Got an old digital camera lying around? Participants at an upcoming Open Workshop on Photography are looking for donated cameras to hone their compositional and visual story-telling skills on! Quality of the device doesn’t really matter, so long as it takes what are recognizable as pictures, at least some of the time, we can absolutely use it.

The Open Workshop is designed for Khmer students and NGO teams who want to become better at communicating what’s going on in their projects visually, so your donated device would be furthering the causes of transparency and the open flow of life experience around the world. If you have something you’d like to give, please drop us a line and we’ll figure out how we can collect it!

Kinyei is holding a series of 4 Open Workshops on Photography throughout May. Good photography can go along way in helping us visually communicate Battambang globally. Recognising that many of us are working for NGO’s and Community Based Organisations that need to communicate development challenges, progress, environment and teams to supporters and board members this workshop series aims to help us do that through enabling us to take quality photographs.

When

Introduction to Photography: Thursday 5th May 2011 5pm-6.30pm More on Composition: Thursday 12th May 2011 5pm-6.30pm Light and subjects: Thursday 19th May 2011 5pm-6.30pm Sharing and discussing eachothers photographs: Thursday 26th May 2011 5pm-6.30pm

Who is running the workshop?

Andre Vandam Freelance Photographer

Andre was originaly a primary school teacher, but 3 years ago he changed careers to follow his passion and became a freelance photographer. Andre spent the last 2 years living in China, in a very remote mountian village, which provided him with lots of opportunities to photograph daily life. It was here that he developed a great love for black and white photography!

Andre moved to Battambang in September 2010 and intends to stay for 2 years. His most recent project was a calendar for 2011, which sold very well in the Netherlands, France, Spain, England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and Cambodia.

Among his new projects are exhibitions in Cafe Eden and the Lighthouse Gallery, near the Royal Hotel and cards, which are hand made, and contain unique photographs of Cambodia. Andre is excited about sharing his knowledge of photography with Battambang’s community, as it’s such a fantastic way to capture and record the amazing projects taking place.

Who’s it for?

Anyone involved in producing communication and marketing marterials for their organisation. If you are a foreign volunteer and would like to join the workshop we encourage you to bring a Khmer counterpart to ensure the skills are delivered in a sustainably.

What languages will the workshop be in?

English and Khmer

How to register?

Please email workshop@kinyei.org with:

Your name: Your Khmer Counterpart’s name (if applicable): Organisation:

Please note you will need to commit to all 4 sessions and the workshop can only cater for 8-10 people so first in best dressed.

Materials needed

A camera (simple is fine; does not require an expensive camera)

Where

Kinyei Office St 1.5 Battambang Town

Look forward to seeing you in May and taking some amazing photos!

March has been a busy month for Kinyei’s Open Workshop space. Our most recent workshop was led by Amit Janco, who ran a creative arts class, exploring self-expression through a range of mediums.

The participants, both Khmer and foreign, hailed from a variety of occupations, some NGO workers, some English teachers, others small business owners who worked in pairs to enhance communication methods using paints, and other tools.

Participants had lots to say about the experience. One particpant was “refreshed [about] the meditative aspect of artwork, and enjoyed the people and Amit’s easy charm”. The participants created artwork collaboratively, working in pairs. They then went on a meditative walk to explore how their heightened sensitivity to their surroundings transformed their creative process. It was great to hear one participant say “ideas come from doing, not thinking though that is needed to carry them out”.