In addition to producing images that continue to win the most prestigious photojournalism awards, young collective Noor is continuing to mentor aspiring photographers. Several free and paid workshops are scheduled for 2009 in different parts of the world.
Noor launched in September 2007 at the Visa pour l’Image festival in the South of France. The nine founding members include Samantha Appleton, Jodi Bieber, Philip Blenkinsop, Pep Bonet, Jan Grarup, Stanley Greene, Yuri Kozyrev, Kadir van Lohuizen and Francesco Zizola; Jon Lowenstein joined the collective last April. Van Lohuizen and Blenkinsop have won the Visa d’Or news award in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
This week is the last chance to answer the Noor-Nikon call for applications to attend the free weeklong master-class in documentary photography at the Nigerian Institute for Journalism in Lagos in mid-March. The Nikon-sponsored program aims to support photographers from emerging markets, with this master-class targeting West African countries. Five Noor photographers will mentor 15 selected participants in portfolio development, editing, technical skills and the international market.
Blenkinsop, together with VII’s Gary Knight, will lead two more workshops in India in February. One will take the form of a 10-day road trip from Jaipur to Jaisalmer; the other—a weeklong program in Jaipur for Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals. Both will focus on storytelling with images, particularly in the context of a developing country. Limited to under 10 students per tutor, these paid workshops will also sponsor local photographers whenever possible.
Green will also be in India in March, teaching at the Kolkata Project Workshop, sponsored by the Toscana Photographic Workshop. Together with communications director of Action Aid-India Alice Wynne Wilson and photography director of Telegraph Magazine Cheryl Newmann, Green will participate in “Changing Ideas: Working with NGOs and Making a Difference with Photography.” The workshop will enable participants to work with small non-governmental organizations to document their efforts.