We are happy to announce that jury of Grand Prix 2014 decided to choose 10 finalists whose works will be presented during Fotofestiwal, between 5^th and 15^th of June 2014. We got 600 applications and the level was remarkably high. The name of the winner will be announced 5^th of June 2014, during the opening of Fotofestiwal. Works of 10 finalists will be presented at the exhibition, between 5^th and 15^th of June, in Lodz.

FINALISTS
1.    Michel Le Belhomme, The Blind Beast (France)
2.    Antoine Bruy (France)
3.    Elena Chernyshova, Norilsk (Russia / France)
4.    David Favrod, Gaijin (Japan / Switzerland)
5.    Kirill Golovchenko, Bitter Honeydew (Ukraine / Germany)
6.    Marie Hudelot, Heritage (France)
7.    Adam Lach, Stigma (Poland)
8.    Agnieszka Rayss, No Men’s Land (working title) (Poland)
9.    Marlous Van der Sloot, Le corps Vecu (The Netherlands)
10. Renhui Zhao, A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World (Singapore)

The jury of Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013:

Peggy Sue Amison, Artistic Director for the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Ireland
Krzysztof Candrowicz, director of FOTOFESTIWAL International Festival of Photography in Łódź, Poland
Louise Clements, Artistic Director of QUAD & FORMAT International Photography Festival; UK
Claudia Hinterseer, Independent Photography Professional, The Netherlands
Adam Mazur, Curator, Chef Editor of „SZUM” magazine, Poland
Rafał Milach, Photographer, Co-founder of Sputnik Photos, Poland
Marta Szymańska, Programme Director of FOTOFESTIWAL International Festival of Photography in Łódź, Poland
Jakub Śwircz, Curator, Lecturer, Poland
Erik Vroons , Chief Editor of “GUP” magazine, The Netherlands

THANK YOU FOR ALL APPLICATIONS AND CONGRATULATIONS!

You couldn’t come to Fotofestiwal? Together with DotFilm company we have prepared live streaming for all the fans of photography who will have to stay at home this weekend but at the same time would like to participate in the meeting with Joan Fontcuberta, the curator of the main exhibition of Fotofestiwal 2013.

During the meeting, Joan Fontcuberta, explained what the exhibition I ARTIST. Transcendent Amateur. More than amateur means to him, and he tried to give an answer to the following questions: where do all the images on the Internet come from? Who creates them? What is the role of an artist-photographer in the modern world, and what is the role of an amateur photographer? Is there any difference between these two?

The meeting have place on Saturday – June 8 at 4 pm and was in English.

Memories of these days will not fade – certainly not those of the numerous meetings, gasps of admiration, amazing discoveries, gripping discussions and, first and foremost, top-notch photography. We would like to thank all visitors for the time they spent with the artists whose works were presented at the Fotofestiwal, for active participation in all accompanying events and great involvement in the joint experiencing of art at various meetings, workshops and shows.

We would also like to express our gratitude to our partners – without your help we wouldn’t be able to prepare such a varied programme, get everything up and running, and create such a wonderful celebration of photography.

A huge thank you to our volunteers – for being there for us at all times. A big thanks for your involvement and support!

This edition was absolutely fantastic and fills us with exceptional pride.

Do you want to feel more photographic this weekend? You can immerse in photos from the Fortepian.hu gallery by using an application made by Cybercom! Share ready photos on social Facebook and Twitter or send them via email to your mother and your father. In this application you will also find a gallery with some photos from this year’s Fotofestiwal edition together with additional information about the exhibitions.

Download app for iPhone http://goo.gl/INSQp	Download app for Android http://goo.gl/WUblD
Download app for Windows Phone 8 http://goo.gl/v6OWv

On 6 June, on the day of the opening ceremony of the 12th edition of Fotofestiwal – The International Festival of Photography in Łódź – the results of the Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013 competition were announced. The winner of the Prize of PLN 10,000, for The Harvest of Death, v.2 project, is Karl Burke!

