MASTERCLASS – TECHNO INDIA UNIVERSITY, KOLKATA, INDIA
Presenting my work and holding a masterclass with students at Techno India University / École Intuit Lab in Kolkata. Thanks to Abhijit Pal for organising the event.
Photos by Bhumika Bhattacharyya
Mar 24, 2023
MASTERCLASS TRANSMEDIA DOCUMENTARY 2023
The Masterclass Transmedia Documentary is a 10-month advanced mentorship program including regular monthly lecturing units and individual mentoring sessions at freely selectable intervals within the course period. The total number of one-on-one meetings included in the package is 40 sessions of 60 minutes each.
The program can be used as an individual project development course or to deepen and broaden contemporary artistic and creative work practices in the field of transmedia documentary storytelling.
The tuition fee for the entire Masterclass is € 2,400 (including tax)
Program circles begin in February each year. The registration period ends at the end of the previous year on December 15th.
Successful participation in the program is confirmed by a certificate of completion.
Applications can be sent during the year including a letter of motivation and some meaningful work samples by email to: mentoring@jensschwarz.com
MENTORSHIP (ONLINE & OFFLINE)
Portfolio reviews, project development, editing & seqencing tutorials
I’m offering 30-minute personalised mentoring sessions (and multiples thereof), tailored to individual aspirations and goals. These tutorials can either be a classic portfolio review, can explore ideas generation, research and project development, or focus on editing & sequencing of an existing project.
One-off tutorials are €40. Packages of multiple sessions will be discounted accordingly. Meaningfully reduced rates for all enrolled students are available on request.
To apply please email mentoring[at]jensschwarz.com with a link to your work and short note on how you wish to use the sessions.
EXTERNAL SUPERVISION 2022
Munich University of Applied Sciences
As an external supervisor I had the pleasure to be mentoring Jana Islinger’s final project in preparation of her Bachelor‘s Degree at University of Applied Sciences, Munich
Droa – Georgia on the move is a photographic search for the identity of a country between the dream about Europe, the fear of Russia and the consequences from years of oppression.
The Tirana-Project – Making-of / documentary, feature length HD 38:07min
MAKING-OF / WORKSHOP DOCUMENTARY – THE TIRANA-PROJECT, 2021
The Tirana-Project: Seven participants in a mixed group from Albania and Germany developing their projects in a visual storytelling workshop & photographic mind-focussing retreat in Tirana, Albania in September 2021.
In cooperation with Goethe-Institut, Tirana.
HD, 38:07min
The Tirana-Project – Making-of / Teaser, HD 3:08min
WORKSHOP / RETREAT 2021
Sept. 14 – 21, 2021 in Tirana, Albania
Visual storytelling workshop / photographic mind-focussing retreat
Conceived and conducted to inspire your photojournalism & documentary photography practice in a project-related environment
For everyone interested in delving into social transformation processes and producing meaningful work – combining photographic practice with research in a foreign territory.
• first hand on-site coaching
• assisted practical field research
• personal skill development & group experience
A detailed description of the workshop program is accessible here
If you’re interested, I’m happy to send you the login information. Please request by email to mentoring[at]jensschwarz.com
In cooperation with and kindly supported by Goethe-Zentrum Tirana

To see the complete student works from the course please check the Dok12 website here
TEACHING 2020
Munich University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design, 2020
During the summer semester 2020 I’ve been teaching Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at Munich University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design.
The associated course dealt with questions of photographic representation in theory and practice.
Together with the students we developed the online platform and digital exhibition dok12.net
In this online forum all sixteen participants present the projects that were developed during the collaboration. The presentation and discourse format of the website is potentially designed as an expandable archive and open platform.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire course was taught online and all students, during the production of their projects, had to face distinct legal regulations and far-reaching restrictions. Therefore, my respect goes to all participants for their inventiveness, persistence and remarkable results!
Munich University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design / course evaluation feedback statements (anonymised)
Testimonials from participants:
›As an aspiring documentary photographer, it is important for me to be able to exchange ideas with someone who has worked actively and successfully in the industry for a long time. And that is the case with Jens Schwarz. He promotes an open and positive learning environment in which he is able to respond sensitively to all kinds of questions. I can trust his judgement and his feedback is understandable and implementable. Beyond the specific aspects of documentary photography, in every session I learn something about politics, philosophy, art, sociology or journalism.‹
./.
›I was privileged to get to know Jens Schwarz as an outstanding lecturer who has an extensive understanding of both the theoretical and practical perspectives of photography and manages to convey his knowledge in a very high-quality manner. In his course during the summer semester 2020, he provided me with new impulses for my photographic practice with very carefully compiled lectures on the historic development of documentary photography and in very lively discussions. He approaches the students with their respective status in a very individual and differentiated way, criticises the current project statuses very constructively and thus ensures the constant advancement of each participant.‹
./.
During the regular discussions on the progress of one‘s own project, one was always encouraged to take different paths - especially those that seemed impossible at first. I particularly appreciate that Jens Schwarz takes away the students‘ fear of failure, as this also leads to learning successes. This makes us more willing to experiment and to venture into topics that at first seem out of reach.‹
./.
›Jens Schwarz brings a great deal of expertise to the table. He has practical insider knowledge and talks a lot about his own experiences as a photographer. Through his clear and honest explanations, including what it‘s like in a photographer‘s everyday life, I learned more about professional realities. I can benefit immensely from this.‹
./.
TEACHING 2019
Munich University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design, 2019
As co-curator of FOTODOKS – Festival für Dokumentarfotografie, during the summer semester 2019 I’ve been team-teaching at Munich University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Design, in the context of the FOTODOKS Student Award. The participants were given the opportunity to work intensively on a project topic in the field of documentary photography and to submit their work into the Student-Award. The winning work was then presented at the festival.