Creativity Works:  Photography  Roundup

1 February 2021

Our flagship photography with Magnum Photos returned in September 2020 as Creativity Works: Photography, supported by the Mayors Fund for London, the Mayor’s Digital Talent Programme, Arts Council England, and Stride.

After rounding up the programme we go through just a few highlights from the six-week course.

Amara Eno; a photographic producer for the British Red Cross, ran a session and taught the cohort the art of storytelling.

Amara predominantly works within areas of documentary, portraiture, and reportage which can sometimes be difficult.

Before taking a photograph, she explains that you should try and grasp exactly what you want the photograph to say. Doing so, allows the picture to unfold an intricate masterpiece and seizes the opportunity to allow a picture to speak a thousand words.

She also spoke about exploring human relationships and the type of work she encounters within the communities she captures in her photographs.

Hannah Price, a phenomenal photographic artist, and filmmaker; spoke about how she was asked to respond to a story written by Zadie Smith and produce a photographic response.

The participants then experimented and found ways to tell different stories through imagery from one brief by showing various angles and styles.

Storytelling is a huge part of photography and it showed through the many discussions that came up throughout the duration of the programme.

Though there were practical sessions on the basics of setting up a studio, such as using different lights, stands and looking at safety measures, the ultimate theme was learning how to shape the narrative using different techniques as the core of taking strong photographs.

Throughout the six-weeks, the cohort worked on a creative response to a brief from Reebok, ‘Write your Legacy'. Taking what they learned from the speakers as well as from one-to-one crits and feedback from each other, they developed their work and presented it back at a final pitch.

Here are some of the work created by our participants to Reebok’s brief:

Jessica Voicu

'The Changing Face of Legacy'

The University of Oxford has started to invest more - albeit not enough - time and money into outreach initiatives. However, the perception that Oxford’s social experience doesn’t match that of other universities still prevails, particularly among young underrepresented applicants.

Having attended a remote non-selective state school and being discouraged from applying by my teachers, I understand the hesitation and accompanying imposter syndrome that applicants often experience surrounding their interviews.

This photo-series explores the evolving and exciting legacy that female students of colour are creating by attending and thriving in an institution that has typically fostered whiteness, encouraging others to also pursue this unique experience.

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Ella Tshibambi-Niles

'Creatives in London'

Being a creative is about the possibilities, the ideas, the failed projects and the endless opportunities. Most importantly, it’s about the freedom to express ourselves.

My friends make a conscious effort to convey their creativity through their culture of origin. They influence London’s youth culture at the same time as it influences them.

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Rachel Goulding

'Permanent'

This project is a critic on society’s lack of sustainability and overconsumption that is installed into the norm.

The focus on sustainability is more important now than it ever was as our planet is slowly deteriorating and we as a society need to make this our legacy and strive to make conscious changes to save our planet.

There are permanent effects of unsustainable living and this series of images are here to make you rethink as a viewer on your own habits that negatively impact our environment.

We as a society need to make sustainability our legacy. This project is a critic on fast fashion and on how overconsumption is the norm. Unsustainable living has permanent effects. These images are here to make you rethink your own habits. This legacy is more important now than it ever has been. We need a sustainable future.

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Visit our online virtual gallery here to see all the work created by the Creativity Works: Photography class of 2020:

Virtual gallery