Magnum Photos Blog

Education 

Magnum Workshop Goa 

November 25, 2014 
The Magnum Workshop Goa is a four-day program designed to guide and encourage photographers in refining visual narratives in the Magnum tradition of documentary storytelling.

The second initiative to be conceived by Magnum Photos in India, this new workshop is a partnership with the inaugural Goa Photo 2015, a new annual international photography festival to be held across the city of Panaji between the 25th of February and the 7th of March 2015. Over a period of ten days, the festival will transform the city into a platform for showcasing contemporary photography (<a href='http://www.goaphoto.in/' target='_blank'>http://www.goaphoto.in/</a>). The Magnum Workshop Goa follows on from the successes of the Magnum educational program hosted in Delhi 2013 with acclaimed photographers Abbas and Raghu Rai.

Aims
Intended for photographers wishing to broaden their visual perspective and push the boundaries of their personal development, the Magnum Workshop Goa will elevate the professional standard of both regional and international photographers, under the guidance of Magnum’s experienced practitioners; Richard Kalvar (America) and Stuart Franklin (UK).

The workshop provides an opportunity for photographers to shoot, polish and publish their work, with an emphasis on refining visual narratives, within the beautiful and colourful town of Panaji. Panaji is Goa’s small and historic state capital; previously colonized by the Portuguese. It has its own charm, a river flowing along one side of the city, some areas which are low-rise and red-roofed, and even a Latin Quarter at the eastern end of town. Panaji is shaping itself as a centre where cultures (many from across the globe, and from diverse areas of India too) meet and creativity flourishes.

The Magnum Workshop Goa provides an opportunity for Magnum’s photographers to meet and have a continual dialogue with photographers from Asia, forming part of Magnum’s ongoing commitment to artists in diverse geographies.

Teaching formats
An exclusive group of 24 photographers will be selected from an open call for submissions; 12 per individual workshop group. Participants will be expected to fully immerse themselves in the process; introducing & contextualizing their work to their mentor, engaging in the work of peers and defining longer-term goals for their practice.

The workshop will be taught in a variety of formats, as directed by the workshop tutor:
• Self-directed shooting
• Group reviews
• One to one critiques
• Editing & sequencing sessions
• Tutor lectures
• Mini assignments

Outcomes
By the end of the workshop, participants should
• have a thoroughly planned and critically informed self directed body of photographic work
• be able to demonstrate creative, visual, intellectual and technical abilities
• have deeper understanding of the history of documentary photography and Magnum’s contribution to it
• Critically analyze photography within both historical and theoretical frameworks;
• Engage in informed, critical self-reflection and the ability to critique peers
• Demonstrate an understanding of editing photographs for different ouptuts
• Develop an understanding of the variety of ways in which photography can function as a means of personal expression and as a documentary record
• Demonstrate proficiency in the use of camera, equipment and the editing of photographic images

The workshop culminates in a public projection of student’s work in front of a professional audience, as part of the official program of Goa Photo.

Through a new partnership with the award-winning British Journal of Photography, one selected photographer (identified by the Magnum tutor) will enjoy an extensive feature of his/her work, published online to an international audience.

How to Apply
The workshop is open to international photographers with a good level of photographic aptitude. Please complete the online form to be considered. We will allocate you to your preferred photographer where possible.

Tuition fees: £600 GBP / 58,000 INR
<a href='https://magnumphotos.wufoo.com/forms/magnum-workshop-goa/' target='_blank'>Apply Now</a>

Magnum Photos Scholarships
Magnum Photos is proud to be providing two scholarship places for Indian photographers to participate in the workshop for free. One scholarship will be offered to a Goan photographer under the age of 25 years, and the other for an Indian photographer who has graduated in a relevant media or arts course in the last 3 years.

Photographers who wish to apply for either scholarship will need to submit a portfolio of 20 works (low resolution images) from a singular documentary project together with an artist statement, biography or CV, as well as a short paragraph on your expectations for this program. The mentors will select participants based on their portfolio.

Email your application in a zipped folder to: macdougall.lola@gmail.com