Two Emirati photographers will be leading workshops on Saadiyat Island starting June 7 to mark the prominence of the exhibition of winning entries from the eighth edition of the Emirates Photography Competition (EPC), organised by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.
Alia Al Shamsi and Reem Falaknaz will each be leading two-day workshops under the themes of communication through photography and photojournalism.
Although they will not focus on specific pieces of art, they will certainly take influences from some of the award-winning photographs that are currently hanging in a two-month exhibition at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
Among those is the grand prize, a poignant image of the pilgrimage of Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia to a church in Lalibela taken by the Italian Cristina Garzone.
Showing three pious men reading their prayers in front of a craggy stone wall, the image won in the category titled Decisive Moment.
“The resounding international, regional and local interest in this edition of the competition has clearly excited photographers – professional and amateur – to creatively and intuitively capture an intimate and compassionate view of humanity,” says Badar Al Nomani, the EPC supervisor.
During the workshops, Al Shamsi will focus on critical engagement with a photograph and how to interpret an image. Falaknaz, who is a freelance TV producer and director, will be concentrating on the concept of photojournalism.
“I will teach them how to create a story and also essential skills such as storytelling and how to start an interview,” says Falaknaz. “We live in a time now where the internet allows anyone to self-publish so this kind of knowledge is essential.”
Falaknaz's own series, The Place of Perpetual Undulation, which documents farms in Ras Al Khaimah, is also currently on show as a parallel exhibition to the ones from the EPC.
• Communicate through Photography with Alia Al Shamsi is on June 7 and June 14 from 10am to noon. Tell Your Story with Reem Falaknaz is on June 14 and 21 from 10am to noon; both at Saaidyat Island, Abu Dhabi
aseaman@thenational.ae
