Under the guidance of Witty Books publisher Tommaso Parrillo, designer Giulia Boccarossa and PhMuseum curator Rocco Venezia, a selected group of photographers will be followed through the advanced phase of their projects with the goal of concluding a body of work and having it ready for publishing.
At the end of the 7-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 PhMuseum. The program will be conducted online, with one final gathering at PhMuseum Days International Photography Festival (Bologna, Italy) where photobooks and dummies will be exhibited.
To participate, simply fill in the form with your personal details, share a link to your portfolio and apply for free. If your application is successful, we will guide you to enroll in the program.
During 6 online 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.
The 2 online 60-min individual coaching sessions will give you time to engage in specific discussions aimed at working on your assignment ideas and improving your methods. Sessions are tailor-made according to your specific needs and that of your practice.
To grant you industry insight and offer complementary information, we have invited expert practitioners to host 12 interactive studio visits. They will disclose the methodologies behind their work and offer you a better understanding of their role in the industry. Scroll down to discover who they are. These sessions will also be joined by Criticae and Mediae Masterclasses participants.
At the end of the program, you are invited to your projects live on PhMuseum's Youtube channel. All the dummies produced by the participants will be displayed at PhMuseum Days. Moreover, Witty Books will select a work to be published in the form of a book. All participants will further benefit from dissemination opportunities through PhMuseum channels and connections.
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.
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.
I am an Iranian photographer, film maker and curator living in the UK. My work questions the identity, it expresses something personal, which pertains to a general issue.
© Zöe Maxwell
Elisa Medde edits, curates and writes about photography and visual culture. She has served as Editor-in-Chief of Foam Magazine, Amsterdam for 11 years.
Jon Uriarte (Hondarribia, Spain) is an artist, curator and educator. He is curator of digital programmes at The Photographers Gallery in London, UK and served as curator of Getxophoto Image Festival in Getxo, Spain until 2022.
Is a curator, writer and lecturer based in Zurich and Montreux. Since 2018, he has been a curator and responsable de projets d’expositions at the Photo Elysée in Lausanne.
Dutch graphic designer Sybren Kuiper studied Dutch language and literature at the University of Utrecht. After graduating, he studied graphic design at the art academy, also in Utrecht. Since 1994 he works as an independent graphic designer.
This masterclass offers you the concrete and unprecedented opportunity to have the work of a participant published and fully founded. All the class members will also see their projects become ready-to-print dummies.
Enroll from anywhere in the world, taking the opportunity to engage in a program you can attend while working or traveling. All the group sessions and studio visits are recorded so you can follow them if you missed them.
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
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.
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.