Marco Vernaschi (1973) is an Italian visual artist, creative director and producer best known for his thought-provoking photography and inspirational campaigns. He developed a variety of projects in different areas, ranging from documentary to advocacy and contemporary art. Marco’s work is represented in prominent private and public collections, museums and most respected media outlets.

Through 2023, Marco produced MACONDO, exploring the intersection between magical realism and climate resilience in Colombia’s Caribbean region. In 2021-22 he produced WARMI, an editorial campaign investigating the link between ancestral and contemporary feminism in the Andean Altiplano. In 2019 he produced GAUCHA, for Apple’s global campaign #ShotOnIphone, focusing on the story and key-role of gaucho matriarchs in Argentina.

Previously, through 2017-19, Marco worked as an external advisor for Argentina’s Chief Of Staff Office, providing continued consultancy to help further positioning Argentina’s Northwestern region, in particular the Quebrada of Humahuaca, Jujuy.

In 2015 he created SEEDS for LIFE, an awareness campaign designed to expose the aftermath of pesticide abuse in Argentina. SEEDS for LIFE, of which Coldplay’s Chris Martin became a supporter, generated positive impact among the community at the center of the initiative, contributing to change regulations on pesticide use on a local level.

As a Pulitzer Center grantee, through 2009-10, Marco produced a campaign on maternal health in West Africa, an investigation on the dynamics and aftermath of narco-terrorism in Guinea-Bissau, and an investigation on organ trafficking in Uganda, contributing to tackle and dismantle local criminal networks, in coordination with international and local Law Enforcement agencies.

Soon after his work with the Pulitzer Center, in 2011, Marco developed a personal art project, Placebo, that was presented at the 54th Venice Biennale. Placebo was also exhibited at the Museum Of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO), and at KARL BULLA Museum (St Petersburg), among other venues. Through 2012, Marco then presented Biophilia at Gallery22, Tokyo Institute Of Photography, which was also exhibited at Noorderlicht’s Festival, Terra Cognita, and at the Festival Internacional de Fotografia de Belo Horizonte.

Through the early stages of his career, Marco produced an exposé on the aftermath of cocaine production and trafficking in Bolivia, and developed a set of investigations with focus on wildlife crime and conservation working in Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Indonesia and India in collaboration with the CITES (United Nations). Through those years, Marco had the opportunity to work with prominent conservationists such as Dr. Biruté Galdikas, Dr. Patricia Wright and Fateh Singh Rathore among others, gaining significant perspective and knowledge on wildlife conservation and environmental management.

Marco is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the World Press Photo (2010). In 2015 he joined The Photo Society, of which he’s currently a member.