An Open Call for Fotofestiwal Open Program gives you an opportunity to present your works to the audience of the International Festival of Photography held in June 2022 in Łódź (Poland). We are looking for artists with exceptional personalities and projects which present bold visions. The call for entries is open – with no thematic or age limits. We invite specialists from the world’s most important media and photographic institutions to join the jury. From among the submitted projects in this category, the jury will select five which, in cooperation with the curators of Fotofestiwal, will be presented in the form of an exhibition.
OPEN CALL “COMMUNITY”
This year, we decided to add one additional category that relates to the main theme of the festival’s curatorial program. The jury will select one project from this category to present in the form of an exhibition. We are looking for artistic and social projects whose main theme is community, but also utopia, local spirit, cooperation and integration.
“Community” concept: there would be no humanity as a whole if there was no communal thinking. Community gives us a sense of identity and belonging, it makes things meaningful and creates the social foundations. In the fluid modernity of the 21st century, more and more often we look for the roots of human community, the real, primal bonds, ones that are not based solely on the existing, anachronistic values, or post-feudal, capitalist, religious and national structures. What are contemporary communities based on? How do traditional ones evolve? Is technological development an opportunity or a threat to them? What is a utopia and what is a real possibility in the search for an ideal community? What voices are missing in the narratives of our communities? Finally, how to create a community today based on respect for diversity? These and other problems will be the core focus of the exhibitions, projects, discussions prepared by curators, artists, academics and experts invited to co-create the 21st Fotofestiwal in Łódź.
JURY
WHAT SELECTED AUTHORS RECEIVE
You can send your questions on: opencall@fotofestiwal.com
ABOUT FOTOFESTIWAL
Fotofestiwal was established in 2001 as one of the first photography events in Poland. Since then it has grown into one of the most relevant photographic festivals in Europe but its core mission has not changed: presenting photography in its various ways (via exhibitions, films, slideshows, workshops etc.) but also talking about important social issues and introducing the unobvious beauty and unique history of our city to the audience. For such reason we organize thematic exhibitions in various post-industrial spaces, which Łódź is well known for, we put stress on networking parties – (we are quite famous for those), but also every year we try to develop new ways of talking about photography: via events such as Photo-Match: Completely Different Portfolio Review, during which we focus on having equal status granted to the curators as well as artists, with formula of presentation that numerous festivals are applying worldwide now with a success. Since 2016 we work as a collective, with no board of directors, developing a new way of cultural institution management.
Edition 2022 will take place in Łódź from 9th to 26th June.
TIMELINE
Call for entries open – 30th of October 2021
Submission deadline – 29th of December 2021
Winner announcement on fotofestiwal.com – 18th of January 2022
Fotofestiwal opening – 9th of June 2022
This is the last week of Fotofestiwal! The jubilee, twentieth edition will definitely go down in the history of the festival and the cultural history of the entire city. Before we summarize, however, we invite you to the next events – among others re-lighting of the historic neon at Plac Wolności, film screenings of Mariusz Wilczyński and documents from the Łódź Film School, and the opening of new exhibitions, discussions, audiovisual shows and meetings with authors.
We will begin the last week of the festival with a screening of the latest film by one of the most talented contemporary directors and animators, Mariusz Wilczyński, from Łódź. On June 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Szpulka cinema, his full-length animated film “Kill it and leave this town” will be screened. It was awarded twice in Gdynia and at the prestigious Annecy festival. It is an autobiographical work, evoking the atmosphere of communist childhood and growing up in post-transformation Poland, taking on colors. The author himself will tell more about it during the meeting after the screening, which will be conducted by Józef Robakowski.
Wednesday will be devoted to the history of Łódź photo shops and … neon lights. On June 23 at 8:00 p.m., in the Pop’n’art cafe, Ola Woźniak will talk about Lodz neon signs, incl. about the FOTO neon from the 1950s, which – on the occasion of Fotofestiwal – will light up again on Plac Wolności after more than a decade of shutdown. Immediately after that, we will open an exhibition devoted in the main part to the oldest, continuously operating – since 1903 – Łódź photographic studio A.A. Bielski. The exhibition will present the incredibly interesting history of the photo shop, we will show the most interesting portrait photos from its collections and selected portraits of other Łódź photo shops, selected from the Wikimedia Commons collections and the free multimedia repository – Museum of the City of Łódź.
