About Me - Brian Otieno
MENU

ABOUT ME

Brian Otieno (born 1993) is a freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer based in Nairobi, Kenya. He was raised in Kibera – Africa’s biggest shantytown, where he documents the everyday realities of ordinary life through his photo project called KiberaStories, which he started in 2013. His passion and commitment lie in capturing the stories of the vibrant community of Kibera and attempting to look beyond the chaotic appearance of his hometown and depict a broader spectrum of life from socio-economic, cultural, political and environmental perspectives.

Brian exhibited his project KiberaStories in Paris (October 2018), Kampala (October 2018), Lisbon (January 2019) and New York (March 2019). He was also a participant in the 16th International Dialogue on Population and Sustainable Development which took place in Berlin in October 2018, presenting his collection of photographs “Women of Kibera”, taken as part of the EU-funded #RightByHer campaign, which works across Africa to make women’s rights a reality.

Brian was among the 12 visual storytellers selected for the World Press Photo East Africa Masterclass which took place in Nairobi in 2016. In March 2019, he was selected to attend the New York Times Portfolio Review. Since 2017, he has been a contributor to Everyday Africa – a collective of photographers sharing images from across the continent aimed at undermining stereotypes and clichés. A professional photographer since 2016, Brian has balanced his documentary work with assignments for international publications and development organizations. He works regularly for Agence France-Presse and has contributed visual stories to media outlets including The New York Times, Al Jazeera, BBC, Der Spiegel, and Roads & Kingdoms.

Brian’s KiberaStories won the inaugural East African Photography Award held in Kampala on October 2018 with “Ballerina Elsie” photography. He was a winner in the Feature Stories category at the Kenya Press Photo Awards in 2017 and in the Daily Life and Portraiture categories at the Kenya Photography Awards in 2018.

EDUCATION

MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY OF KENYA, DIPLOMA IN JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATION (OCTOBER, 2016) Majored in broadcast journalism, radio and TV production, scriptwriting, photography.

WORLD PRESS PHOTO PAWA254 MASTERCLASS (2015, December)

WORLD PRESS PHOTO EAST AFRICA MASTERCLASS (2016, Nov/Dec) Selected participant (1/12 out of 110 portfolios)

The New York Portfolio Review  (2019, New York, USA)

AWARDS, RECOGNITIONS AND EXHIBITIONS

BETHECHANGE2015 PHOTO CONTEST FINAL WINNER

DBSA ART EXHIBITION (2015, Joint) – Mathare 4A, Nairobi, Kenya Kibera Stories Photo Exhibition

DBSA ART EXHIBITION (2016, Joint) – Ruaraka, Nairobi, Kenya

UNESCO MGIEP Youth Lens 2015 – 2nd Prize Winner

Joop Swart Masterclass Nominee

Picfair #CelebrateAfrica 2017 – Grand Prize Winner

Invisible Palace Exhibition, Hangzhou, China – June 2017.

KENYA PRESS PHOTO AWARDS 2017 – (Winner in Feature Stories and runners-up in Daily Life categories)

KENYA PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2018 – (Winner in Daily Life and Portraiture categories)

LA FABRICATION POPULAIRE DE L’URBANITÉ, ENSA Paris-La Villette, Paris, France – October 2018

EAST AFRICA PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD 2018 – (Winner, with the series, ‘Kibera: Stories from Within’)

Stories from Kibera Exhibition by Project Kenya, New York and Los Angeles, 2019

Reuters Photojournalism Grant 2019 – Grantee

Kibera: Life in the slum, Guardian News and Media, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London – August 2019

PhotoVille NYC Emergicube Group Exhibition, New York – September 2019

CLOSE