Stefanos Kouratzis is a Cyprus-based Photographer, Visual Storyteller, and Writer. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of LiPhoFe – Limassol Photography Festival and teaches Photography at the Aigaia School of Fine Arts, focusing on theory, history, and critical thinking. He is also a columnist for Elefthera, the cultural insert of Phileleftheros newspaper (2025–present).
He is the author of the bilingual photographic monograph "Αμμόχωστος – Το Άλγος του Νόστου | Ammochostos – The Algos of Nostos" (2024) ISBN: 978-9925-632-16-9, held in the library collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, the Academy of Athens, the Cyprus Library, and the Severios Library, Pancyprian Gymnasium.
His work has been widely exhibited internationally, including his participation as an artist in "I Am Where You Are," the Cyprus Pavilion at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (2018). His projects have been presented at institutions including Le Corbusier's Unité d'habitation (Marseille), the Austrian National Library (Vienna), the Círculo de Bellas Artes (Madrid), the Museum of Byzantine Culture (Thessaloniki), The House of Cyprus Center for Culture (Athens), and SPEL – The State Gallery of Modern & Contemporary Cypriot Art (Nicosia). His work will be presented as part of "PHOTOMINO EUROPE," a group exhibition at FREELENS Gallery, Hamburg, Triennial of Photography Hamburg 2026.
Selected awards include the PDN Photo Annual (Winner, 2018), IPA International Photography Awards (2nd Place, 2017), PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, the Gomma Photography Grant (Finalist, 2022), and the Fujifilm EuroPress Awards.
For over two decades, he worked as an accredited foreign press photojournalist and field reporter, collaborating with AFP, Reuters, Associated Press, Xinhua, France 24, ARTE, and BBC Radio, covering major events including the Lebanon War (2006), Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003), the Gaza Strip, and the Bam City earthquake in Iran (2004).
As Artistic Director of LiPhoFe, he has co-curated eight exhibitions. His curatorial work includes "From Vision to Legacy: 125 Years of The English School Nicosia" (2026) at the Centre of Visual Arts and Research, Severis Foundation, and "Fleeing to Safety" by Sebastian Rich in collaboration with UNHCR Cyprus (2022).
His work is held in private collections in Cyprus and abroad.
He studied at the Focus School of Photography (Athens) and has continued his professional development with courses at MoMA and Magnum Photos.