From the numerous events of the closing weekend, we recommend unveiling the works of Marta Łącka on the facades of buildings at Żytnia Street. The photos were taken in collaboration with the residents of the district and will become a visual memento of this artistic interaction. On Friday at 8 p.m. in the unique building of the Poleski Ośrodek Sztuki – where you can still see two festival exhibitions – there will be a multimedia event under the suggestive title “Rubble”, prepared by versatile artists: Aleksandra Chciuk, Filip Gabriel Pudło, Tomek Roszczybiuk, Mateusz Wysocki and Bartłomiej Talaga. In turn, on Saturday at 5:00 pm, we will give the floor to the Łódź… punk. At 5 p.m. in Art_Inkubator there will be the premiere of the book “Oi! Oi! Oi! It’s a punk from the city of Łódź ”and a meeting with their authors, Dariusz Jędrasiak and Piotr Wawrzak. The rest of Saturday will remain counter-cultural. At 9 p.m. there will be a film screening prepared by a local propagator of B class films up to Z. Moryc Helms will present his original mix of “Nights of the Living Dead” with excerpts from newsreels from the Educational Film Studio and a live voiceover. At the last event of the festival, part of our organizing team will play the role of a DJ. The exhibition producer, curators, guest coordinator and audio-visual specialist will play for the audience in Niebostanie, from 10 p.m., as the Disko Zakvas collective.
Sunday will be the last chance to meet the authors and curators of exhibitions, including those from the City Program section. At 12:00 a meeting with Marek Szyryk at the Art Propaganda Center, at 2:00 p.m. a tour of the “Panopticum” exhibition at the Wschodnia Gallery, and at 4 p.m. of Bogdan Konopka’s exhibition at the Imaginarium Gallery in ŁDK. Then we invite you to Art_Inkubator, where – apart from further guided tours of the exhibitions – at 4 pm there will be a discussion “Photography and women”. Photographer Agnieszka Rayss (Sputnik Photos), curator Karolina Puchała-Rojek (Archeology of Photography Foundation) and moderator Weronika Kobylińska will answer the questions why we read so little about women photographers in the pages of contemporary studies on the history of photography and how the position of women looks like in the world of contemporary Polish photojournalism? The festival will end with a concert by Łukasz z Bałut and free talks between the organizers and the audience over badminton, ping-pong or simply on comfortable sun loungers.
ph. Łukasz Szeląg
Over 100 publications were submitted to the double edition of the Photographic Publication of the Year competition. The jury consisting of: Agnieszka Olszewska, Weronika Kobylińska, Natalia Mikołajczuk, Grzegorz Dąbrowski, Łukasz Rusznica, Maciej Zieliński, Krzysztof Luterek and Franek Ammer decided to award distinctions in the Photographic Publication of the Year 2020 edition:
Two publications receive the Krzysiek Makowski and the title of the Photographic Publication of the Year 2020. Both excellent, full, multi-layered, in which photos and design are inextricably linked. Both are inconspicuous, exceptionally avoiding gestures and modest. It turned out to be impossible to decide which one to choose, so they get the prize ex aequo:
Prize named after Krzysiek Makowski and the title of the Photographic Publication of the Year 2021 were awarded to a unique publication that breaks all the rules and principles, which presents the contemporary image of Poland in a bold way, and the works contained in it adequately match the whole project. Agnieszka Sejud for “HOAX” is awarded for his uncompromising attitude and courage.
The co-organizers of Fotofestiwal Lodz, the Bookoff Art Bookshop and the Służewski House of Culture would like to thank all the jurors, Artibo partner and media patrons Fotopolis.pl and Digital Camera Polska.
In our festival application you will find a schedule for each day, a list of exhibitions and locations, as well as full information about the next events in the program: screenings, tours, events.
The application is free of charge, available in Polish and English, for iOS and Android. Just tap Fotofestiwal and enjoy!
Thank you for such a large attendance at the opening weekend of the festival. Time for another portion of events from the Łódź program and accompanying events, incl. premiere of the film produced by Fotofestiwal – “No ba!” directed by Łukasz from Bałuty. We will also invite you to the opening of another unique location – Coach House at the historic Biedermann Palace.
The second week of the festival is the time of returning to the exhibitions and seeing them together with the creators. On Monday, June 14, we invite you to the OFF gallery for a meeting with Marcelo Zamenhof. He will tell about his Regressive Archive.
On Wednesday at 6 p.m. we will talk about what has changed in the last 20 years on the photographic and audiovisual map of Łódź. The discussion will be attended by mentors and creators of the first edition of the festival: prof. J. Robakowski and R. Kluszczyński, professor G. Przyborek and Krzysztof Candrowicz. The interview will be conducted by people related to the history of the festival: Małgorzata Ludwisiak and Tomasz Ferenc.
We will start Friday at 4 p.m., we will meet at the FF Gallery for a guided tour of an important retrospective exhibition presenting the works of one of the most important Polish photographers, Bogdan Konopka. At 6 p.m. join us during the opening of the exhibition Collection Events by of Dariusz Bieńkowski. At 6:30 p.m. we will talk about Łódź city sculpture. Maria Nowakowska, a local activist and expert on Łódź architecture and sculpture, will tell about her books published in cooperation with photographers Anna Zagrodzka and Katarzyna Wąsowska.