Karl Burke has presented a conceptual, multi-layered and addictive project. Between the photographs, tension and story are built and enhanced with a well-chosen execution technique. Burke’s photographs are carefully directed frames from a computer game that pretend to be real scenes – even from 150 years ago. In this way, they make reference to the entire history of war photography, to the people’s desire to watch dramatic scenes and finally, to war as a form of entertainment that can be played at home. Burke was awarded first of all for the multi-layered concept, extensive references and unique narration. The jury was also impressed with the perfect execution where the technique is subordinated to, and extends the “operation” of, the idea.
Joanna Kinowska

The artist, in his works, touches both the issue of modern mediatisation of reality and the tradition of war photography. Today, increasingly realistic computer games are a form of mass entertainment; at the same time, superpowers such as the U.S., execute their military operations with advanced information technologies. War resembles a computer game (the famous concept of adiaphorisation developed by Z. Bauman), and computer games are increasingly realistic. The collodion filter superimposed on all of this immediately evokes associations with old photographs by R. Fenton, M. Brady, J. Gardner and others.
Tomasz Ferenc

In addition to the main prize, the jury awarded a special recognition – a voucher for a publication funded by Empresse – for Ilona Szwarc, for her project entitled American Girls.

We congratulate the winners!

We are proud to announce the opening of Fotofestiwal 2013! On June 6 (Thursday) at 7 pm we begin this two weeks long festival of international photography in Lodz. A festival which is definitely going to be well remembered for a long time.

We will start with vernissages of the main exhibitions of Fotofestiwal 2013: I ARTIST. Transcendent Amateur, I ARTIST. Archives and amateurs, Photographic Publication of the Year 2013, 23 Years of Łódź through the Lens of Gazeta Wyborcza Photographers, The New York Times Magazine Photographs Tearsheets. Additionally, during the opening og Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013 exhibition we will give the award to one of the eight finalist of the contest! On the day of the opening of the festival entrance to all the exhibitions in OFF Piotrkowska will be free.

After 9 pm this grand photo festivity will continue in Klub Wytwórnia at Fotofestiwal Opening Party where accompanied by amazing music we will watch the photos of all the finalist of Grand Prix (slideshow: Aman Iman Team). Later, at 10 pm, you will get a great dose of positive energy during the concert of the band Plastic!

Details of the whole programme of the festival are under the heading Timetable.

During Fotofestiwal there will be no time for sleeping! The evenings throughout the festival will be filled with attractions. Are you ready?

Foremostly you are invited to the old postindustrial yards where at nights you will be able to see the slide shows of the world’s best know photos accompanied by amazing music! Apart from the most important set of the Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013, you will also enjoy the photos from Portugal, Denmark and many other countries.

The Night of Open Ateliers is a great opportunity to visit the studios, cefeterias and restaurants in OFF Piotrkowska, and to enjoy all the attractions we prepared especially for our guests. Check the programme of The Night of Open Ateliers.

We will be having great time while great music will be played in the background! All the events begin on Thursday (June 6) with the concert of Plastic in Club Wytwórnia. Other musical gems you will be able to hear include: Kwadratowi, DJ’s Kuki Monstah, Jerem, Dr Kars. During the closing event of the Photofestiwal we will hear Ssao Paulo Tropicana! which is an Electric Eel, MC Persona Grata, Tsar Poloz and 8rolek!

Another idea for each … throughout the festival is a total chill-out. From 7 pm we will be lounging in deckchairs in OFF Piotrkowska.

Do you want to know what does “SHLAGart” mean? Are you interested in the books for children from Ładne Halo publishing? Do you want to prepare printing paper at Tkalnia Obrazu? On the 8th and 15th of June, between 8 pm. and 00:00 Fotofestiwal invites to take part in The Night of Open Ateliers.Fashion designers, artists, architects, a cafes that hosts cultural events and restaurants from OFF Piotrkowska will be open for everyone. Every atelier prepared some attractions for these two special nights. And afterwards, we invite you for the party in the DOM club.

We invite you to register in order to obtain a 50% discount on Fotofestiwal tickets. You should only fill a registration form and bring it to the festival office or obtain one at the festival office during Fotofestiwal (6-16.06). And after that you can play football in peace.

Multi-entrance ticket
Buy your multi-entrance tickets in the festival centre.

