Working principle
Overlay of knowledge and acquisition of skills through practice (selection of a topic – creation of images – criticism – analysis – selection)
Discussions and criticism, by all participants, of everyone’s work will be a basic principle of work. The system is borrowed from the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography course at the University of the Arts London.
At the beginning of the work, discussions will focus on the choice of topic, its importance for society, its importance for the development of documentary photography in Bulgaria and the important messages to be conveyed (based on detailed research). Initial discussions will aim to set a theoretical framework and guide an appropriate publication format for the final product. Basic principles in visual storytelling and collaborations with authors from other fields – writers, journalists, artists and designers – will be discussed.
After starting the practical work on the projects, the main principle of work will be the monthly creation and display of images to the audience. The critique will include various aspects in the creation of a documentary story – from the techniques used in the creation of the image to the meaningful messages it would convey as part of a story. This part of the practice will also aim to create a first (broad) selection of images that would be a suitable part of the final project.
The main focus of the final two months will be the selection of the final photographs (from the wide selection) and their arrangement in an overall narrative. Different principles and signs will be discussed by which the images can be arranged to tell a homogeneous and complete story with a gradation in the emotional ladder and a logic of development. Ways of presenting the images – physical exhibitions, photo books and digital platforms – and their joint use will also be discussed.
Schedule and organization
Working groups are an environment for free communication, in which the dynamics of communication, as well as their content, will be determined by the participants.
We start with the idea of a minimum of 2 meetings per month. Meetings will take place on Thursdays.
The meeting place is “Nikolay Khaitov” community center. It is located in the Iztok district next to the Billa store (the former Iztok cinema) at 7 Major Yuri Gagarin Street, Sofia.
First meeting: 10/11/2022, Thursday, 19:00
The next scheduled meetings until the end of the year are on December 1 and 15.
The group will meet with this schedule in the period November 2022 – May 2023. The group exhibition is planned for autumn 2023.
Conditions for participation
Participants in the group are selected after a preliminary selection. Each registered participant will be asked to submit a portfolio and/or cover letter. It is important for us to bring together motivated people with a desire to work.
After approval, a fee is payable to participate in the group under the following conditions:
- BGN 300 for 6 months. (the fee also includes participation in “General Development” (2 more meetings per month on different topics) and participation in the group of your choice. When choosing more than one group, 150 leva is paid for participation in each subsequent group)
- BGN 480 for 12 months. (the fee includes “General Development” (2 more meetings per month on different topics) and participation in the group of your choice. When choosing more than one group, 240 leva is paid for participation in each subsequent group)
You can see all groups HERE
Important! It is important to us that the working group is an environment in which everyone can develop. During the course of the work, there will be regular assignments to photograph the individual projects of each participant. It is possible that if there are participants who do not actively participate and / or spoil the dynamics in the group, then they will be asked to leave it.
To join the group, complete the application form at the bottom of this page.
