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Si vous residez en France, il est désormais possible de profiter de vos droits à la formation professionnelle pour participer à un workshop Venezia Photo. Selon votre statut, deux dispositifs existent pour vous accompagner dans le financement partiel ou total de votre workshop à Venise.
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
CLASSIC From April 9 to 12, 2026

KOURTNEY ROY

Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Between Truth and Artifice: Crafting Visual Fictions
Festival Workshop
Sale price€1.530,00 Finance my workshop

“I don’t try to document the world as it is. I create the world as I want to see it.”

- Kourtney Roy

This immersive workshop with Kourtney Roy invites participants to explore how reality can be reimagined through colour, performance and staged photography in the most cinematic city in the world, Venice.

Over four days, participants will create constructed visual fictions inspired by everyday Venetian backdrops such as canals, laundromats, narrow passages or vaporetto stops, transforming these familiar places into surreal stages where humour, melancholy and absurdity meet.

Venice, suspended between water and sky, becomes both a set and a character. Its reflections, textures and naturally theatrical light provide the perfect raw material for exploring the tension between truth and artifice, spontaneity and control, the real and the imagined.

This workshop is not a technical training on software, lighting or camera operation. It focuses on artistic direction, composition and narrative intention. Participants learn how to imagine a scene, build a character, shape a mood and construct an image that transcends documentation to become fiction.

Bio

Through bold colour, performance, and staged scenes, Kourtney Roy turns ordinary places into strange, cinematic worlds. Her work playfully probes identity and fantasy, where glamour collides with absurdity and the everyday slips into the surreal.

Kourtney Roy transforms found locations into theatrical stages, using the overlooked margins of everyday life—roadside motels, empty parking lots, suburban houses, desolate beaches—as the backdrop for her hyperreal photos. By intervening in these ordinary sites with costume, gesture, and stylized direction, she destabilizes their familiarity and uncovers the uncanny potential hidden in plain view.

Her photographs have garnered many prizes and grants, the Prix Carte Blanche PMU/Le Bal in 2013 and in 2018 was granted Pernod Ricard’s prestigious Carte Blanche campaign. She is a laureate of the National Library of France’s Grand Commande Photojournalisme (2022) and in 2023 she was awarded the The 4-Handed Swiss Life Prize alongside the composer Mathias Delplanque. She lives and works in France.

Pedagogical learning

  • Develop an original concept for a staged photograph
  • Use colour, performance and mise en scène to create visual fiction
  • Adapt everyday spaces into cinematic settings
  • Build a character, atmosphere or situation using minimal resources
  • Compose images that balance humour, tension, surrealism or emotion
  • Direct themselves or others to create intentional poses and gestures
  • Select and sequence images to construct a coherent narrative
  • Reflect on their artistic choices and articulate the logic behind their images

Skills targeted

  • Strengthen narrative and conceptual thinking
  • Develop a personal visual language
  • Learn to use context, detail and colour as creative tools
  • Improve composition, staging and direction of subjects
  • Enhance editing, sequencing and project presentation
  • Cultivate spontaneity, experimentation and artistic boldness

Target audience

Photographers, visual artists and creative practitioners who wish to explore staged photography, expand their imagination and develop a more cinematic approach to storytelling.

Prerequisites

  • Autonomous use of a digital camera
  • Personal equipment including camera, lenses, memory cards, a hard drive, a laptop with charger, and editing software
  • A selection of 5 personal images must be sent prior to the workshop
WHAT'S INCLUDED
  • The complete workshop: from Thursday, April 9, 2026 at 2:30 p.m. to Sunday, April 12, 2026 at 1 p.m.
  • 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners, 2 cocktails
  • Access to the closing evening
  • Any equipment loans
  • Access to any tourist sites or places of interest planned as part of the workshop
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
  • Return transport to Venice and San Servolo
  • Accommodation: 100 rooms are available on site, in San Servolo, otherwise you'll need to arrange your own accommodation in Venice
  • Lunch is on your own: there is a cafeteria in San Servolo
  • Vaporettos and other water cabs outside the excursions scheduled as part of the workshop
  • All insurance cover for lost or stolen luggage, delayed or cancelled transport, theft or breakage of equipment during the workshop
Detailed program
Day 1

Morning

Arrival of participants before noon and time to settle into the creative environment

Afternoon

  • Welcome and introduction to the workshop, offering a first immersion into Kourtney Roy’s cinematic, playful and performative universe
  • Presentation of Kourtney’s work followed by a collective review of participants’ images
  • Discussion on visual storytelling, character creation, emotional tone and the central role of performance in staged photography
  • First exploratory exercises to observe Venice as a potential film set and to reflect on how models — including participants themselves — can inhabit these spaces

Day 2

Morning

  • Artistic direction session focused on inventing characters, imagining scenes and understanding how to guide a model toward a specific mood or gesture
  • Exploration of posture, body language and expressive presence in staged photography

Afternoon

  • First constructed shoots in Venice with models, experimenting with color, movement and theatrical mise-en-scène
  • Guidance from Kourtney on directing models, shaping emotion, and integrating unexpected elements from the surrounding environment
  • Participants are encouraged to work both behind and, if they wish, in front of the camera to understand the performative dimension of the image
Day 3

Morning

  • Continuation of staged photography sessions with models in a variety of Venetian settings
  • Focus on refining character, attitude and narrative intention within the frame
  • Work on creating images where reality and fiction merge seamlessly

Afternoon

  • Review, editing and refining the selection of images
  • Discussion on coherence, atmosphere and how the presence of the model supports the constructed narrative
  • Preparation of a small series for the final presentation
Day 4

Morning

Collective presentation of the work produced, encouraging dialogue, constructive critique and reflection on the use of models in each participant’s fictional universe

Afternoon
Conclusion of the workshop and closing discussion

Please note that this program is subject to adjustments by the artist to best serve the needs and direction of the workshop.
Evaluation methods
  • Continuous assessment through daily individual feedback and group discussions.
  • Final presentation of each participant’s work during the collective screening.
  • End-of-session evaluation and self-assessment form to measure satisfaction and learning outcomes.
  • Access to a shared alumni group for post-workshop dialogue and creative exchange.
After the training

Participants’ work may be featured through Venezia Photo’s communication channels (newsletter, website, social media).
A private online group will allow participants to stay connected, share projects, and continue discussions beyond the workshop.
ACCESSIBILITY

All efforts are made to accommodate participants with disabilities. Please contact us in advance for adaptation of conditions.

Language of instructor

English

Duration & location

San Servolo - 4 Days
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice
Staged Photography Workshop – Constructed Fictions in Venice Sale price€1.530,00