30 zloty (after registration), 60 zloty (without registration):
exhibitions in OFF Piotrkowska, selected workshops*, photowalks*, festival parties**, accompanying exhibitions

*Limited number of seats. More information and terms of registration for individual programme parts are available on www.fotofestiwal.com
**except for the party in DOM, 15 June

Single-entrance ticket
Single-entrance tickets will be available in exhibition venues

- OFF Piotrkowska
After the registration: 15 zloty (standard) 10 zloty (students, senior citizens)
Without the registration: 30 zloty (standard) 20 zloty (students, senior citizens)
Children under 12 – free admission to OFF Piotrkowska

- Muzeum Kinematografii: 10 zloty (standard), 7 zloty (students)

- Galeria FF: 2 zloty

For the first time, Portfolio Review in Łódź has been organised by Napo Images. This is first of all an exceptional opportunity for all those who deal with documentary and reportage photography, and would like to consult specialists about their works.

Portfolio Review is a one-day series of individual and face-to-face meetings between photographers and experts. It is addressed to both experienced creators and those at the onset of their artistic career. The review is open to photographers with at least one completed project. They will have an opportunity to show their works and receive professional guidance from well-versed experts.

MORE DETAILS

We would like to invite you to the exhibitions opening before the ceremonious launch of the Fotofetiwal.

24.05, 12:00
Artur Chrzanowski, Amatorka; wystawa studentów Pracowni Fotografii I i Pracowni Fotografii II Katedry Multimediów; Proste zadania, Galerie ASP: Nasza Ściana, Mała Czarna, Wojska Polskiego 121

30.05, 20:00
Artur Urbański, Live View; Foto Cafe 102, Piotrkowska 102

01.06, 19.00
Podniesienie; Galeria Wschodnia, Wschodnia 29

04.06, 15:15
Monika Szymańska-Chachuła, Przestrzeń pierwotnej natury; Galeria Pod Napięciem, Stefanowskiego 18/22, budynek A10

05.06
16.00 W stronę Obrazu / Przyjaciele na Zawsze / projekt Roombook 6 – działania w procesie 2012/13; Galeria Biblioteka Akademia Humanistyczno-Ekonomiczna w Łodzi, Sterlinga 26
17.00 Przestrzeń ograniczona, ZPAF Łódź; Galeria 87, Piotrkowska 87
18.00 Dagmara Bugaj, Miejsca utajone; Centrum Konferencyjno-Widowiskowe WSP Lutnia, Piotrkowska 243
19.00 Patryk Karbowski, Nowi Polacy; Galeria Ars Nova, Zgierska 4

This year, the workshop topics include: working in a darkroom and wet collodion technique. The workshops are divided by age groups, advancement level and topics. All sessions are hosted by professionals from such organisations as Warsaw School of Photography, Empresse, Arctic Paper, Impossible Project or OKO studio. For photographers, it is an opportunity to go through the topics of portfolio printing or compiling their own albums. Masterclass workshop on psychological portrait will be hosted by Marian Schmidt. Activities for children, mothers and inter-generational meetings will be held as well.

Workshops are held in Polish language.

Workshops for children and parents
- “Common histories. Inter-generational workshops or how to take care of old photographs?” – Julia Odnous (Archaeology of Photography)
- “Heliography” – Agnieszka Furtak
- “Painting with light. Night time photography workshops for children and parents” – Agnieszka Furtak
- “Through mother’s photo lens” – Olga Nakielska
- “Camera Obscura” (Milena Kranik and Aleksandra Frankowska) – OKO Studio
- “Scrapbooking” (Monika Sołdon and Milena Kranik) – OKO Studio

Workshops for adults
- “Photographer’s portfolio: artist’s vision executed in print” – Marcin Dąbrowski (Empresse)
- “Photography in mind and in print. Doing it better than usual” – Marcin Dąbrowski (Empresse)
- “Graphic design, paper and print – three dimensions of publication” – Arctic Paper & Empresse
- “8×10 Rafał Masłow” – Impossible Workshops
- “MASTERCLASS: Expressive photography and psychological portrait” – Marian Schmidt (Warsaw School of Photography)
- “Fashion and portrait” – Maciej Szal (Warsaw School of Photography)
- “High-end techniques. Wet collodion portrait” – Łukasz Pietuchowski (Warsaw School of Photography)
- “Print-out and framing workshops” – Jerzy Koba (Profesjonalni Oprawcy/Professional Framers)

As every year, our festival recruits volunteers. Many young creative people help us build and maintain exhibitions as well as take care of our visitors. Their assistance is of great value and thanks to them the festival keeps on going. This year’s edition will be supported by about 100 young photography enthusiasts.

