The Cultural Village Foundation – Katara recently opened the 1st edition of the Photography Festival through an exhibition featuring five well-known photographers of different nationalities, in a celebration of communities and their art.
An inaugural event was held on Wednesday, 19 October at Katara Building 19. The exhibition is scheduled to run until 30 October, and is open to the public from 10 am to 10 pm. Exemplary works of photographers from Germany, Lebanon, Qatar and the Philippines is now on display, each with their own perspective and showcasing individual style and creativity.
The Photographers
One of the photographers featured in the exhibition is Marhaba’s very own Andrea Buenafe. Andrea started taking photos four years ago when she was new in Doha and trying to find her way out of Souq Waqif. Her mobile phone was her first ‘camera’ and the alleys and corners of Souq Waqif became her ‘training’ ground. Andrea’s career in the media industry also gave her a chance to practice and enhance her photography skills.
Her photographs, according to her, try to capture the beauty in her surroundings. While she was mostly in her element capturing lines in landscapes and structures – colours, movements, and a general feeling of well-being permeated from her frames. She has won at least three times in MIA InstaMeet and one time at Fanar QND contest. She is officially the eyes behind the beautiful video posts of Marhaba online.
Aside from Andrea, visitors will also get a chance to see the exemplary work of Jordis Schloesser from her trips around the world, Tony Hage’s innovative work as well as pieces by the popular Qatari brothers, Nasser and Hassan Al Emadi.
Jordis Antonia Schlösser has worked in almost every part of the world for prestigious magazines like Geo, Stern, National Geographic and Spiegel. In 1998, she was admitted to the World Press Joop Swart Masterclass. Among other awards, she received the prize for the ’International Yann Geoffroy Competition’ and a ’World Press Photo Award’. After long years in Havanna and Paris, Jordis Antonia Schlösser has been living and working in Berlin since 2008.
Tony Hage earned himself a place in the world of fashion during the Paris Fashion Week. Through the Gamma and MaxPPP agencies, his photographs were published in some of the most prestigious publications including Time, The Times, The Independent, Le Figaro Magazine, Gala, Voici, and Paris Match. He had an exhibition earlier last year ‘Pris sur le vif’’ at Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris.
Hassan and Nasser Al Emadi have been capturing Doha in photos since 2013. While Hassan is very dynamic, with a strong focus on commercial and fashion photography, Nasser’s strength lie in nature and architecture. Hassan actively gives back to the community by offering photography workshops to Qatar Red Crescent, while Nasser has taken part in several local and regional shows the most notable being ‘My Heritage is My Responsibility’.
The Festival
During the inaugural ceremony, the General Manager of the Cultural Village Foundation- Katara, Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, stressed their aim to make Katara a ‘hub’ and an essential ‘station’ for amateur and professional photographers.
Katara aims to provide a suitable ambience for the amateur photographer by organising informative workshops, which will contribute to the refinement of their skills and a showcase for their talents. In addition, another matching-ambience is set for professional photographers to meet up with the audience to examine their impressions and opinions closely.’
The renowned photographers will also be conducting workshops for photography enthusiasts during weekends throughout the duration of the festival. These workshops will be based on some of the key elements of photography, and will address topics such as ‘Street photography’, ‘Reportage Photography’, ‘Digital Photography’ and ‘Studio Lighting’. Jordis, Tony, Andrea and Hassan will present the topics respectively. Each topic will be presented twice to accommodate at least 160 participants.
For more information about the Katara Photography Festival, visit the Katara Cultural Village website through this link.
https://www.marhaba.qa/event/photography-festival-katara/
