From October
2022
to March 2022
Language
English
11 seats
+1 scholarship
Dedication
50+
Hours
Under the guidance of Witty Books publisher Tommaso Parrillo, designer Giulia Boccarossa and PhMuseum curator Rocco Venezia, a group of photographers will be followed through the advanced phase of their projects with the goal of concluding the work and having it ready for publishing. At the end of the 6-month masterclass, all participants will be ready to present their work to an international audience in the form of a dummy or a photobook. Furthermore, Witty Books will select one of the participants’ work to be published as a 500-edition photobook as part of its catalogue. Production will be fully financed by Witty Books, with a contribution from the PhMuseum. The program will be conducted online, with one final gathering at PhMuseum Days International Photography Festival (Italy) where photobooks and dummies will be shown. To apply, simply fill in the form with your personal details, insert a link to your project and submit for free. If your application is successful, we will notify you and you will then be able to Enroll in the Program.
During 6 online 3.5-hour group classes Tommaso Parrillo, Giulia Boccarossa and Rocco Venezia will give you a general grounding in the contemporary photobook world, editing strategies and design techniques to develop your project into a photobook.
With these 2 online 60-min individual sessions you will have the time to engage in specific discussions aimed at working on your ideas and improving your method.
To grant you further insight we have also organized 5 interactive studio visits’ with guest artists, curators and gallerists to let you know about their practice and get a better understanding of their approach and role in the photography industry. More info soon.
At the end of the program, all the dummies produced by the participants will be presented and displayed at PhMuseum Days. Witty Books will select one work to be published in the form of a book. All participants will still benefit from dissemination opportunities through PhMuseum editorial initiatives and its network.
Thanks to the tutors and all the other students, my project matured and got to contain the richness of collective work, in which doubts, mistakes, trials and suggestions have been shared and contributed by everyone. The masterclass offered me the rare privilege of witnessing a process that is usually an intimate and unaccessible communication between the artist and the editor. Riccardo Svelto, Folio Class 2020
Tommaso Parrillo from Witty Books, Designer Giulia Boccarossa and PhMuseum curator Rocco Venezia will guide you through the exciting scene of the independent photobook publishing. Beyond offering you a clear picture of how things work, you will be granted access to practical strategies and personalized feedback to complete your work and have it ready for publishing. Plus and most importantly, they will select a project among those of the participants to be published and added to the Witty Books catalogue! A rare opportunity that can grant your career international visibility, prestige and distribution channels through Witty Books and PhMuseum networks.
Founder of Witty Books
Tommaso Parrillo is an Italian publisher and founder of Witty Books, a publishing house founded with the name of Witty Kiwi in 2012, that aims to promote photography and visual arts. Since 2016 he is also co-founder of JEST, an independent space dedicated to enhancing culture and photography in Turin . He also teaches photography in institutions as IED Torino, private school and workshops.
Graphic designer and illustrator
Giulia Boccarossa (Italy, 1995) is a graphic designer and
illustrator. After finishing her classical studies she started her training as a designer.
She graduated from the faculty of Industrial Design at the UNIRSM-IUAV University of San
Marino, then she achieved a Master's Degree in Communication and Design for Publishing at
ISIA in Urbino with a thesis entitled "Designer's role in the photographic publishing
industry: the imprint of the graphic designer on the Italian Photo Book".
Her works have been shown in exhibitions such as the Santarcangelo Theater Festival (2019),
the "Italia 90" exhibition organized by Condominio XYZ in Milan (2020), the Graphic Days in
Turin (2021) and more recently "Il mestiere di grafico-oggi" at the Triennale, Milan (2022).
With her books and illustrations projects, she obtained several awards and recognitions,
amongst those the prestigious HISTORICAL BOOK AWARD 2020 by Les Rencontres d'Arles, a
shortlist in the ADI Index Catalog 2020 in the Targa Giovani category, the Fedrigoni Top
Award 2020, and an honourable mention at the 2020 Marco Bastianelli Award.
She collaborates with photographers such as Pino Musi, Lorenzo Leone and Stefano Cerio and
with publishing houses such as Hatje Cantz and Witty Books.
PhMuseum curator
Rocco Venezia is a visual artist and works as a curator for
PhMuseum.
His project Nekyia is a book published by Witty Books in 2017, the monograph is part of the
collection at the National Art Library of Victoria & Albert Museum in London. His latest
work - Is Life Under The Sun Not Just a Dream - started in 2018 and developed under the
European Program Parallel Platform, by which he has been selected as second cycle emerging
artist. He has been nominated by VOID as one of the Futures Talents of 2021.
Next to his personal practice, Rocco works as a curator and producer for PhMuseum since
2017. Lately, he has worked on the concept and editing of the two collective publications by
PhMuseum - Familiar Stranger (2020) and Inside (2021) and has served as photography curator
for the PhMuseum Days International Photo Festival.
With FOLIO we grant you a behind the scene access to the studio of recognized practitioners. A way to enrich your experience and get relevant insights. Each session comprises a presentation plus an open Q&A session to facilitate interaction. Info about guest speakers soon.
Folio has not only changed the perspective of my future as a photographer, but it also changed the course of my career. Both PhMuseum and Witty Books granted me opportunities that, because of my context, I would not have been able to access. Allan Salas, Folio Class 2021
This masterclass offers you the concrete and unprecedented opportunity to have the work of 1 participant published and fully founded. All the participants will also see their project become a ready-to-print dummy.
Engage with a selected group of peers and professionals from around the world, who can become a resource also for your future. Take advantage of PhMuseum and Witty Books international networks.
This program grants you a first-hand experience encompassing both a theoretical and practical approach to photography, editing and design with the specific goal of a photobook in mind.
In this unstable period you can engage in a program that will happen no matter what having the chance to learn from home while working or studying.
Enjoy a high end program at our launching price, one of the most competitive on the market. If you don’t have the resources, you can also apply for 1 fully-funded scholarship.
Just click on apply now and send us your portfolio and main info before 22 August 2022. If your application is successful, you will then be able to enrol in the program. All the applications will be reviewed by Tommaso Parrillo and PhMuseum’s Team. What we will consider is the potential of your ongoing project, the strength of your ideas and the coherence of your portfolio.
All the applications will be reviewed by Tommaso Parrillo and PhMuseum’s Team. What we will consider is the potential of your ongoing project, the strength of your ideas and the coherence of your portfolio.
15 July - If you apply by this date you can be eligible for the full scholarship. Please take care of sending a motivational paragraph that addresses why you would benefit from attending the program.
29 July - If you apply by this date you can be eligible for the Early Bird Fee of €1,600. All applications submitted for the scholarship will be automatically eligible for the Early Bird Fee.
22 August - If you apply by this date you can join the program by paying the Regular Fee of €1,850. The seats are limited, so we recommend you do not wait until the last day.
Please note, in case you will be offered a place, PhMuseum will be happy to provide you with a supporting letter when you try to secure any external funding opportunities. For example, in previous editions of our masterclasses, the fee of candidates has been fully funded thanks to the generous support of IWMF Howard G. Buffett Fund for Women Journalists or other national programs.
All the online classes are held on ZOOM. We will grant you a specific link each time and you’ll need to connect at least 15 minutes before.
To attend them you will need:
Mac OS x 10.11 or higher or Windows 7 or higher.*
A stable internet connection
A quiet environment
Access to Google Drive
Drop us a line at rocco@phmuseum.com.