At FotoSuperMarket you will find a variety of old photographs, unique cameras, rare albums, collector’s prints, photo magazines. FotoSuperMarket is a repository of bizarre ideas and unconventional photographic services. A perfect place for all items associated with photography.

You can view and buy all these items for one day during Fotofestiwal – 15 June, at OFF Piotrowska festival centre.

The exhibition of 30 years of The New York Times Magazine photography, outstanding personalities among the Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013 finalists, the main exhibition prepared by Joan Fontcuberta as well as the new festival centre… And this is just the start!

NEW: TIME, PLACE, LOGO
This year’s edition of Fotofestiwal (International Festival of Photography in Lodz), the twelfth one, will be launched on 6 June and it will run until 16 June (for 11 days, over two weekends). By rescheduling from June to May we hope to be able to enjoy some summer weather. The majority of events and exhibitions will be held at the new festival centre OFF Piotrkowska, in the very heart of industrial Lodz. OFF Piotrkowska is a unique venue located on the premises of a former factory and a continuously developing centre for alternative culture which hosts creative businesses and arts including the trendiest bars, restaurants and design studios . This is Łódź in a nutshell, comprising the best the city has to offer, all in one place. During the festival, OFF Piotrkowska will serve as the place to talk, meet up with others, relax or have discussions on various topics; this is where you will have the opportunity to see all festival exhibitions. What’s more, we have a new logotype! It has been designed by Martyna Łysy who is responsible for the visual identity of Fotofestiwal this year.

EVERYONE IS AN ARTIST
One of the programme highlights is a series of exhibitions and presentations focused on amateur and anonymous photography held under the common title of I ARTIST. Everyone is an artist. Joan Fontcuberta, one of the most significant contemporary visual artists and a curator, this year’s winner of the Hasselblad Award granted to the most influential creators, was invited to co-work on this part of the festival programme. Joan Fontcuberta is well known mainly for his good sense of humour and not taking the world too seriously. For more than 30 years he has been questioning established facts and norms and challenging the limits of photography, whilst making other people laugh and ask questions. Joan Fontcuberta is curating an exhibition for Fotofestiwal, thus forcing us to ask ourselves: what does it mean to be an artist in today’s world?

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
The festival programme also features the The New York Times Magazine Photographs Tearsheets exhibition. This extraordinary collection of selected photographs taken over a period of 30 years for The New York Times Magazine constitutes a review of the most important events in world history and includes a catalogue of pictures of famous and influential personalities and the portfolios of the greatest photographers. The exhibition format is out of the ordinary, comprising of modules used to display photos and articles in a way that reflects the original newspaper layout. Ancillary visual materials used in editing such as contact sheets, printing proofs, centrefolds, and framed prints will also be exhibited to show how a newspaper is produced until the final stage is reached, and how selected photographs originally looked like in print surrounded by other images or text. The works by dozens of photographers will be exhibited, including established contemporary names such as Sebastiăo Salgado, Sarah Moon, Lee Friedlander, Nan Goldin, Simon Norfolk, Roger Ballen, Andres Serrano or Erwin Olaf. The exhibition is curated jointly by Kathy Ryan, long-time photo editor of New York Times, and Lesley A. Martin, with support from Aperture Foundation.

GRAND PRIX FOTOFESTIWAL 2013
The names of outstanding British photographer Nadav Kander and young Polish photo artist Ilona Szwarc, also recognised by the World Press Photo jury in 2012, are among this year’s Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013 competition finalists. Last year, the Fotofestiwal jury led by the same intuition and expertise recognised Tomasz Lazar, a multiple photo contest winner in 2012. This year’s competition attracted more than 500 entries. The quality level of all entries was higher than ever before and the jury discussions were most vigorous. At the end of the day, 8 finalists were selected, out of whom only one can win the prize of PLN 10,000. We had a heated debate, says jury member Adam Mazur, it took many hours of discussion, while emotions were running high both in the debate and during voting rounds. The counting of the votes and the debate over the Grand Prix winner were the climax. I have not seen such a close-fought and fierce competition in a long time. The winner will be announced on 6 June during the festival opening, accompanied by a special slide show, and the festival exhibition will feature the works by all finalists.

Prepare for dozens of exhibitions, more than ten workshops, night slide shows, events and meetings with very special guests… So, just before the summer starts, before everyone heads to Gdansk, Katowice or Wroclaw, before all festival lovers hit the road – do come and visit Lodz!