The second weekend of the festival will be dominated by film screenings. On Friday, the premiere of the film created by Łukasz from Bałuty especially for the 20th edition of the festival. “No ba! Grozi zawaleniem lub oświeceniem”, a film about Bałuty, made by a local artist and a longtime promoter of the legendary district, will be shown as part of Polówka at the Dolna-Cegła flea market at 9 p.m.
Earlier, at 6 p.m., we invite you to Kino Szpulka for an overview of the latest short films created at the Łódź Film School. On Saturday, in the same place, at 6:30 p.m., we will present films and animations in which Łódź is the hero and the place of events. We will see the city through the eyes of Józef Robakowski, Balbina Bruszewska and Marcin Podolec, awarded many times at festivals, and master Zbigniew Rybczyński. On the same day at 5 p.m., Art_Inkubator will host a screening of films related to the figure of Wojciech Wiszniewski, one of the most original Polish documentary filmmakers, whose work was widely recognized only after the premature death of the director. We will see among others one of the director’s most appreciated works, with photos by Zbigniew Rybczyński, strongly related to the history of Łódź: “Wanda Gościmińska. The textile worker”. On Sunday, the shows will close with a review of works by the Łódź artistic community: Józef Robakowski, Ryszard and Maria Waśko. We invite you at 3:30 p.m.
We would not be ourselves if we had not invited the audience to another historic location that has been unavailable for years. On Saturday at 8 p.m. we will open a coach house at the Biedermann Palace, at Franciszkańska Street. We will close the second weekend of the festival with registration for another premiere sightseeing tour of the city: photo walks around the historic Scheibler’s Power Plant, in the Fuzja investment at Tymienieckiego. Registration will start on Monday Juna 21 at 6 p.m.
ph. Łukasz Szeląg
A neighbor of our historic Art_Inkubator festival center is a pearl of Art Nouveau industrial architecture – the Scheiblers’ power plant from 1910, with stained glass windows, decorated with balustrades or an indigo staircase. Thanks to cooperation with Echo Investment, which is implementing a project called Fuzja, on the festival’s closing weekend we invite you to a photo walk around this unique space, just around the corner of our festival exhibitions.
The power plant is the heart of Fuzja, the revitalized area of the former Karol Scheibler’s textile factory. It was an independent source of energy for the factory, a showcase of the Scheibler’s empire and the new era of electrification. It was designed by Alfred Frisch, paying tribute to the new, Art Nouveau trends. The power plant – with stained glass windows, decorations on balustrades, tiles and walls in bold colors, the first coffered ceiling in Łódź and a ceiling without intermediate supports allowing to obtain a large hall – is one of the best examples of industrial secession in Poland and Europe. But the power plant is not only the history of industrial architecture, Art Nouveau architecture and the great industrial empire of the Scheibler family and Łódź itself. This is the history of the later (from 1966) Zakłady Przemysłu Bawełnianego nr 1 named after Józef Stalin, later transformed into the Obrońców Pokoju Uniontex with over 14,000 employees. It is a place where the history of working-class Poland, its political changes, but also … among other things, successive generations of birds came to the world: incl. pigeons bred illegally by workers in large areas, or kestrels that nest there after the factory collapsed. The walls of the complex also reflect the times after 2003, when the plants went bankrupt and became a place for graffiti, stencils and throws. Today, the power plant is regaining its splendor from its heyday. The façade of the building has been largely restored from the original bricks. The huge stained glass windows inserted into the original window frames correspond beautifully with it. The original architectural details were also regained by the 80-meter chimney that towers over the entire complex. The interior of the power plant still remains untouched, delighting with its unusual atmosphere.
We invite you to this unique tour through the last century of Łódź. On June 26 and 27, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., we will invite 4 groups of visitors to see the historic power plant and historic sites that are a testimony to the power of the city’s factory tradition. All those willing to register for photo walks are kindly asked to send an e-mail to widzimysie@fotofestiwal.com with the following information: name and surname, telephone number and group (day and time) for which the participant wants to register. Sending the application means accepting the rules of the event. Update: REGISTRATION IS CLOSED!
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Fuzja is a project implemented by Echo Investment, which will bring back life to the former Karol Scheibler’s factory in Łódź. The multi-stage investment will combine office, retail and service functions, as well as gastronomic functions, residential buildings, a city square and open green common areas of nearly 4 ha. All in the vicinity of the historic buildings of the former Karol Scheibler’s textile factories, which are the heritage of Łódź Fabryczna. In total, 20 buildings will be located on 8 hectares, of which 14 will be historical buildings. The merger will be a unique place on the map of Łódź, attractive for employees, residents and tourists.
You can see more photos at our Fotofestiwal’s facebook!
ph. Łukasz Szeląg
The Fotofestiwal program has always been a guide to world photography, but also to unique places in Łódź. During the jubilee, twentieth edition of the International Festival of Photography, the city will be not only a place, but also a hero of exhibitions and accompanying events. We invite you to another trip – we start on June 10 and visit Łódź in the company of, among others: Witkacy, Bogdan Konopka, Józef Robakowski and Elektryczny Węgorz, stopping for books and sushi to end the weekend at “Heaven over Berlin”.
