Yoppy Pieter is a visual storyteller and educator based in Jakarta, Indonesia. In his practice, he tells a diverse range of stories that explore identity, religion, and social culture.
In 2016, Pieter published his first photobook Saujana Sumpu. The project represented how urbanisation affected Sumpu village in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he received the COVID-19 Emergency Fund for Journalists from the National Geographic Society. Thanks to the fund, he developed a story about the transwomen community in Indonesia facing discrimination. This project won The Wellcome Photography Prize 2021.
Pieter’s photography works have been exhibited at the Jakarta Photo Summit #3 (2014), Jakarta Biennale (2015), Photography for Tolerance and Diversity (2017), Mt Rokko International Photo Festival (2018), and SPECTROSYNTHESIS II exhibition (2019).
Pieter is interested in developing visual culture in the Indonesian photography ecosystem. Since 2016, he has been involved in photography education at PannaFoto and the Permata Photojournalist Grant. He co-founded Arkademy, the educational platform which aims to promote and encourage the use of photography as a creative medium in critiquing the self, society and the relations that arise between the two. He also developed the Instagram platform Heterogenic, a space to embrace the diversity and richness of Indonesian visual culture.
Pieter studied Documentary Photography & Archetypal Narrative at PannaFoto Institute in Jakarta, Indonesia.
World Press Photo Involvement:
2022 World Press Photo Contest jury member
2017 6x6 Southeast Asia and Oceania Talent
2019 Joop Swart Masterclass participant
See Yoppy Pieter's 'Black Gold' on Witness, World Press Photo's online magazine.
Yoppy Pieter on Social Media:
Instagram: @yoppy.pieter
