Bénédicte Kurzen and Sanne De Wilde have been nominated for the World Press Photo Contest, Portrait series with their collaborative photographic project Land of Ibeji discovering the mythology of twinhood in Nigeria. The rate of twin births in West Africa is about four times higher than in the rest of the world. The centre of this twin zone is Igbo-Ora, a sleepy southwest town in Nigeria. “Ibeji” meaning 'double birth' and ‘the inseparable two’ in Yoruba stands for the ultimate harmony between two people.
"The project is an invitation to look beyond identity as appearance and beyond the exoticism of the identical by calling upon a universal mythological figure: The Twin. It is an invitation for the viewer to travel back into the past and through that rediscover the present and move into the future.
We hope the ‘Ibeji’ project will inspire other creators. We would love for Nigerian artists to contribute from their perspective and expand on the project. We are very grateful for the participation and patience of the people we photographed and the time they spent with us.
We also want to thank Nikon Europe in believing and supporting this challenging project and allowing us to develop this project fully."
This project was graciously supported by the Nikon Europe Ambassador program.
The masterclasses have been made possible thanks to the generous support of Nikon Europe.
Italy
2018 Nikon-NOOR Academy Second Session
Participants in Italy:
Alessia Rollo Camilla Ferrari Camilla Piana Camillo Pasquarelli Elias Holzknecht Elisabetta Zavoli Emilienne Malfatto Francesca Volpi Giulia Frigieri Lucas Bäuml Marco Tiberio Michele Spatari Stefano Sbrulli Valeria Cherchi
Participants in Hungary:
Aleksandra Bardas Andras Polgar Andrea Alai Elena Anosova Elipe Mahe Istvan Bielik Istvan Juhasz Jeanne Frank Marton Monus Nik Neubauer Pavel Bogolepov Pavel Nasadil Pavlo Bishko Stanislava Novgorodtseva Tamas Soki Viktoryia Gerasimava Zsolt Balazs Zuzana Gogova
Hungary
2018 Nikon-NOOR Academy Second Session
Switzerland
2018 Nikon-NOOR Academy Second Session
Participants in Switzerland:
Anne Ackermann Charlotte Hooij Claudia Schildknecht Florian Spring Hugh Kinsella Cunningham Kristina Steiner Lukas Kreibig Marion Bernet Matthieu Zellweger Meinrad Schade Nadia Natascha Horsted-Narejo Nathalie Taiana Nicholas Constant Olivia Sasse Ronald Pizzoferrato Tamina-Florentine Zuch Tim Rod
Photos from Benedicte Kurzen's story was published in der Spiegel. She captured a portrait of German retiree Michael Hoppe, who is not only spending his holiday abroad, but also established a charity organization and spends several month in Namibia working on site of his projects.
Inspired by Benedicte Kurzen’s powerful photos of the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Jonathan Littell realizes "Wrong Elements”, a documentary on the massacres committed by the group in the 80s in Uganda. Photos by Benedicte Kurzen in Polka Magazine.
We are pleased to announce the 15 participants selected for the Nikon-NOOR Academy Workshop, which will take place in Paris between 20 to 23 March 2017. We would like sincerely thank all the people who sent forward their applications and congratulate the photographers who will participate in the workshop with Pep Bonet, Robin Hammond & Benedicte Kurzen.
We are delighted to announce the 15 participants selected for the Nikon-NOOR Academy Workshop, which will take place in Berlin between 7 to 10 March 2017. We would like sincerely thank all the people who sent forward their applications and congratulate the photographers who will participate in the workshop with Yuri Kozyrev, Bénédicte Kurzen and Kadir van Lohuizen
NOOR Foundation and Nikon are excited to announce our 2017 educational program - the NOOR-Nikon Academy. Early this spring, the NOOR-Nikon Academy will launch with a series of free-of-charge workshops for young, aspiring documentary photographers taking place in The Netherlands, Germany, Franceand the United Kingdom.
During each of the four-day trainings, 15 participants, together with three NOOR member photographers will share experiences, work on portfolios, improve editing skills and learn how to develop visual stories.
Participants can get the most out of the experience when they come to the workshop with a body of work they are currently developing, editing, working on and/or thinking about how to share with audiences. Thus, applicants are encouraged to include this work and indicate what they want to explore in relation to the work in their application portfolio and motivation statement.
Participants can look forward to intensive communication with NOOR photographers and their peers on subjects ranging from how to develop and edit a photographic story or project, to the nuances of the international photo market.
The NOOR-Nikon Academy is a unique opportunity to learn impactful visual storytelling, further develop personal vision, strengthen ongoing projects and gain new knowledge and contacts in an intimate and interactive environment.
Each workshop is led by a diverse and unique combination of three NOOR member photographers. All experienced teachers and lecturers, NOOR photographers are actively engaged in their own documentary practices, current debates in the field and in the development of the next generation of photographic talent.
