PHOTO-MATCH – completely different portfolio review

Due to a staggering success of the 2017 edition, other international photography festivals have followed suit and expressed interest in incorporating our portfolio review model into their own programme. Meanwhile, Fotofestiwal launches the events’ third edition in June.

PHOTO-MATCH entails the artists’ face-to-face meetings with the reviewers (curators, editors, gallery owners etc.) over a span of two days. Prior to those meetings, every participant and reviewer gives a presentation in English about their core interests and art practice. The session is open to all artists, reviewers and general public. Based on the presentations, the artists can now make a fully informed decision about the three experts they want to meet in person to discuss their work or a given art project. Private meetings are scheduled for the following day and may last no more than 25 minutes each. As a result, artists are offered a unique chance to consult their art projects with some of the most renown experts in photography. Reviewers draw invaluable inspiration from a direct exchange of ideas with brand-new talents. Whereas, a wide audience gains an unprecedented insight into the inner workings of professional cultural organizations, and photographers’ creative process. Additionally, both curators and artists can gain some practice in the art of delivering a presentation about oneself.

Twenty five reviewers and twenty five photographers will be invited to participate in PHOTO-MATCH.

22.06.2018 Lodz Fotofestiwal, fot. Łukasz Szeląg

WHAT EXACTLY IS PHOTO-MATCH?

DAY ONE: PRESENTATIONS AND PHOTO-MATCHing
Day one is the time for you to get to know each other owing to the brief presentations made by all participants who will showcase their most ingenious and fascinating art projects and tell you something more about their background or experience. These presentations will be given in front of a live audience, every other reviewer and every other photographer. The artists have to capture the essence of their art practice on twenty slides and within four minutes. The reviewers have only two
minutes and ten slides to present. A less formal networking event is scheduled for the Friday evening. It’s a perfect opportunity to make acquiesces, exchange ideas or first impressions and (most importantly) select those with whom one wishes to have a longer conversation with the very next day. At this point, the photographers and reviewers are granted access to the online system that allows them to book three personal meetings with one another.

DAY TWO: FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS AND AN OPEN SESSION
Day two is devoted to the series of private meetings held in accordance with the timetable generated by the online reservation system. Every photographer and reviewer attends six meetings at the most, three of which they’ve arranged themselves. PHOTO-MATCH will conclude with an open session, an informal gathering of all participants who can finally enjoy some conversation with someone previously unavailable, with no strings attached.

KEY INFORMATION:

HOW TO APPLY?
The application consists of:
– a form filled online (link available HERE)
– a single compressed file containing ten to fifteen photographs (.jpg) titled with a participant’s full name and their project’s title (maximum file size: 5 Mb). Submissions must be sent by email to portfolio@fotofestiwal.comwith the subject line “PHOTO-MATCH – Application. Name, Surname” until May 17, 2019.

Location: Art_Inkubator- Festival Centre, Tymienieckiego 3, Łódź, Poland

Schedule:
June 14, 2019 (Friday)
12.00 am – 4.00 pm, theatre room, ground floor, C building– presentations (open session)
4.30 pm – 5.30 pm, theatre foyer, ground floor, C building – PHOTO-MATCHING (closed session)
June 15, 2019 (Saturday)
12.30 am – 5.30 pm, theatre foyer, ground floor, C building – personal meetings, open session

Registration fee: PLN 200,00
(registration fee covers one’s presentation of their portfolio to all reviewers and a wider audience,
face-to-face meetings with up to six reviewers, an open session, as well as lunch during both events).

Deadlines:
May 17, 2019 – open-call
May 22, 2019 – announcement of the preliminary list of nominees
May 29, 2019 – due date for registration fee’s payment
May 31, 2019 – announcement of the final list of participants
May 31, 2019 – presentations’ delivery

Every photographer and reviewer must attend all events planned as part of the two-day portfolio review session. Every photographer joining open-call should carefully read and adhere to the submission requirements included in the TERMS & CONDITIONS of the portfolio review, available for download at the bottom of the page.

REVIEWERS
The list of reviewers posted below includes magazine editors, book publishers, photography festivals’ directors, independent curators, gallery owners, art consultants and coordinators of the exhibits in some of the most prestigious museums in the world.

1. Julija Berkovica – Managing director of ISSP [Latvia]
2. Emma Bowkett – Director of Photography at the Financial Times FT Weekend Magazine [UK]
3. Gintaras Cesonis – curator at Kaunas Photography Gallery and Residency and Publishing House [Lithuania]
4. Irina Cios – Curator, art writer of the Dynamic Image and Photography Department, National University of Arts, Bucharest [Romania]
5. Veronica Daltri – project manager at Futures Photography; editor in Chief at RVM Hub [The Netherlands]
6. Virgilio Ferreira – artistic director at Ci.CLO Biennial [Portugal]
7. Joanna Gorlach – Krakow Photomonth Main Programme curator [Poland]
8. Evita Goze – ISSP Gallery, SELF PUBLISH RIGA [Latvia]
9. Nina Kassianou – artistic director of DL Gallery, independent curator  [Greece]
10. Justyna Kociszewska – programme board at Fotofestiwal Łódź [Poland]
11. Zuzanna Lapitkova – curator at OFF_festival Bratislava [Slovakia]
12. Nikola Lautliev – professor of photography and curator of Plovdiv Photofestival (Bulgaria)
13. Emma Lewis – curator at Tate Modern [UK]
14. Jeanne Mercier – critic, curator, editor-in-chief of Afrique in visu platform (France)
15. Karolina Miszczak – director at Institute of Photography Fort
16. Pedro Leão Neto – editorial coordinator of Scopio Network [Portugal]
17. Jens Erdman Rassmussen – curator at Copenhagen Photo Festival; manager at Peter Lav Gallery [Denmark]
18. Thereza Rudolf – curator at Fotograf Festival [Czech Republic]
19. Katarzyna Sagatowska – curator, photographer, lecturer. Founder of JEDNOSTKA gallery
20. Vilma Samulionyte – artist, founder of NoRoutine Books [Lithuania]
21. Amelie Schule – curator and exhibitions coordinator Unseen [The Netherlands]
22. Nadine Weixler – curator at Fotohof Gallery [Austria]
    

    ---

This event is part of Futures Platform