Rwandan photojournalists to feature in international exhibition

Ten Rwandan photojournalists last week participated in a week- long workshop in Kigali meant to develop their skills and will in turn host a photo exhibition during the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi. The workshop, organised by Kings College London, came about as a result of a research essay by Dr Zoe Norridge, on the tendency of international photography to focus on the wounded survivors. Dr Norridge lectures English and Comparative Literature and writes testimonies and documentaries on genocide. “What I was interested in during the research was how we tell stories of people living today. Most people who document the country, especially international visitors, leave out bits of the story of rebuilding a new life. Why does everyone have to go back to 1994 and never past that?”The photojournalists were trained by renowned photographers Brandon Bannon and Andrew Esiebo, who both have held exhibitions all over the world. “We were looking to advance professional skills to increase the chances of the Rwandan story being told by Rwandans. When NGOs are commissioning photography, there is a tendency to bring in foreign photojournalists; we are looking to build capacity in a way that the NGOs can use local photography so that Rwandans can tell their own story,” Norridge said.The organisers said they had over 50 qualified applicants but had to zero in on 10, though in the future they are looking to work with more photographers.The Rwandan image The exhibition, which is set to be held between March and April 2014, in London, UK, will feature works of the photographers who participated in the Kigali workshop. Dr Norridge said she is not trying to give Rwanda a new image as the country has already achieved that on its own. “Rwanda has given itself a new image, what we are trying to do is to show the image it has given itself. We are trying to give a taste of the life in Rwanda today through the exhibition and trying to show that the country is not the same as it previously was.” Bannon, who has worked on photo essays across the world, said the training ranged from technical to critical information on how to sequence photography. “It was about learning how they can use images in concert to tell powerful stories. When you think about writing, it is about accumulating words and sentence to tell stories, photographic essays is about accumulating photos to tell stories. That was one of the objectives of the workshop. ”The workshop served as a platform for various photographers in the country to share experiences and encourage skills growth. “Rwandans have been telling their own stories; we are looking to improve the ability to do that. It requires creating networks that allow people to succeed internationally. One of the seeds we were trying to plant in the workshop is network creation to link them to each other and to the outside world.”Mussa Uwitonze, a Kigali based professional photographer working on a photography project, Through the Eyes of Children, said that through the workshop, he had learnt on ways to tell stories through images and provided a chance for growth.“As a local photographer the oncoming exhibition will enable me grow and also provide a chance to tell the real story of the country as opposed to what most perceive of the country.”

National

Rwandan photojournalists to feature in international exhibition