About Call

The Wacken Rock ‘n Roll Photography Workshop is an educational initiative launched as a collaboration between the Wacken Foundation and the NOOR Foundation in 2022.Taking the opportunity of 2023 Wacken edition (02-05 August 2023) and led by NOOR author Pep Bonet, it will support six selected English-speaking photographers by facilitating the development of their visual mastery in music, event and festival photography.

The criteria for selection of candidates is as follows:

• Portfolios will be reviewed on the basis of original, human-focused storytelling, including but not limited to community focus on musicians, teams, attendees, volunteers and the many faces of human connection in music festival culture
• Personal moments of humour, spontaneity, fun and memorable moments
• Inclusive and ethical representation of diverse individuals, couples and groups
• Capacity for the creation of rich single images that are exciting, expressive or captivating
• Capacity for the creation of visual stories that can act as effective communication
• We push for gender parity, and actively pursue equal representation of candidates

What winners receive

Tuition-free live workshop by NOOR Author Pep Bonet during Wacken 2023. For four days, the mentor and candidates will be working as a group, dividing tasks, creating a variety of images with a fresh style - shooting, editing and post-producing new photography on the spot to be used on the official WOA communication channels.

About the organization

The NOOR Foundation is an international non-profit committed to democratic principles and positive social change through the creative advancement of visual journalism and the documentary arts. We produce innovative high impact photographic and visual communication projects in partnership with museums, festivals, universities and organisations on critical issues such as global warming, migration, civil rights and equity and justice. We aim to inspire dialogue and action by hosting public screenings and events with activists and experts in visual arts, journalism and politics. Through our immersive workshops and unique master classes, we train hundreds of young photographers and filmmakers around the globe on ethics, creative practice, and the responsibilities of visual journalists to be critical thinkers and compassionate investigators. We are grateful to Nikon which supports our educational programs and invests in the next generation of storytellers. Since 2007, NOOR Foundation has taught approximately 1000 students in over 70 countries.

Application information

Multiple applications from the same candidate will disqualify the application. Photographers are expected to arrive in Wacken on July 31st and depart on August 6th, 2023. Please, don’t apply if you are not able to take part in the workshop entirely.

Judging Criteria

All candidates will be reviewed anonymously in a 2-tier assessment. Initial screening will be held by the NOOR team. The final candidates will be selected by a representative of the Wacken Foundation and Pep Bonet.

About the mentor Pep Bonet

The workshop will be led by Pep Bonet, multi-award winning photojournalist with a large body of work in music photography. Former photographer of Motörhead, official photographer of Wacken Open Air for various editions, Pep has been committed to the visual documentation of rock ‘n roll and heavy metal scenes across the globe, as demonstrated, among others, by his latest personal project ‘Hellbangers’, an audiovisual project and book documenting the unique underground metal music scene of Botswana.