Participants honed their skills in impactful storytelling through images under the guidance of celebrated Venezuelan photographer Ana Maria Arevalo Gosen at a Focus Group session titled “Eyes on the Impact” at the 9th edition of the International Photography Festival, Xposure, at Aljada, Sharjah on February 21.
Amateur as well as professional photographers shared their ideas for creating impactful stories – on tackling climate change and rising sea levels, portraits of artists on stage, and conserving giant armadillos. Gosen encouraged them to rethink their creative processes and discover new ways to align their work with ethical and community-focussed goals, thus ensuring storytelling becomes a meaningful force for change.
National Geographic Explorer, whose impact-driven projects have addressed women’s rights, social justice and environmental issues, Gosen referenced her own work on Unomia - an invasive coral species from Indonesia, which harmed Venezuelan waters affecting the livelihood of its coastal people. Her images helped garner community and governmental action.
Participants applied her six-step process – goals, audience, platforms, call to action, success metrics and creativity – to think up a project that they wanted to create impact with. They identified their audiences and collaborators, platforms and action plans systematically under her gentle and friendly prodding.
“What is the ultimate change you want to achieve by telling your story, and secondly, what is a more specific goal you could set to contribute to that change?” She asked them to give them four minutes to visualise each step. She distinguished between strong and weak calls to action, and the advantages of various communication platforms.
Through reflection and storytelling, the group sharpened their photojournalistic talent into a co-creative process that honoured the integrity of those portrayed while addressing ethical challenges and emphasising social impact.
Madrid-based Gosen, who has won numerous awards, will also hold a five-hour workshop on Intimacy and Photography on February 22 for photographers of all aptitudes apart from a presentation titled “Eternal Days: How Access and Trust Shaped my Work in Latin American Prisons” on February 26. The talk will offer an intimate perspective, through compelling photographs, on the hidden worlds of incarcerated women in Latin American nations Venezuela, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), Xposure 2025 runs from February 20 - 26. It features 100-plus galleries, over 300 renowned photographers and over 2500 pictures.
Learn more about the biggest platform for visual storytelling globally. Visit https://xposure.net/.
