more than just magnum

It is not just Magnum that is 'far from perfect ' Other agencies , even in  developing countries  face the same problems - too much of a male  gaze  dictated by the West's monopoly of the Market for publishing and  exhibiting. 

 Collapsing traditional markets and the increasing competition  that technologies are bringing about just makes it harder for  photographers who would like to make photography a profession. Most will continue shooting only  if they see photography as a passion.  something they do only because they just have to . Not because they want to shoot for Magnum or for some other Western Icon.  In that lies a possibility for photography in our part of the world to re invent itself. Wean itself from the  West.  Its gaze and its Market. 


  
"I think one of the priorities today, especially for a young photographer, is really engaging with your own voice. How do you find your own voice? Photography has changed dramatically since its beginnings. [Now we have Google Earth and cameras everywhere], so we ask ourselves, 'Why photograph?' You photograph because you want to make work. It's like writing a novel. You make work that has layers, that contributes to a collective history, a broader history. The challenge is to get to that point."
Magnum is aware that it's far from perfect. For example, it knows full well that its membership doesn't represent the realities of today's global market. "Magnum is still Euro- and US-centric," 

"Frankly, when we look at portfolios, if we had two projects of equal quality by a man and a woman, we would choose the woman, because we're very conscious of the fact that there are many more men than women at Magnum. Similarly, there are more white people than black people, and more Europeans than Asians." 

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/report/2189345/-magnum-photos-sense-report