We start, as always, in the industrial festival center Art_Inkubator at Tymienieckiego 3, where at 19:00 the exhibitions from the “Łódź” program will be opened – presenting the achievements of contemporary Łódź artists (the exhibition “Reincarnations” curated by Józef Robakowski) and photographers following their work the unique atmosphere of the hometown (four exhibitions as part of “Tales of the city of Łódź”). In the spaces of the former cotton warehouses, we will also see an exhibition presenting the horizons of artistic creativity, interests and gathering of Andrzej Różycki, “Import(ance)s. Between hoarding and photosophy”, six exhibitions of the Open Program – that is, a review of world contemporary photography, and the exhibition “Long Live Belarus! “. At 21:00 there will be the electro-pride of the music scene from Łódź – Elektryczny Węgorz, known for such hits as „Mariusz wracaj do domu” [“Mariusz come home”] or a musical appeal to protect the family life of squirrels: „Nie wycinaj drzew” [“Do not cut trees”]. When Węgorz runs out of strength, DJ Sasha (⅓ of the Psychocukier band) will enter the stage.
Friday (June 11) is Piotrkowska Street time. We will start at 17:00 at Signum Foundation Gallery (Piotrkowska 85) will open an exhibition of over seventy photographic works by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, including the most famous self-portraits, such as the title “Multiple Self-Portrait”. Then we at 18:00 will go down to the neighboring 36 Więckowskiego Street to the Muzeum Sztuki ms2 for the opening of Agnieszka Kurant’s exhibition entitled “Errorism”. We will spend the rest of the evening on the premises of the post-industrial complex OFF Piotrkowska – there are as many as eight exhibitions. The first is “Fullscreen. Pressure of the Image”created by artists associated with the University of Lodz, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Film School. The authors look at our complex and multi-dimensional relationships with the photographic image. On the next floor of the OFF Piotrkowska space – as many as six premiere exhibitions organized as part of the pan-European PARALLEL platform will take place. This is the result of cooperation between young curators and artists from around the world, the exhibitions were prepared during the pandemic in Lisbon, Łódź, Maribor, Modena, Odessa and Zagreb. The projects will be presented in a non-virtual form for the first time. At the end of the day, we will attend the opening of Marcelo Zammenhoff’s exhibition, followed by outdoor slide shows. Galeria Czynna has prepared a special show “After Hours”. It is a projection of often “commemorative” and “tourist” photos from Łódź, whose authors are artists visiting Fotofestiwal in the last 20 years. You will also be able to see the works of 6 artists selected by Fotofestiwal for the international Futures project (B. Talaga, K. Ćwik, M. Sarychau, Y. Krivich, M. Soporowska) and animations by Łódź Film School. We will finish with a DJ Set at DOM club.
Saturday (June 12) is the time of returning to favorite places and exhibitions and a chance to see them with the authors and curators who guide them (meeting with Józef Robakowski, curator of the exhibition “Reincarnation” as well as Open Program). At 18:00, Galeria Imaginarium (Łódzki Dom Kultury, 18 Traugutta Street) will open a retrospective exhibition of one of the most important figures in Polish photography – Bogdan Konopka. At 19:00 in the Pracownia Portretu (55 Przędzalniana Street), performer Marta Ostajewska will open her exhibition “Honey cubes in summer”. From 21:00 join us at Fotofestiwal birthday party in a unique place – the Book Art Museum.
On Sunday (June 13), another novelty on the map of Łódź: Sushi & Books on Wólczańska 226. The founders of this place (Franek Ammer, Piotr Zbierski, Bartosz Staszewski and Bartłomiej Talaga) will show an exhibition of mock-ups and photo books “On the banks of nineteen rivers” and a zine-sound version of the project “Black Heart” by Basia Budniak and Maja Luxenberg. We will end the day with the opening of Iacobo Pasqui and Bartek Talaga‘s exhibitions, barbecue and games, and an open-air screening “Wings of Desire” by Wim Wenders in the gardens of Poleski Ośrodek Sztuki, located in a historic villa once owned by the manufacturer Karol Plihal.
All this is just the beginning. During the next two weeks of the festival, we will take you to new places to reveal the new faces of photography, including at exhibitions, outdoor shows or photo walks in a place inaccessible to Łódź citizens for 18 years.
