Joop Swart's Master Class is World Press Photo's most renowned educational program for beginner photographers in documentary photography, photojournalism and visual storytelling. The Joop Swart program encourages authors to embody new and diverse approaches to photography.
“The Joop Swart master class returns in an updated format after a three-year break. Adhering to the main goal of developing and mentoring photographers with 5-10 years of experience, special emphasis will be placed on the formation of skills for a long and sustainable career in photojournalism, documentary photography, etc.”, — they report World Press Photo.
Among the participants of the master class in 2024 — a photographer from Ukraine, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers Serhiy Korovaynyi. Its projects focus on the coverage of war conflicts, environmental problems, refugees and health. He now focuses on documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“I watched with fear as my Motherland completely plunged into the horrors of war. I am determined to continue documenting what is left of Donbas. The project goes against time as the Russian army advances and destroys cities and lives. I want to stay longer with the ordinary people of Donbas who were caught up in the war and tell their stories in order to show the true scale of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This task is not easy, as it requires researching the complexity of the topic, traveling to a combat zone with proper equipment and support, and dealing with traumatic problems. But as a Donbas photographer with experience working in a combat zone, I am well prepared for this mission,” says the photographer.
Kateryna Radchenko, founder of the international festival of contemporary photography Odesa Photo Days, who in 2023 headed the European jury of World Press Photo and was part of the global jury of the competition, submitted to Serhiy Korovaynyy's workshop.
The photographer admits that he managed to get to the workshop on the second attempt: “It's simple, this year my application was stronger. This is a super valuable experience! I am incredibly happy and excited to have the opportunity to study with international colleagues. In addition, I am glad that later I will be able to bring this experience to Ukraine.”
The Joop Swart 2024 master class program will consist of three components:
In total, 12 photographers will participate in the program: representatives of Palestine, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Colombia, Myanmar, India and Canada. All of them were selected by an independent selection committee from among 200 nominees. Participants will work on their projects under the guidance of four mentors, whose names will be announced shortly.
Serhiy Korovaynyi— photojournalist and portrait photographer. Collaborates with international publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Guardian, Financaial Times and others. He produces his documentary projects, where he focuses on the themes of the Russian-Ukrainian war, ecology and various aspects of Ukrainian modernity. He was educated in the United States in the Master's Program in Visual Storytelling as a Fulbright Program Fellow. In 2018, he joined The Gate, a leading Ukrainian photo agency. Sergey's works have been exhibited at numerous personal and collective exhibitions in Ukraine, the USA and the EU.
Photographer's social networks: Instagramand Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Joop Swart's Master Class is World Press Photo's most renowned educational program for beginner photographers in documentary photography, photojournalism and visual storytelling. The Joop Swart program encourages authors to embody new and diverse approaches to photography.
“The Joop Swart master class returns in an updated format after a three-year break. Adhering to the main goal of developing and mentoring photographers with 5-10 years of experience, special emphasis will be placed on the formation of skills for a long and sustainable career in photojournalism, documentary photography, etc.”, — they report World Press Photo.
Among the participants of the master class in 2024 — a photographer from Ukraine, a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers Serhiy Korovaynyi. Its projects focus on the coverage of war conflicts, environmental problems, refugees and health. He now focuses on documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“I watched with fear as my Motherland completely plunged into the horrors of war. I am determined to continue documenting what is left of Donbas. The project goes against time as the Russian army advances and destroys cities and lives. I want to stay longer with the ordinary people of Donbas who were caught up in the war and tell their stories in order to show the true scale of the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This task is not easy, as it requires researching the complexity of the topic, traveling to a combat zone with proper equipment and support, and dealing with traumatic problems. But as a Donbas photographer with experience working in a combat zone, I am well prepared for this mission,” says the photographer.
Kateryna Radchenko, founder of the international festival of contemporary photography Odesa Photo Days, who in 2023 headed the European jury of World Press Photo and was part of the global jury of the competition, submitted to Serhiy Korovaynyy's workshop.
The photographer admits that he managed to get to the workshop on the second attempt: “It's simple, this year my application was stronger. This is a super valuable experience! I am incredibly happy and excited to have the opportunity to study with international colleagues. In addition, I am glad that later I will be able to bring this experience to Ukraine.”
The Joop Swart 2024 master class program will consist of three components:
In total, 12 photographers will participate in the program: representatives of Palestine, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Colombia, Myanmar, India and Canada. All of them were selected by an independent selection committee from among 200 nominees. Participants will work on their projects under the guidance of four mentors, whose names will be announced shortly.
Serhiy Korovaynyi— photojournalist and portrait photographer. Collaborates with international publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Guardian, Financaial Times and others. He produces his documentary projects, where he focuses on the themes of the Russian-Ukrainian war, ecology and various aspects of Ukrainian modernity. He was educated in the United States in the Master's Program in Visual Storytelling as a Fulbright Program Fellow. In 2018, he joined The Gate, a leading Ukrainian photo agency. Sergey's works have been exhibited at numerous personal and collective exhibitions in Ukraine, the USA and the EU.
Photographer's social networks: Instagramand Facebook
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.