Fotofestiwal opening weekend
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 🙂