Here you will learn about tickets and get practical information 🙂
The Film Program of this year’s Fotofestiwal focuses on Łódź and its filmmakers. We are going to show almost 40 films at 11 screenings. One of them will be the premiere of a documentary film by Łukasz z Bałut produced by Fotofestiwal, titled “DANGER OF COLLAPSE OR ENLIGHTENMENT!”. The artist, known for his sensitivity to the Łódź district of Bałuty, created an insightful picture of this place, based on the memories of its residents. Another interesting portrait of Łódź will be presented in the selection of short films titled “A story about the city – Łódź as a protagonist and scene of events”, prepared in cooperation with Piotr Kardas. The audience will be also invited to watch the works of students of the Łódź Film School, which will be presented during three screenings – narrative, documentary and animated shorts.
An exceptional event of this year’s edition is the screening of a deeply personal film by one of the most important Polish creators of animated films, Mariusz Wilczyński. “Kill It and Leave This Town” is an exceptionally poetic and nostalgic piece – a journey into the past of the director and the city of Łódź. The screening will be followed by a meeting with the director, hosted by Prof. Józef Robakowski.
There are also three other, very special shows included in the program. These are “A Review of Film Works Related to Wojciech Wiszniewski”, “Art scene of Łódź” and “Artists of Łódź”, which, following the spirit of the “Reincarnation” exhibition, give voice to the artists connected with our city.
This year’s exhibition “Der Engel” by Iacopo Pasqui is a reference to Wim Wenders’ film “Wings of Desire”, which will be shown at an open-air screening.
The film program rounds off with a project titled “The Year 2137 – Anti-Chronicle of Film” by Moryc Helms, which is a semi-impromptu film remix created using the situationist détournement method from clips from “Night of the Living Dead” and from Łódź newsreels of the Educational Film Studio from 1970s.
“DANGER OF COLLAPSE OR ENLIGHTENMENT!”, dir. Łukasz z Bałut
18th June (Fri), 21:00, Dolna-Ceglana – Flea Market (Polówka – outdoor) [PL, ENG]
[free entrance]
“Kill It and Leave This Town”, dir. Mariusz Wilczyński
22nd June (Tue), 19:30, kino Szpulka, Łódzki Dom Kultury [PL, ENG] | 88’
[limited number of sits]
“Wings of Desire”, dir. Wim Wenders
13th June (Sun), 21:30, Poleski Ośrodek Sztuki (outdoor) [PL, ENG] | 127’
[free entrance]
Lodz Film School: ANIMATIONS
11th June (Fri), 22:00, OFF Piotrkowska (outdoor) [PL, ENG] | 70’
[free entrance]
Lodz Film School: NARRATIVE
18th June (Fri), 18:00, kino Szpulka, Łódzki Dom Kultury [PL, ENG] | 95’
[free entrance]
Lodz Film School: DOCUMENTARY
25th June (Fri), 18:00, Art_Inkubator [PL, ENG] | 70’
[free entrance]
A Review of Film Works Related to Wojciech Wiszniewski
19th June (Sat), 17:00, Art_Inkubator [PL] | 59′
[free entrance]
Art scene of Łódź
20th June (Sun), 15:30, Art_Inkubator [PL] | 126′
[free entrance]
Artists of Łódź
26th June (Sat), 13:00, Art_Inkubator [PL] | 95′
[free entrance]
A story about the city – Łódź as a protagonist and scene of events – screening prepared in cooperation with Piotr Kardas
19th June (Sat), 18:30, kino Szpulka, Łódzki Dom Kultury [PL, ENG] | 71’
[free entrance]
“The Year 2137 – Anti-Chronicle of Film”, dir. Moryc Helms
26th June (Sat), 21:00, Niebostan [PL]
[free entrance]
The submissions for Photo-Match 2021 are now open! After the successful debut of our portfolio review online last year, we are bringing it back to life in the beautiful surroundings of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź. Submit your work by the 27th of May – new deadline!
Fotofestiwal has been developing a new formula of portfolio reviews for the past 4 years under the name PHOTO-MATCH, which gives all the participants a possibility to introduce themselves and present their work to all of the experts and artists in the review. Last years finalist Sebastian Collet has joined the City Program during Fotofestiwal this year.
Submissions are open until the 27th of May. We can’t wait to see your work! You can find more information about how to apply HERE
The review will take place on the 11-12th of June. During the first day both artists and experts will present themselves and their practice, based on which they will then be chosen for meetings on the following day. Day two is simply meetings, discussions, brain storms and, hopefully, the very beginnings of future collaborations. The review’s winner will be awarded an opportunity of organising their own exhibition in the future edition of Fotofestiwal.
Meet this year’s experts:
Photo-Match is co-organized by Futures Photography. Futures is a Europe-based photography platform bringing together the global photography community to support and nurture the professional development of emerging artists across the world. Co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Ahead of us is the largest International Photography Festival in our 20-year career – Fotofestiwal. The jubilee edition includes two festival centers, presentations of the work of over 150 artists and over 40 exhibitions and events throughout the city. If you are eager to experience culture outside the Internet, we invite you to Łódź between 10 and 27 June – all exhibitions and events will be held live.
