Rebecca McClellandDuring the Awards Days, World Press Photo announced the names of the 12 young photographers who will participate in the 22nd edition of the annual Joop Swart Masterclass.
The participating photographers will, under guidance of six prominent experts, discuss technical and visual aspects of their work, as well as their role as photographers.
The following 12 photographers—9 men and 3 women of 10 different nationalities—will join the 2015 Joop Swart Masterclass, to be held beginning of November in Amsterdam:
- Eman Bedir Helal, Egypt
- István Bielik, Hungary
- Alejandro Cegarra, Venezuela
- Victor Dragonetti, Brazil
- Édouard Elias, France
- Capucine Granier-Deferre, France
- Noriko Hayashi, Japan
- Arash Khamooshi, Iran
- Evgeny Makarov, Germany
- Guy Martin, UK
- Wissam Nassar, Palestinian Territories
- Christian Werner, Germany
Photographer Édouard Elias was selected to participate in the 2013 masterclass, but was taken hostage in Syria that same year. World Press Photo invited him upon his liberation to join the next possible edition, and is pleased Édouard will be joining this year’s class.
Acceptance to the prestigious masterclass is based on a system of nomination and selection. World Press Photo’s 136 international nominators selected 164 candidates from 53 countries, who were invited to submit their portfolios.
An independent selection committee in Amsterdam made the final selection of the participants on Wednesday 23 April. The selection committee this year consisted of:
Jim Casper, editor and publisher LensCulture; Rebecca McClelland, photography editor and curator; Paul Moakley, deputy director of photography and visual enterprise Time; Muhammed Muheisen, chief photographer Pakistan The Associated Press; and Darcy Padilla, photojournalist, documentary photographer and lecturer.
Darcy Padilla and Paul Moakley reflected on the candidate portfolios: “We saw a lot of portfolios this year that focused on urgent stories, investigative journalism and breaking news—work that followed a classic approach in the tradition of great news photography.”
Rebecca McClelland commented: “The selection of work that went to the finals included not only the strongest stories but also the bravest stories; stories very well told, but remarkably courageous as well. Also, we distinguished a lot of localized work, people shooting in their own environment and communities.”
Jim Casper said: “We went from seeing traditional visual storytelling on the one hand, with pictures influenced by a very classic narrative to work by people who were really pushing the boundaries. I think that it will be fascinating to see how these 12 participants will interact and stimulate each other over the course of the masterclass.”
THEME: ‘INVISIBLE’
In preparation for the masterclass meeting in November, the participants will prepare a themed photo essay, this year revolving around the theme of “Invisible”. The essays will be discussed with the masters and edited for an online publication made possible by Viewbook.
THE JOOP SWART MASTERCLASS
Since 1994, the Joop Swart Masterclass has brought together some of the finest young photographers from around world, and leading professionals in the fields of documentary photography and photojournalism. It offers a focused, intimate and reflective learning experience to young photographers, aiming to foster their intellectual, artistic and professional growth. The Joop Swart Masterclass holds prime position among the workshops, debates and other educational programs regularly organized within the World Press Photo Academy. It is named after the foundation’s late chairman, who was a passionate supporter of young photographic talent.
The masters of the 2015 Joop Swart Masterclass will be announced later this year.
The Joop Swart Masterclass is supported by Ammodo Foundation and Canon, who provides all participants with a grant.
World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon.
