Alessandro Grassani is a visual artist and journalist whose practice centers on photography and video. After documenting major global historical developments, he shifted toward long-term, multidisciplinary projects exploring the fragile relationship between people and their environment.
Since 2012, he has been pursuing a long-term project, Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion, born from his vision and carried forward over the years with the support of the United Nations. The project explores how climate change, migration, and rapid urbanisation are reshaping human lives, inviting viewers to confront the social and environmental urgencies of our time while offering a glimpse into the planet’s possible futures.
Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Grassani began a new body of work titled The Cold Divide. The project explores notions of suspension and an imagined future caught between Europe and the lingering pull of the Soviet past in Moldova, a nation physically fragmented and ideologically positioned between East and West. The work unfolds through a documentary yet evocative approach, using expired Soviet-era film.
Working across more than forty countries, from Iran to the Gaza Strip, from Haiti to Bolivia, and from Myanmar to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Grassani has developed a practice that blends documentary rigor with reflective, research-driven visual narratives.
Since 2011, he has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, completing over 150 assignments, alongside work for CNN, TIME, Stern, and El País Semanal, among others. His collaborations extend to numerous UN agencies as well as institutions such as USAID, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the AVSI Foundation, and Doctors of the World.
His visual narratives have also led major companies including Enel SPA, Lufthansa, Etro, GUCCI, Banca Intesa, LuisaViaRoma, Satispay, Trenitalia, and Warner Bros. to entrust him with corporate, advertising, educational, and cultural communication projects.
His work has been screened and exhibited internationally at venues such as the Palace of Nations, the Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration in Paris, the Royal Geographical Society in London, Les Rencontres d’Arles, VISA Pour l’Image, and the Diocesan Museum of Milan, among others.
He has received numerous prestigious awards, including two Sony World Photography Awards, the DAYS JAPAN International Photojournalism Awards, the Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award, and the Amilcare Ponchielli Prize, and he has been nominated twice for both the Prix Pictet and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.
A Sony Global Imaging Ambassador and TEDx Berlin speaker, Grassani is also committed to education through lectures, mentorships, and workshops.
SELECTED LECTURES, INTERVIEWS AND WORKSHOPS
2025
Vanity Fair – Italy. “Climate Migrants: To the Ends of the World”. (Print Interview)
Corriere della Sera – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
Il Giorno – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
La Repubblica – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
TG2, RAI 2 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 2) – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (TV Interview)
TG3 Lombardia, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (TV Interview)
FNM Magazine (Corporate Magazine of the Northern Railways Group) – Italy. “The Desire to Be Where Important Things Happen”. (Print Interview)
Cortona on the Move – Cortona, Italy. Roundtable “Climate Change and Photography”, with Prof. Stefano Mancuso. (Panel / Roundtable)
2024
Intesa Sanpaolo Bank – Milan, Italy. “Trust” lecture for the company’s IT leadership team. (Lecture)
FIAF Portfolio Italia Award – Italy. Final jury member.
