by Benedetta Donato
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I have always considered photography festivals as a fundamental opportunity to understand the possible directions and different paths of visual research. Since I started my job as a curator, I have tried to attend these events as much as possible as a source and a concentrate of inspiration. In a limited period of time, it is possible to: visit exhibitions, get to know the authors, have a profound exchange with those who work in the same field, access the consultation of publications or attend conferences and talks. An immersive experience, which becomes even more engaging when you can enjoy it, not only as a spectator but when you can make your small contribution and be a part of that clockwork, where every input is functional to a more complex system. I’ve collaborated with Photolux since 2013, when I curated the Paris exhibition with photographs by Maurizio Galimberti. During the 2019 edition, I had the opportunity to present The Human Revelation, the exhibition dedicated to Romano Cagnoni, strongly supported by Photolux, as a tribute and an opportunity to learn more about the work of the author who passed away in 2018. It was certainly one of the exhibitions I care the most about, where the support from the Festival was priceless: from the selection of material to its reproduction, from the choice of the venue to the set-ups. Everything was masterfully directed, leaving me with the freedom to express what I had in mind. Yes, because a festival is like an orchestra that needs a good conductor and many musicians prepared and willing to follow him.
These experiences went side by side with talks, juries of the awards dedicated to emerging authors and portfolio reviews, which are precious to me as it is often in these meetings that lasting collaborations between curators and new authors begin.
I like to remember that during the portfolio reviews held during this festival, I had the opportunity to meet two authors: Beatrice Speranza and Sofia Uslenghi. Two women photographers with very different background research and very personal and effective ways of presenting their work.
Thanks to portfolio reviews, I had the opportunity to get to know them both better and to follow up on these meetings with professional collaborations, which resulted in solo and group exhibitions. Over the years I have been able to observe their growth and see, not without a hint of pride, how much they are appreciated especially in the world of collectors.
Through a well-kept program full of opportunities – from portfolio reviews to workshops, to artist residencies, from meetings with authors and curators to guided tours and educational paths for children and special audiences – Photolux has always had the educational and training aspect very much at heart, providing the public with interesting opportunities for in-depth approach and young talents with important opportunities for growth and promotion of their work.
For the writer, portfolio reviews are really fundamental for two main reasons: they are a useful moment to meet talented authors and, at the same time, to shed light on points of view, on the choice of themes and on the different methods of research, especially for the new generations of photographers. I mean those who are entering the profession, after targeted studies, which gave them the opportunity to study, in addition to the history and techniques of the discipline, the presentation of a project, paying close attention to the selection of images, their sequence and how to present it.
They created tutorials that were entirely dedicated to the construction and presentation of the portfolio, which is increasingly becoming a fundamental tool to make people understand who we are and what we have decided to tell. It doesn’t matter whether it’s documentary or conceptual photography. A portfolio represents the highlights of a story. And, as such, it needs to be proposed to the right counterpart, to understand if we are going in the right direction or if we need to make changes and adjust the course.
It is worth underlining how this type of activity has been one of the most sought after by photographers, even in a pandemic. Many initiatives were born, thanks also to the widespread use of online platforms, in which it was possible to carry on conversations, despite the impossibility of physically attending events.
But let’s face it: a discussion is such if it can be lived as a total experience. If you can meet in a stimulating and enriching environment like that of festivals. And it is in similar contexts that this practice of vital importance for the authors has become the subject of significant innovations, as is the case with PhotoMatch. A new format for organizing portfolio reviews, conceived by Fotofestiwal of Łódź, was also adopted by the Photolux Festival which, in 2019, brought it to Italy for the first time. It is an evolution of the traditional portfolio reviews, in which the discussion involves different interlocutors and the exchange takes place without distinction between photographers and reviewers, over two days totally dedicated to meetings, when each author and reader presents their own work and then choose the interlocutor to meet, in a space dedicated to free meetings, so as to be able to talk and interface with everyone. A completely new experience, which is based on the principle of reciprocity and on horizontal relationships, capable of generating transversal and multi-level connections.
In traditional portfolio reviews, not all authors know each other and they do not have the opportunity to present their work to all the reviewers. On the other hand, in the same circumstances, reviewers are often able to discuss only the works already viewed and selected for evaluation by the jury, in order to decree one or more winners. The exchange is partial and aimed at a single purpose.
Having the opportunity to open a choral dialogue between authors and professionals, represents a moment of growth and enrichment for anyone participating in the PhotoMatch, regardless of the specific role they have in the national and international world of photography.
You learn an exercise, which becomes a constant in the career of an author: presenting your work in front of an audience of strangers and approaching the work of others, going beyond the boundaries of your own projects. You also discover the nuances of the different professions that populate the world of visual arts: from the photo editor to the curator, from the critic to the gallery owner, each adopting a different approach to the work.
Personally, I believe that the relationship that is established in moments of in-depth analysis such as this is fundamental: listening to the authors as they talk about their research, seeing how they interact with each other, capturing the interest of all the participants. For an operator of the field it is a full immersion, capable to understand where the attention of these young photographers is focused and what is emerging as a language and mode of expression.
See you in Lucca!
Website Photolux Festival: www.photoluxfestival.it
