Stage X Events - Photography Workshops

Stage X Events

STAGE X

The home of powerful visual storytelling

January 2026
How Freedom Survives in Afghanistan

How Freedom Survives in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is now the only country where girls are barred from secondary school and higher education, where many women are forbidden to work outside the home, and in some regions cannot move without a male guardian. Public spaces that once sustained community and confidence have been closed to them. In this talk, photojournalist Kiana Hayeri […]
29 Jan
15:10 - 15:25
Stage X
The Desert Found Me by Virginie Ellis

The Desert Found Me

A lyrical tribute to the UAE where silence becomes presence, Virginie Ellis invites the audience into Liwa, the ocean of dunes that became her muse. From a childhood spark inspired by Lawrence of Arabia to a Dubai rebirth, she crafts visual haiku of light, space, and sacred stillness. The talk reveals the desert’s hidden fullness, […]
29 Jan
15:35 - 15:55
Stage X
Narrative Storytelling and Getting Your Work Seen by Ilvy Nijokkjien

Narrative Storytelling and Getting Your Work Seen

Photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien shares a clear method for creating visual stories that connect with audiences. She explains how to identify subjects with genuine depth, earn trust with the people she photographs, and shape narratives that feel honest and compelling. Alongside the craft, she sets out practical pathways to visibility, from pitching to editors and curators […]
29 Jan
17:10 - 18:00
Stage X
The Snow Illusion by Smita Sharma

The Snow Illusion

Smita Sharma reveals a landscape that looks like the Arctic yet bakes under desert sun. Kishangarh Dumping Yard, a vast white expanse near Jaipur, appears to be snow but is marble ash from India’s largest marble industry. Its deceptive beauty draws influencers, local tourists, and pre-wedding shoots, while beneath the surface lie toxicity, dust exposure, […]
30 Jan
17:10 - 17:50
Stage X
Between Reality and Imagination: The Wilderness Within by Cath Simard

Between Reality and Imagination: The Wilderness Within

Cath Simard invites the audience into the space between what is seen and what is felt. Drawing on expeditions through Patagonia, Peru, the Canadian Rockies and beyond, she unveils the craft behind her surreal composite artworks. Through an intimate breakdown of how multiple field captures become a single final image, she shows how transparency, intention […]
31 Jan
15:10 - 15:50
Stage X
Between Memory and Light by Romany Hafez

Between Memory and Light

Between Memory and Light invites the audience into an immersive visual journey guided by Egyptian artist Romany Hafez. He explores how light, silence, and heritage merge to form a distinctive black and white language where human presence softens and architecture seems to breathe. Blending fine art photography with cultural preservation, Hafez traces the influence of […]
31 Jan
17:00 - 17:40
Stage X
How to Build Trust in Difficult Places by Tomasz Tomaszewski

How to Build Trust in Difficult Places

Every National Geographic photographer needs more than sharp eyes. They need the ability to truly see with an original perspective and a distinctive voice. Over three decades ago, the Director of Photography at National Geographic recognised Tomasz Tomaszewski’s capacity to work where cameras are often unwelcome and people may not appreciate or even permit being […]
31 Jan
18:20 - 19:00
Stage X
The Syria I Found Again by Salwan Georges

The Syria I Found Again

Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist Salwan Georges returns to Syria to document a nation emerging from decades of dictatorship and war, and to confront his own past. Working for The Washington Post, he covered the early days of the fall of the Assad regime, capturing the fragile reopening of a country long sealed off from the […]
31 Jan
22:00 - 22:40
Stage X
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