Since 2009 NOOR and Nikon have partnered on education programs encouraging and supporting young photographic talent around the world. We have built strong collaborations with an international network of young photographers, photography professionals, cultural organizations, journalism and educational institutions. NOOR-Nikon educational programs have successfully trained more than 175 students from more than 64 different countries and counting.
Below please find the Calls for Applications for the NOOR-Nikon Academy. Calls are open to young and aspiring photographers in the respective countries where the workshops will be held: The Netherlands, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
For any questions please contact education@noorimages.com.
Reactions from previous NOOR-Nikon educational programs:
“Photography is part education and part evolution of one’s talent. This was my first workshop and it was an enriching experience. I learned more in these days than probably I could have learned in a year working in the field.”
“The workshop was fantastic! Meeting with NOOR photographers and very talented people from our region is a great opportunity. You should continue organizing programs for regional cooperation among young photographers. I got great tips about storytelling, editing, grants and bookmaking!”
If you would like to be added to our education mailing list please email education@noorimages.com with the subject line “Subscribe NOOR Education” with the following information:
Pep Bonetis an award-winning filmmaker and photographer who has travelled extensively capturing profound moments that represent the unbalanced world in which we live. His longer-term projects focus on African issues, with his most well known project being “Faith in Chaos”, a photo essay on the aftermath of the war in Sierra Leone. He is also know for a long-term reportage on the rock ‘n roll band Motörhead. Pep was a recipient of the W. Eugene Smith Humanistic Grant in Photography in 2005 and of the Horbach Award in 2015, and won three different World Press Photo Awards in 2007, 2009 and 2013. Pep frequently lectures on photography, multimedia and film, and lives in Mallorca, Spain.
Robin Hammond is a documentary photographer with a primary interest in human rights and development issues around the world through long-term photographic projects.
He was the recipient of the W.Eugene Smith Fund for Humanistic Photography, a World Press Photo prize, the Pictures of the Year International World Understanding Award and four Amnesty International awards for Human Rights journalism. In 2013 he won the FotoEvidence Book Award for Documenting Social Injustice and the Carmignac Gestion Photojournalism Award. Robin is the founder of Witness Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to advance humans rights through highly visual storytelling. His work appears in magazines, newspapers, television and social media. He is currently based in Manchester, UK.
Bénédicte Kurzen began her photographic career when she moved to Israel in 2003, covering hard news as a freelancer in the Gaza Strip, Iraq and Lebanon. For the past ten years, Bénédicte has been covering conflicts and socio-economical changes in Africa. Her body of work “Amaqabane”, on the life of former anti-apartheid combatants was produced for prestigious World Press Joop Swart Masterclass 2008. In 2011, she received a grant from the Pulitzer Center, which allowed her to produce a body of work on Nigeria, “A Nation Lost to Gods”. Her work has been screened and exhibited at Visa pour l’Image and was nominated for the Visa d’Or in 2012. After becoming a NOOR full member in 2012, she decided to move to Lagos, from where she could pursue her coverage of Africa, with a focus on Nigeria. Alongside, she became an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Nigeria in journalism.
Yuri Kozyrevhas worked as a photojournalist for the past 25 years. He started his career documenting the collapse of the Soviet Union, capturing the rapid changes in the former USSR for the LA Times during the 90’s. In 2001, Yuri started to cover international news, working before from Afghanistan and then from Iraq as contract photographer for Time Magazine. Since the beginning of 2011, Yuri has been documenting the “Arab Revolutions” and their aftermaths in Bahrain, Yemen, Tunisia and specially Egypt and Libya. Yuri has received numerous honors for his photography, including several World Press Photo Awards, the OPC’s Oliver Rebbot Award, and the ICP Infinity Award for Photojournalism, the Frontline Club Award, the Visa d'or News and the Prix Bayeux-Calvados, and he was named 2011 Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International competition. In 2015, Yuri covered the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the migrant crisis in Europe.
Bénédicte Kurzenbegan her photographic career when she moved to Israel in 2003, covering hard news as a freelancer in the Gaza Strip, Iraq and Lebanon. For the past ten years, Bénédicte has been covering conflicts and socio-economical changes in Africa. Her body of work “Amaqabane”, on the life of former anti-apartheid combatants was produced for prestigious World Press Joop Swart Masterclass 2008. In 2011, she received a grant from the Pulitzer Center, which allowed her to produce a body of work on Nigeria, “A Nation Lost to Gods”. Her work has been screened and exhibited at Visa pour l’Image and was nominated for the Visa d’Or in 2012. After becoming a NOOR full member in 2012, she decided to move to Lagos, from where she could pursue her coverage of Africa, with a focus on Nigeria. Alongside, she became an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Nigeria in journalism.
Kadir van Lohuizenhas covered conflicts in Africa and elsewhere, but is probably best known for his long-term projects on the seven rivers of the world, the rising of sea levels, the diamond industry and migration in the Americas. Kadir has received numerous prizes and awards in photojournalism. In 2000 and 2002 Kadir was a jury member of the World Press Photo contest and is currently on the supervisory board of the World Press Photo foundation. Kadir is a frequent lecturer and photography teacher and is based in Amsterdam.
