The Year Time Stopped: The Global Pandemic in Photos

Curated by the founders of Scopio, a community-based image marketplace, a stunning and unforgettable visual history that captures the world’s response to major events that defined 2020: the COVID pandemic and the sweeping movements for racial and social justice.

In 2020, the world experienced massive change. Millions of lives were ended—and millions more upended—by the Covid-19 pandemic. The shocking police killings of Black men and women gave rise to powerful social movements and widespread collective action to rectify centuries of injustice and racism in the United States and globally. Together, these three colossal events tested the resilience of the social fabric bringing us all together. 

Attempting to illuminate and make sense of this new reality, photographers from around the world documented these transformational moments as they unfolded. Carefully combing through their archive, the founders of Scopio have curated these photographs to tell the story of the year 2020. It began with a collective sense of isolation and fear to eventually people coming together and protesting the social injustices that were uncovered later that year.

Representing artists from around the globe, The Year Time Stopped seeks to empower us and give credence to the extraordinary circumstances that changed our world. The 200 images in this striking visual collection are indelible, impassioned, and unforgettable. Taken together, they are a singular testament to this unprecedented time.