Canon hosts photography and videography workshop to nurture Kenya’s creative talent

Reaffirming a commitment to developing young talent in the region, Canon, a world leader in imaging solutions, in partnership with Office Technologies, the local distributor of Canon in Kenya, and House of Fotography, is hosting a series of professional photography and video workshops in Nairobi between May 9-20.  

The educational sessions are intended to provide emerging young artistes the skills and training needed to gain more knowledge in their field, whilst harnessing new talent and giving Kenya’s youth hands-on access to Canon’s cameras. The workshops will encourage participants to boost their professional photography portfolio by producing a host of images that will be displayed in an exhibition to be held on May 21st and 22nd in the Westgate Mall in partnership with Sona Shoppe. 

Canon is committed to the Africa region and recently established Canon Central and North Africa, a division under Canon Middle East, to be closer to its customers in Africa.  The workshops are part of the company’s efforts to enhance its presence in the strategically important Kenyan market, through social responsible activities which form a core part of the company’s corporate philosophy, ‘Kyosei,’ a Japanese word meaning living and working together for the common good.

From May 9-13, a short course in DSLR filmmaking will take place at Office Technologies’ offices, to be followed by a workshop on Commercial Street Photography from May 14-15 in the same location. The creative sessions will end with the Canon story-telling photo workshop being held from May 14-20, and hosted by the world renowned photojournalist Gary Knight, also a Canon Master, at the House of Fotography.

With access to Canon equipment, attendees will be advised on their projects and will greatly benefit from private lessons and creative and technical sessions which will introduce them to the most cutting-edge technology in the world of photography and videography.  

Commenting on the workshop initiative, Gary Knight said: “Africa - especially East Africa - is growing at a rapid pace and there is no shortage of creative talent in this region. Short professional workshops like these play an important role in education by enabling participants to learn through actual experience. Together with Canon, we have been conducting these workshops in the hope of inspiring local photographers and now videographers to live up to their full potential.”

Basil Serrao, Managing Director, Office Technologies Ltd, said: “We are pleased to partner with Canon in its initiative to nurture and develop the upcoming talent within Kenya. With this venture, we hope to enhance the knowledge and skillset of the students via a “hands on” experience with the right equipment and professional training. We look forward to these and the many more to come in the future.” 

Commenting on the workshop initiative, Sharon & Teddy Mitchener from House of Fotography, said:  “It is indeed a pleasure and an honor to come alongside Canon and play our part in growing the industry in this part of the world!”

Canon serves as an active partner in the communities it operates in, by working with governments, scientific, academic, humanitarian, and arts and culture organizations, to integrate corporate social responsibility across all elements of the business.