talks to Revolve about his work on Antwerp, dubbed “Ambiguous City”. This project was initially thought to be a personal project, turning into an ongoing quest for urban aesthetic spontaneity. “I take pictures that I would like to see in someone else’s exhibition, photos that I would like to find in a bookstore.”.

Born in Teheran, Samira Hodaei captures the viewers’ eye by representing the role of women in contemporary and historical times. In the Dancing the Sharp Edge series, she portraits imageries of women dancing in twisted or bended positions, all equipped with knives. Samira mentions danger, which is represented by the knives as a ubiquitous and a constant threat to womanhood.