2023
Gucci S.p.A – Worldwide. “The Creative Process” online lecture for the company’s creative team. (Lecture)
2020
Franco Parenti Theater – Milan, Italy. “A Wall in Between”. (Lecture)
Scuola Normale Superiore University – Pisa, Italy. “Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (TV Interview)
2019
BBC World News, “Global” – London, UK. “About Photography”. (TV Interview)
BBC World Service, “News Hour” – London, UK. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (Radio Interview)
The Observer – United Kingdom. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (Print & Online Interview)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Mau Forest, Kenya”. (TV Interview)
Tor Vergata University – Rome, Italy. “Climate Change and Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
IUSS Higher University School – Pavia, Italy. “Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
Polo del ’900 – Turin, Italy. “Climate Change and Human Settlements”, with Prof. Adriano Favole. (Lecture)
Radio Rai Due GR Live (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. (Radio Interview)
2018
Logotel S.p.A – Milan, Italy. “Do It With Care”. (Lecture)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Environmental Migrants”. (TV Interview)
Triennale di Milano – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
Gli sbandati, Radio Due (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. “Photography and Its Future”. (Radio Interview)
Il Fotografo Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
Filarmonica Academy – Casale Monferrato, Italy. “On the Ways of Reportage”. (Lecture)
“Photographing the Future”, curated by Denis Curti, organized by Sony S.p.A – Milan, Italy. (Talk)
A Coruña Town Hall – A Coruña, Spain. (Lecture)
Gli sbandati, Radio Due (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. (Radio Interview)
2017
TIME Magazine – USA. “The Long Journey to the Great Wall”. (Online Interview)
Royal Villa of Monza – Monza, Italy. (Lecture)
Spazio Forma Meravigli – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
National Geographic – USA. “Environmental Migrants”. (Online Interview)
2016
Corriere della Sera – Italy. (Print Interview)
Marie Claire – Spain. “Climate Change and Environmental Migrants”. (Print Interview)
Amilcare Ponchielli Award – Italy. (Jury member)
2015
NikonLive! – Rome, Padua, Ancona, Italy. (Touring Lecture)
Touring Club Italiano – Milan, Italy. (Workshops)
TG3, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Photography Business Today”. (TV Interview)
Arte Channel – France. (TV Interview)
Same World, European Union International Seminar – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
2014
I nostri Angeli, RAI 1 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 1) – Italy. (TV Interview)
Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Environmental Migrants”. (TV Interview)
Il Fotografo Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
World Trade Institute, University of Bern – Switzerland. (Lecture)
Condominio Fotografico – Modica, Italy. (Workshop)
ZOOM Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
Officina Fotografica – Catania, Italy. (Workshop)
Centro Italiano della Fotografia d’Autore – Bibbiena, Italy. (Lecture)
2013
TEDx – Berlin, Germany.
Actuphoto – France. “Environmental Migrants”. (Online Interview)
TEACHING AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
2012–2020
John Kaverdash Academy – Milan, Italy. Educator, Master in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
2013–2015
LUZ Academy – Milan, Italy. Educator, Master in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
Since 2012, he has been pursuing a long-term project, Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion, born from his vision and carried forward over the years with the support of the United Nations. The project explores how climate change, migration, and rapid urbanisation are reshaping human lives, inviting viewers to confront the social and environmental urgencies of our time while offering a glimpse into the planet’s possible futures.
Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Grassani began a new body of work titled The Cold Divide. The project explores notions of suspension and an imagined future caught between Europe and the lingering pull of the Soviet past in Moldova, a nation physically fragmented and ideologically positioned between East and West. The work unfolds through a documentary yet evocative approach, using expired Soviet-era film.
Working across more than forty countries, from Iran to the Gaza Strip, from Haiti to Bolivia, and from Myanmar to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Grassani has developed a practice that blends documentary rigor with reflective, research-driven visual narratives.
Since 2011, he has been a regular contributor to The New York Times, completing over 150 assignments, alongside work for CNN, TIME, Stern, and El País Semanal, among others. His collaborations extend to numerous UN agencies as well as institutions such as USAID, the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the AVSI Foundation, and Doctors of the World.
His visual narratives have also led major companies including Enel SPA, Lufthansa, Etro, GUCCI, Banca Intesa, LuisaViaRoma, Satispay, Trenitalia, and Warner Bros. to entrust him with corporate, advertising, educational, and cultural communication projects.
His work has been screened and exhibited internationally at venues such as the Palace of Nations, the Musée de l’Histoire de l’Immigration in Paris, the Royal Geographical Society in London, Les Rencontres d’Arles, VISA Pour l’Image, and the Diocesan Museum of Milan, among others.
He has received numerous prestigious awards, including two Sony World Photography Awards, the DAYS JAPAN International Photojournalism Awards, the Luis Valtueña International Humanitarian Photography Award, and the Amilcare Ponchielli Prize, and he has been nominated twice for both the Prix Pictet and the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.
A Sony Global Imaging Ambassador and TEDx Berlin speaker, Grassani is also committed to education through lectures, mentorships, and workshops.
