Irakly Shanidze is an advertising creative and photography educator with a quarter-century of experience in commercial and fine art photography. As an advertising photographer, he has worked for Japan Tobacco International, Lexar Microsystems, Inc., RusAvia, EASTEX Group, and others. In 2004, Irakly founded an online photo school, ArtPhotoAcademy.com. He also teaches seminars and workshops across the United States and Europe. Irakly has exhibited his work in dozens of personal and group shows in the USA, Canada, Kazakhstan, Portugal, and Russia. Currently, he is responsible for the creative direction of Ballet Detroit, a dance company and school at the Detroit Opera House. For his work, Irakly has exclusively used Leica lenses and digital cameras since 2007.

For 50 years, Leica Galleries across the globe have existed as more than mere exhibition spaces. They are places for imagination, dialogue, and connection. Since the first Leica Gallery opened in Wetzlar in 1976, a global network of Leica Galleries has grown across continents. These galleries are united by the belief that images have the power to move people and change perspectives. The Leica Galleries celebrate the art of seeing and the power of photography. They have been bringing cultures, generations, and stories together, spanning borders, for half a century—reinforcing the idea that true photography is timeless and that seeing is still a universal language.