Białystok Interphoto

COLLECTING WORLDS

The formation of philosophical and social thought of different cultures and their interpenetration as elements creating the contemporary world order and the code of visual communication are the basis of the museum collections, private collections, individual and collective exhibitions presented during this year’s festival. They are exposed to the public according to Aby Warburg’s method of iconographic analysis. “Collecting Worlds,” as the topic of the festival, illustrates the human needs to organise and describe everything around us as a form that builds harmony against the chaos of the Universe. Collecting also means acquiring trophies and the need to share them with the audience.

Collecting is always determined by precisely defined rules that subordinate the choices made and the systematic creation of specific collections. Hence, we present to our recipients the numerous worlds contained in various museums collections, as well as individual views of artists from around the world. As a complement to this perspective, we bring the profile of Polish photography festivals closer to the audience through their direct presentations in the context of the topic.

Aby Warburg was an art historian who, on the one hand, introduced the method of iconographic analysis – analysing works of art through the symbolism they contain – and, on the other hand, as a consequence of this analysis, led to a reading of the meanings contained in art by juxtaposing works or artefacts from different eras that seemingly have nothing in common. For Warburg, the development of culture was not a temporal, chronological sequence, but rather a proliferation of symbolic and allegorical energies rooted in primordial anxiety – their conscious rationalisation allows us to contain the chaos (ordering, collecting) and distance ourselves from the source of anxiety. The Mnemosyne Atlas he was creating is a concept of memory understood as an archive of images, a visual archive of European cultural history and a reconstruction of collective memory. The curators and artists of the current edition are interested in the method of creating the Atlas and it is to this method that we refer during the festival. Ultimately, it allows us, following Warburg, to get to know the human being and his psyche through the image, rather than deciphering the artwork itself. This is why we will be more interested in associative rather than chronological or descriptive statements in the exhibitions of the collection.

 dr hab. Grzegorz Jarmocewicz prof. UWM
Artistic director of the festival

BIAŁYSTOK INTERPHOTO – International Festival of Photography
is an interdisciplinary event promoting photography and related media
that make up the contemporary form of visual expression.  

BIAŁYSTOK INTERPHOTO 

is a cyclical festival of high artistic quality, held as a biennial, every two years. It includes not only exhibition activities but also meetings, lectures, workshops, multimedia shows, school competitions, and activities combining photography with music or literature, as well as city games. These activities are aimed at audiences of all age categories. The festival has been growing steadily since 2013 and is anticipated by audiences, artists, and critics as the most important event of its kind in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe. During recent editions, statistics have shown that more than twenty thousand direct attendees and over one million online participants have honoured us with their participation.

The main goal of the festival is to constantly expand the international platform we have previously created for the exchange of experience and ideas between artists from Eastern and Western Europe, enabling a cross-border dialogue not only between artists and photography enthusiasts but also with the general public. In addition to classic artists of the medium, we present artists who employ contemporary methods and themes, represent neo-avant-garde attitudes, or operate in the realm of critical art. Such presentations raise public awareness not only about photography or multimedia but also about the issues of contemporary civilisation, which is engrossed in material aspects of life. They increase sensitivity to moral phenomena, public and individual changes, suffering, and political problems affecting both democratic countries and those still under regimes. They draw attention to omnipresent oppression, McDonaldization, nationalist and climate threats, and, on the other hand, to the positive development of civilization through scientific achievements.

The festival’s activities popularise current trends in contemporary Polish and foreign photography, with an emphasis on artistic phenomena from Central and Eastern European countries. An important element is the educational theme, situating the medium in relation to social and historical issues. This is why exhibitions showcasing artistic phenomena occurring in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe that influenced the development of world art have been permanently included in the schedule. The festival also presents contemporary Polish continuators of the artistic thought of the inter-war period to show the continuity of the development of Polish art after 1945.

The main theme of the festival, regardless of the edition, is THE BORDER, with all the dimensions belonging to this concept, from Genius Loci to the areas of individual experience on a spiritual or experimental level. As part of this year’s festival, we have planned to present more than 200 artists, with the direct participation of around 100 of them, as well as 17 curators and 15 jurors from abroad. There will be: 30 exhibitions, 3 workshops, 4 film screenings in the Helios cinema network, an innovative hybrid Portfolio Review, competitions such as INTERPHOTO GRAND PRIX, Street Art, and Young Photography, a photo show with live music, a scientific panel on the profiling of Polish photo festivals, 5 lectures and talks, 28 author meetings, an international streaming press conference, an inauguration ceremony with the participation of the public, guests, artists, provincial and city authorities, curators, critics, and publishers; a picnic and a photo walk. Those unable to make it to Bialystok are invited to visit our social media and website, which has been visited by guests from all over the world since the beginning of the festival. During INTERPHOTO, entries exceed 1 million.

This year’s edition invites artists from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, directors of photography festivals, jurors, and critics from Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Large group exhibitions are organized on the basis of international cooperation with the Olomouc Art Museum in the Czech Republic and the Lithuanian Museum of Photography in Šiauliai, the Schupmann Collection, the Cezary Pieczyński Collection, the Września Collection, and the Leica Collection – Poland.

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