SELECTED LECTURES, INTERVIEWS AND WORKSHOPS
2025
Vanity Fair – Italy. “Climate Migrants: To the Ends of the World”. (Print Interview)
Corriere della Sera – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
Il Giorno – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
La Repubblica – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (Print Interview)
TG2, RAI 2 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 2) – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (TV Interview)
TG3 Lombardia, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Climate Migrants: The Last Illusion”. (TV Interview)
FNM Magazine (Corporate Magazine of the Northern Railways Group) – Italy. “The Desire to Be Where Important Things Happen”. (Print Interview)
Cortona on the Move – Cortona, Italy. Roundtable “Climate Change and Photography”, with Prof. Stefano Mancuso. (Panel / Roundtable)
2024
Intesa Sanpaolo Bank – Milan, Italy. “Trust” lecture for the company’s IT leadership team. (Lecture)
FIAF Portfolio Italia Award – Italy. Final jury member.
2023
Gucci S.p.A – Worldwide. “The Creative Process” online lecture for the company’s creative team. (Lecture)
2020
Franco Parenti Theater – Milan, Italy. “A Wall in Between”. (Lecture)
Scuola Normale Superiore University – Pisa, Italy. “Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (TV Interview)
2019
BBC World News, “Global” – London, UK. “About Photography”. (TV Interview)
BBC World Service, “News Hour” – London, UK. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (Radio Interview)
The Observer – United Kingdom. “Female Boxers of Goma”. (Print & Online Interview)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Mau Forest, Kenya”. (TV Interview)
Tor Vergata University – Rome, Italy. “Climate Change and Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
IUSS Higher University School – Pavia, Italy. “Environmental Migration”. (Lecture)
Polo del ’900 – Turin, Italy. “Climate Change and Human Settlements”, with Prof. Adriano Favole. (Lecture)
Radio Rai Due GR Live (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. (Radio Interview)
2018
Logotel S.p.A – Milan, Italy. “Do It With Care”. (Lecture)
TG3 Mondo, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Environmental Migrants”. (TV Interview)
Triennale di Milano – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
Gli sbandati, Radio Due (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. “Photography and Its Future”. (Radio Interview)
Il Fotografo Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
Filarmonica Academy – Casale Monferrato, Italy. “On the Ways of Reportage”. (Lecture)
“Photographing the Future”, curated by Denis Curti, organized by Sony S.p.A – Milan, Italy. (Talk)
A Coruña Town Hall – A Coruña, Spain. (Lecture)
Gli sbandati, Radio Due (Italy’s National Public Radio, Channel 2) – Italy. (Radio Interview)
2017
TIME Magazine – USA. “The Long Journey to the Great Wall”. (Online Interview)
Royal Villa of Monza – Monza, Italy. (Lecture)
Spazio Forma Meravigli – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
National Geographic – USA. “Environmental Migrants”. (Online Interview)
2016
Corriere della Sera – Italy. (Print Interview)
Marie Claire – Spain. “Climate Change and Environmental Migrants”. (Print Interview)
Amilcare Ponchielli Award – Italy. (Jury member)
2015
NikonLive! – Rome, Padua, Ancona, Italy. (Touring Lecture)
Touring Club Italiano – Milan, Italy. (Workshops)
TG3, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Photography Business Today”. (TV Interview)
Arte Channel – France. (TV Interview)
Same World, European Union International Seminar – Milan, Italy. (Lecture)
2014
I nostri Angeli, RAI 1 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 1) – Italy. (TV Interview)
Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro, RAI 3 (Italy’s National Public Television, Channel 3) – Italy. “Environmental Migrants”. (TV Interview)
Il Fotografo Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
World Trade Institute, University of Bern – Switzerland. (Lecture)
Condominio Fotografico – Modica, Italy. (Workshop)
ZOOM Magazine – Italy. (Print Interview)
Officina Fotografica – Catania, Italy. (Workshop)
Centro Italiano della Fotografia d’Autore – Bibbiena, Italy. (Lecture)
2013
TEDx – Berlin, Germany.
Actuphoto – France. “Environmental Migrants”. (Online Interview)
TEACHING AND ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
2012–2020
John Kaverdash Academy – Milan, Italy. Educator, Master in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.
2013–2015
LUZ Academy – Milan, Italy. Educator, Master in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography.