ALULA: Free photography workshops being run for young people in AlUla will continue until Jan. 25, organizers announced on Thursday.
The sessions, offered under a collaboration agreement between global imaging company Canon and the Royal Commission for AlUla, are part of the RCU’s efforts to regenerate the region as a global cultural and natural heritage tourist destination.
The workshops are being run at the Madrasat Addeera center and involve students making site visits to capture images of AlUla in line with UN sustainable development goals.
Photography locations include the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Hegra, AlUla Old Town, AlUla oasis, the Maraya multi-purpose venue, and various community sites.
An exhibition of the students’ photographs is planned for February in AlUla’s arts district of Al-Jadidah during AlUla Arts Festival.
An RCU-Canon panel of judges selected 14 participants, aged between 14 and 18, from 100 applicants for the program.
The workshops are being led by experts from Canon with assistance from previous AlUla course students, and cameras are provided by the company.
The tutoring aims to inspire, educate, and empower the group to tell their stories, in addition to providing them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to tackle sustainability issues using creativity and critical thinking.
The workshops tie in with the RCU’s strategic objectives which include diversifying the economy of AlUla and creating new career paths for young people, expanding the region’s emerging creative ecosystem, and growing the commission’s roster of high-end collaborations, which already include Ferrandi Paris, Piaget, and the Louvre Museum.
Hamad Al-Homiedan, the RCU’s arts enrichment and academia manager, said: “Collaboration with Canon provides a new lens through which we see AlUla’s creative and rewarding future. It teaches precise, practical skills to young people as we diversify the economy and empower the community.
“It awakens creativity and further positions AlUla as a sanctuary for the arts. And it broadens our impressive base of global alliances.”
Adam Pensotti, head of the Canon young people program for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said: “Building on the fantastic success of the 2022 Canon young people program in AlUla, it is a pleasure to be looking ahead to our 2023 program.
“The creative work produced by young people in AlUla in 2022 was amongst the best that I have seen across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and it is great to see Canon continue the successful partnership with the RCU into a second year,” he added.
Canon’s Middle East operation also collaborated with the commission in May last year at AlUla Arts Festival to train young people in visual storytelling.