The program includes exhibitions devoted to Łódź, incl. “Reincarnation”, “Tales from the City of Łódź” and “Tender Attention. Urszula Czartoryska in the face of photography” – the first exhibition of photographs in Poland from the collection of the Museum of Art in Łódź. There will also be international exhibitions as part of the Open Program, the Parallel Review – an international review of contemporary photography and the Month of Photography in Minsk.
We are planning a lot of accompanying events this year! We close the last details and soon we will share all the information with you
See you in June!
Fotofestiwal is pleased to cooperate for the third time with the graphic studio and the creative agency Progressivo. Together, we have prepared a new version of the visual identity of the festival for you. We present the story behind graphic designs. We are very glad that our ideas for identification were liked by the artists participating in Fotofestiwal 2021 and they agreed to use their works.
In the program of this year’s edition you will be able to see, among others presentations of the most interesting achievements of artists associated with Łódź, which have become a permanent part of the canon of Polish art. Exhibitions referring to the history of the city of Łódź will be a very interesting point. We will show, among others frames that were recorded by Wiktor Jekimenko, but in a completely new version, because it was colored by Stefan Brajter. The originals are kept in their archives by Veolia Energia Łódź. International exhibitions are always a large part of Fotofestiwal. This year there will be, among others Open Program finalists! We hope that soon we will have the opportunity to present these materials in the space of your cities.
Iacopo Pasqui
We also recommend your attention to the effects of cooperation in the field of media relations with the Pracownia Szumu agency: every two weeks the Przekrój magazine presents new projects from our section of the Open Program. The first to be presented was the Iranian photographer Sima Choubdarzadeh and her extremely moving project “My name is fear”.
Our profile on Instagram was taken over by the finalists of Open Calla 2021. Learn about their profiles and the projects they have completed. Worth following! We would like to remind you that you will be able to see the exhibitions of this year’s finalists on 10-27.06.2021 at Art_Inkubator at Fabryka Sztuki na Tymienieckiego 3 in Łódź.
Open Call Finalists 2021:
→ Rafael Heygster & Helena Manhartsberger “Corona Rhapsody” / Niemcy
→ Federico Estol „Shine Heroes” / Urugwaj
→ Colin Delfosse“Embodying Kinshasa” / Belgia
→ Sima Choubdarzadeh “My Name is Fear” / Iran
→ Irmina Walczak “Oasis: in Our Quarantine Yard” / Polska
→ Robin Hinsch “Wahala” / Niemcy
Futures Photography is an international photography platform created in 2018 by 10 European galleries, photography festivals and museums. Each year, each institution invites 5 artists who take part in a series of events to support their professional development and promote their creativity.
Futures includes slide shows, portfolio reviews, lectures, masterclasses, exhibitions, publications and websites. During a series of individual meetings, the artists also discuss their current projects. The following were invited to participate in Futures 2021:
Karolina Ćwik (Poland)
Yulia Krivich (Poland / Ukraine)
Maxim Sarychau (Belarus)
Bartłomiej Talaga (Poland)
Milena Soporowska (Poland)
Below you will find information about the artists!
KAROLINA ĆWIK
Karolina Ćwik is visual artist based in Poland. Her projects are like intimate diaries, in which she documents her experience of being a mother and an artist. She is a student of the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava (the Czech Republic), winner of the PDN Emerging Photographer, last year’s laureate of the Konrad Pustoła’s Remembrance Scholarship, winner of the Sputnik Photos Project titled “As you can see”. Her works have been published e.g. in The Calvert Journal, Culture.pl, FK magazine.
→ www.karocwik.com
→ www.instagram.com/karo_cwik
YULIA KRIVICH
Yulia Krivich is a visual artist, curator in Za*Grupa and activist, born in Ukraine, currently based in Warsaw. In her work, she explores issues related to identity, combining elements of activism with personal histories. Her interests include topics related to Eastern Europe and migration. Yulia works with photography and public space. Graduated from the Department of Architecture of the State Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture (2010) in Dnipro (Ukraine) and from the Faculty of Media Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (Poland). She was a participant of the Pla(t)form at the Fotomuseum in Winterthur, Switzerland (2018) and nominated for the Pinchuk Art Center Prize for Young Artists in Ukraine (2018) with her “Daring & Youth project”, recipient of the Solidarity Grant of Krytyka Polityczna (2020) as part of curatorial trio ZA*grupa and is one of the recipients of the Scholarship Program of Warsaw City in 2021.
→ www.instagram.com/yulia_krivich
MAXIM SARYCHAU
Maxim Sarychau is a visual artist and photojournalist, based in Minsk, Belarus. He works on long-term visual projects on the edge of photography, journalism and art. He deals with the topics of violence of various forms and grades, both from authoritarian regimes and within traditional society. He focuses on political and human dimensions of collective memory and history. Maxim is a co-founder of SHKLO – online platform about Belarusian photography and visual arts. From 2020 he is a member of Inland – international cooperative of 13 photographers. Maxim’s work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions including shows at the Latvian Museum of Photography (2020, Riga), Kasarna Karlin (2018, Prague) and CECH (2017, Minsk). He was published in Wall Street Journal, Stern Crime, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, Courrier International, Meduza, The Telegraph, Le Monde Diplomatique among others.
