We all produce and consume images, and we all use them to communicate with each other. Photography has become an inseparable part of everyday life and one of the basic needs. We all live in the age of networking and sharing, which shape contemporary photography and the modern society alike. Three subsequent editions of Fotofestiwal (2012-2014) will focus on the processes related to the popularisation of photography, the role of images in mass culture and the democratisation of this medium. We will discuss the influence and advances of amateur photography, the role of social networking sites and the Internet as well as the publishing market and the relation between the word and image in visual communication. We will present the most important phenomena, ask questions and attempt to look at these issues from a historical perspective, tracing back changes and processes. We will talk about opportunities, consequences, effects and dangers.
At the same time, we want all these themes to become a starting point for reflection, not only on photography and society but also on the format of modern festivals. We wish Fotofestiwal to remain a meeting platform, but also to serve as a living laboratory, a space of experiment, enabling interaction, discussion, experience and, above all, encounters.
FOTOFESTIWAL 2012
I*NETWORK
HUMAN CONNECTION
In 2012, Fotofestiwal is devoted to the issues of cooperation, networking and co-working in the field of photography. The contemporary world of photography is a dynamically developing space with a range of interrelations, bringing together artists, viewers, curators, agents, editors, critics and photography companies. It is a world critically conditioned by encounters. And thanks to the Internet, the meeting space is unlimited. The photography milieu, to which everyone who uses images in communication belongs, is connected by a global network which operates as an area of exchange, discussion and collaboration.
FOTOFESTIWAL 2013
I*ARTIST
EVERYBODY IS AN ARTIST
Is the contemporary image production a form of overproduction that inevitably leads to overdosing? What is or might be the ecology of image, and do we actually need it? How does amateur photography influence professional photography, how has the dividing line been shifting, and does it actually make much sense to introduce such demarcations? What were amateur photographers doing in the past and who of them have become classics of contemporary photography? In 2013, we will take a closer look at the popularisation of amateur photography and the changing role of the photographer, now that everybody has access to a camera, and mobile phones take pictures in the “beauty” mode.
FOTOFESTIWAL 2014
I*BOOK
NO IMAGE WITHOUT THE TEXT
NO TEXT WITHOUT THE IMAGE
The final episode is meant to focus on the relation between images and words. We will take a look at the media that combine these two communication channels, and ask questions about the role of the word and image in the visual culture. We will discuss the dynamic growth of the publishing market and the status of books in the world dominated by virtual communication.
