14 photographers selected for Lagos International Creative Lab

Organizers have announced a list of fourteen photographers selected to participate in a three-day Native Creative Lab scheduled to hold in Lagos from August 9, 2018.  On the list are eight Nigerians, two South Africans, a Yemeni, an Indian, a Malagasy, and a Congolese. Female participants have dominated the list of successful applicants with nine female photographers against four males.  Native, in collaboration with the African Artists’ Foundation, Blink and the International Women’s Media Foundation, are joint organizers of the Creative Lab conceived to celebrate local, regional and international visual heritages and train photographers on ways of  breaking colonial straitjacket in telling personal visual stories. Organizers received over 50 applications from photographers working on the African continent out of which the following 14 visual storytellers were selected. Jonathan Chambalin (Nigeria) Barry Christianson (South Africa) Yagazie Emezi (Nigeria) Thana Faroq (Yemen) Néha Hirve (India) Nneka Iwunna Ezemezue (Nigeria) Joseph Obanubi (Nigeria) Lee-Ann Olwage (South Africa) Adetona Omokanye (Nigeria) Etinosa Yvonne Osayimwen (Nigeria) Miora Rajaonary (Madagascar) Wana Udobang (Nigeria) Benson Ibeabuchi Ugochukwu (Nigeria) Ley Uwera (DR Congo) Participants at the Lab and their trainers will explore different aspects in documentary visual essay-making such as: how to develop ideas; how to research; production; editing and writing of photo captions of your visual story. There will be a critical assessment of ideas for documentary projects in terms of their visual and commercial potential as well as learn the best approach to grant writing. Speakers at the three-day Lab include Andrew Esiebo, Nigerian photographer, Jehan Jillani, photo editor @National Geographic, Olivier Laurent, photo editor @The Washington Post, and Nicole Werbeck, photo editor @NPR. Other speakers are Kyla Woods, Blink, Kainaz Amaria, Vox Media, Andrew Wise, Diversify Photo and Visura Wana Udobang, Journalist, Poet, Filmmaker.