→ www.sarychau.com
→ www.instagram.com/maximsarychau
BARTŁOMIEJ TALAGA
Visual and sound artist based in Łódź (Poland). In his artistic work, he uses photography, sound, video, installation. His exhibitions are site-specific. His artistic work is closely related to the technological workshop, experimentation and the search for suitable means of expression to communicate content. He is interested in the interpenetration of the fields of art, where sound, image and space can provoke impulses through which intuition complements logical thinking – where the exposure to a work of art builds the experience of art. Bartłomiej Talaga is a graduate of and teacher at the Film School in Łódź. In his work, he shares his own experience with students and focuses on the purposefulness and legitimacy of gestures that lead to personal and authentic expression. He is also a co-founder of the TON magazine (ton-mag.pl) and a designer of photography books.
→ www.bartlomiejtalaga.pl
→ www.instagram.com/bart_te
MILENA SOPOROWSKA
Milena Soporowska is a visual artist based in Poland. Her work explores, among other things, the intertwining of everyday life with magic and the occult, questioning the concept of home as a safe, familiar haven. She is interested in the combination of alternative medicine and psychoanalysis, and the overlap between Christianity, esotericism and folk spirituality. She graduated in Art History, presenting her master’s thesis on the influence of spiritualistic and mediumistic photography on art in the light of Freud’s category of unheimlich. She also studied photography, museology and psychotronics. Moreover, Milena is a graduate of the Sputnik Photos mentoring programme.
→ www.milenasoporowska.com
→ www.instagram.com/milsopo
More information about FUTURES:
www.futures-photography.com
The program of the 20th edition of Fotofestiwal is prepared jointly by Łódź curators, activists, creators, universities and students. Together, we will create a story about the city whose fascinating history combines the creative pursuit of avant-garde artists with the popular working-class culture.
The program will include exhibitions referring to the history of the city, meetings of local galleries and artists, and, most importantly, presentations of the most interesting achievements of artists associated with Łódź, whose accomplishments have become a permanent element of the canon of Polish art. A particularly large block of exhibitions will also be devoted to the contemporary world photography. We will show several international projects and platforms aimed at promoting and presenting the rising stars of contemporary photography. When it comes to numbers, Fotofestiwal 2021 includes over 40 exhibitions around Łódź, two festival centres, and presentations of the works by over 150 visual artists.
The main part of the Fotofestiwal program is being developed under the supervision of Prof. Józef Robakowski and is dedicated to the art scene in Łódź. Exhibitions will be shown in Art_Inkubator at 3 Tymienieckiego Street, as well as in galleries and informal spaces throughout the city. In the second festival centre, OFF Piotrkowska, among others, exhibitions prepared jointly by three universities in Łódź will be shown: the Lodz Film School, the Academy of Fine Arts and the University of Lodz. The exhibition of photographs from the collection of Muzeum Sztuki (Museum of Art) in Łódź, organized jointly by the Festival and the Museum, will be another special event. This unique collection of photographs, gathered over the years by Urszula Czartoryska, will be presented at ms2 at 19 Ogrodowa Street. As every year, there will also be international projects. The Festival program will include, among others, a collective exhibition of the works created by the Open Call finalists, presentations of European photo platforms: Parallel and Futures, and exhibitions by photographers who have been invited to artistic residencies.
The Łódź art scene is based primarily on grassroots, often anarchist and anti-system initiatives. It is the result of collective energy, and it is thanks to such energy that the jubilee edition of Fotofestiwal is being created.
MAIN EXHIBITIONS:
1) Collective exhibitions curated by Prof. Józef Robakowski at Fabryka Sztuki
(over 40 artists, including Małgorzata Potocka, Aleksandra Ska, Karolina Breguła, Karolina Wojtas, Grzegorz Przyborek, Ryszard Waśko, Andrzej Różycki, Piotr Zbierski)
2) The first ever exhibition of the photography collection of the Muzeum Sztuki/Museum of Art in Łódź
(approx. 200 works, including Andy Warhol, Natalia LL, Karol Hiller, Zofia Rydet, Zbigniew Libera Jerzy Lewczyński, Roman Opałka, Stefan and Franciszka Themerson)
3) Exhibition of photographs by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz “Witkacy”
(“Multiple portrait”, Signum Gallery, reference to the exhibition from the Museum of Art in 1979)
4) Stories from the city of Łódź – historical and contemporary exhibitions about Łódź
(documentary exhibitions by Maciej Rawluk, Ula Tarasiewicz, Artur Urbański, as well as coloured photos from the 1920s and 1930s by Wiktor Jekimenka from the Veolia archive)
5) Academic space; exhibitions prepared by three universities in Łódź
(University of Łódź, Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Film School in Łódź)
6) Exhibitions from the STREFA MIASTO project
(ca. 30 exhibitions in museums, galleries and temporary spaces, including by Bogdan Konopka, Agnieszka Kurant, Sebastian Collet, Iacopo Pasqui, Bartłomiej Talaga)
7) Exhibitions from the international Open Call
Including by Federico Estol (Uruguay), Colin Delfosse (Belgium) Sima Choubdarzadeh (Iran) Rafael Heygster & Helena Manhartsberger (Germany), Robin Hinsch (Germany), Irmina Walczak (Polska)
8) Exhibitions from the European photography platform PARALLEL
(exhibitions presented by 30 young artists from around the world summarizing the annual cycle of one of the largest European projects supporting creators; the Parallel Platform brings together 19 institutions from all over Europe, such as galleries, festivals, and photo magazines)
The year 2020 was a difficult one for all of us, and the 2020 Photographic Publication of the Year contest simply didn’t take place. However, it’s 2021 and we’re back with a double edition! The same dates, the same jury, two competitions and two main awards – separately for photo publications released in 2019 and 2020. We invite you to submit your books for the next edition of the Photographic Publication of the Year.
Until 21 March 2021 (extended call), we are waiting for books whose central focus is on photography – albums, catalogues, theoretical books and textbooks, as well as limited self-publishing works and zines. We will award those publications that have the potential to inspire others and that present bold concepts, refined graphics, excellent print quality, exceptional photographs and are well-designed. Experts in book creation and photography have been invited to join the jury.
The winner will be granted the Krzysiek Makowski Main Award. Beside the winning publication, the jury will also select at least 10 works which will be exhibited during the International Festival of Photography in Łódź on 10-27 June 2021
MAIN AWARD – KRZYSIEK MAKOWSKI AWARD
– the title of the Photographic Publication of the Year 2020 and the title of the Photographic
Publication of the Year 2021
– exhibition at Fotofestiwal 2021 – promotion during Fotofestiwal 2021.
This year’s jury includes:
– Natalia Mikołajczuk (book designer)
– Agnieszka Olszewska (Museum of Photography in Krakow)
– dr Weronika Kobylińska (Institute of Art History, University of Warsaw)
– Maciej Zieliński (Editor-in-chief of “Digital Camera Polska” and Fotopolis.pl)
– Grzegorz Dąbrowski (photo editor, curator, photographer)
– Łukasz Rusznica (photographer, curator of the gallery Miejsce Przy Miejscu; Winner
of the Photographic Publication of the Year 2019)
and:
Franek Ammer (Fotofestiwal)
Paweł Rubkiewicz (Bookoff Artistic Bookstore)
Organisation of jury discussion:
Joanna Kinowska (Służew Cultural Centre, Miejsce
Fotografii)
More info about the competition
Contact: info@fotopublikacja.pl
FB of the Photographic Publication of the Year
Competition organisers:
Fotofestiwal – International Festival of Photography in Łódź,
Bookoff Artistic Bookstore,
Służew Cultural Centre (Służewski Dom Kultury).
Cooperation: Miejsce Fotografii
Media partners: Fotopolis, Digital Camera Polska
The Open Program has existed under various names as part of the festival since 2003. It allows for an overview of current phenomena in photography. This year’s submissions had a very strong level of engagement. Our Jury tried to prepare a coherent but diverse selection.
The projects selected by the Jury raise important socio-political and environmental issues that emerged in 2020. Most of these works are not only visual narratives or illustrations, but rather a form of engagement, commentary, or participatory observation. Selected projects, despite their diversity, clearly refer to the problems and challenges of the present times. This year, not surprisingly, there were many projects focused on pandemic experience. For the first time, compared to previous years, we had a particularly large number of applications, which came from outside Europe – we are very ecstatic about this tendency.
From among 1029 projects (a record!) the international Jury selected the works of seven artists, whose projects we will be able to see at exhibitions during the Fotofestiwal in 2021 (10-27.06). Here they are:
Federico Estol “Shine Heroes” / Uruguay
Colin Delfosse “Embodying Kinshasa” / Belgium
Sima Choubdarzadeh “My Name is Fear” / Iran
Irmina Walczak “Oasis: in Our Quarantine Yard” / Poland
Rafael Heygster & Helena Manhartsberger “Corona Rhapsody” / Germany
Robin Hinsch “Wahala” / Germany
We would like to thank everyone who submitted their applications – for the opportunity to see their projects. Choosing six of them was not easy. We also send huge thanks to the Jury for the opportunity to cooperate and all the lively discussions that were part of this difficult choice.
You can learn more about the selected photographers and their projects HERE.
And more about the Open Program and previous finalists HERE.
See you in June!
