KAUNAS PHOTO 2012

Breathe In Photography !

Attention! Events described on this page have already taken place! 

The 9th KAUNAS PHOTO festival will ask everyone – “What have you seen and experienced?”

The main exhibition ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY in M.Žilinskas Art Gallery, the central art space of Kaunas, will reflect upon trends and transitions in the profession, obsession, creation and exhibition of photography. The includes works and curatorial efforts of more than 50 people will invite to take a fresh look at the phenomenon of photography. There will be presented works by these authors: Aaron Hobson, Anatolii Boiko, Andrea Stultiens, Deo Kyakulagira, Andrés Donadio, Chang Kyun Kim, Corinne Vionnet, Dalila Virgolini, Daniel Orlando Lara, Daria Roik, David Schäfer, Denis Tarasov, Emma Wieslander, Eva Kalpadaki, Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, Fernando Penim Redondo, Gabriela Herman, Gytis Skudzinskas, Igor Vasilyev, John Cyr, Joni Sternbach, Karl F. Stewart, Katharina Rossboth, Kurt Hoerbst, Maciej Nowaczyk, Meggan Gould, Miriam O’Connor, Monia Marceta, Petr Antonov, Richard Reinalter, Robert Rutoed, Roman Drits, Rytis Gervickas, Sherwin Rivera Tibayan, Tomas Ivanauskas, Vadim Kachan, Rūta Škėmaitė, Mariano Icaza, Stefan Sappert, Aleksandras Macijauskas, Antanas Sutkus, Rimantas Dichavičius, Ričardas Dailidė, Romualdas Rakauskas, Vytautas Daraškevičius, Pavel Smejkal, Eager photos and others.

Some 15 more exhibitions, most of which premieres, go beyond photographic culture and raise down-to-earth questions. Photography still remains as a medium of strategy of seeing, but the reality with its memories, discoveries, dialogues and conflicts will sustain. Every exhibition opening will be presented by a different experts, outstanding personalities. Exhibition opening tours will have themes: international photography, Lithuanian photography, photography about Kaunas.

On 4th of September, at Kaunas Photography Gallery will be an opening of exhibition of KAUNAS PHOTO STAR winner Luca Zanier from Zurich, Switzerland. The exhibition features his signature works from series “Space and energy”, a visual tour into the interiors of a variety of types of power stations. Images from Luca Zanier’s “Space and Energy” have recently been published in the shape of a book. The exhibition in Kaunas is shown in the heat of discussions about energetic independence in Lithuania and debates over the safe of nuclear power, fueled by the international discourse about issues of energy. The exhibition is co-funded by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

KAUNAS PHOTO 2012 – Luca Zanier “Space and Energy”

Luca Zanier solo show

Later at the gallery “Mano parkas” will be an opening of exhibition of KAUNAS PHOTO 2011 runners-up Alexandra Dumenkova (Russia), Andreas Meichsner (Germany) and Wilma Hurksainen (Finland).

Also, everybody are invited to come to Fluxus Ministry (ex-factory Jonavos street 3) for exhibition opening “Blow Job” by Tadas CERN (Tadas Černiauskas) and exhibition ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY LAB (photo-objects and installations) by these authors: Lokey (USA) Jovita Poviliūnaite (Lithuania), EAGER “Red Line Portraits” project that invites you to bring your own creative self-portrait with a red line/string and to participate in photo-action.

5th of September we will start with debates / talks of authors Pavel Smejkal, Stefan Sappert, Gytis Skudžinskas, Mariano Icaza, Thierry Girard, Algimantas Aleksandravičius and others. Moderator Tomas Pabedinskas (Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania) and Alasdair Foster (Cultural Development Consulting, Australia).

We will give a huge attention for openings of exhibitions by Lithuanian photographers. On display will be works by these authors: Rūta Šatalovaitė, Ieva Baltaduonytė, Jonas Kulikauskas, Algimantas Aleksandravičius and Irena Giedraitienė.

On 6 of September, let’s meet at the gallery “Aukso Pjūvis” where will be the opening of exhibition “Dreaming about Lithuania“ by R. Augūnas. After the publication of his third book, the photographer was asked by the Aukso Pjūvis gallery to present a selection of his fine works of daily life of Lithuania of the Soviet years. Moments of hunting or parties, work or rest were then just a mater of snap-shots, that now look like screenshots of a faded dream. Exhibition co-curated by Garbielė Kuizinaitė.

On 7 of September will be a lot of openings of exhibitions about Kaunas city. The gallery “F” will preset exhibition “Destination Europe. Kaunas” by Thierry Girard. Later, at the Kaunas House of Artists, we will see works by Evaldas Butkevičius called “Kaunas on the turn of centuries”. At the Historic Presidential Palace in Kaunas will be an opening of exhibition “Rambynas Camp” by Jonas Kulikauskas and at the editorial office PILOTAS.LT we will see exhibition “Mini planet – Kaunas” by Erikas Ovčarenko.

Photo nights will feature both, “real movies” and the slide-shows and short multimedia creations on works exhibited in shows, tributes to participating artists. The duet / duel format revives in the meeting of one working collective and another to-be-found-in-Kaunas collective. The last Photo Night will be dedicated to KAUNAS PHOTO STAR portfolio review’s photographers their nominations and the announcement of the winner, surely web-casted for everyone, everywhere.

Over half-a-hundred photographers will meet experts of photography at the third portfolio review and competition event KAUNAS PHOTO STAR 2012, which is starting to establish itself as a fair of talents and opportunities. Participants of previous years enjoy the results having found ways to exhibitions, publications, agencies in Lithuania, Latvia, Denmark, Greece, Austria and other countries. This year the portfolio reviews have started on an Internet platform, where photographers’ works are being reviewed by selected experts of photography from 5 continents. Nonetheless, the value of the real face-to-face review remains the keystone event. The traditional photographers’ night on Friday will be spiced up by a variety of invitations to photographers to hold personal exhibitions in important photography spaces in Europe in 2013, that will be shared by 5 photographers, next to the winner’s prize, all-inclusive invitation to Kaunas Photography Gallery.

Those curious, who will not limit themselves to observing the congratulations exhibition openings, will be able to assist in talks / debates and know more about works and their creators. The debates will be moderated by Lithuanian and international photography experts.

For the first time, a group of enthusiasts are intensely working on an OFF version of the festival, whispering about the numerous surprises.

This year again over two hundreds of people from tens of countries from five continents will come together or join their forces, talents and hearts though distance to make the 9th KAUNAS PHOTO festival an interesting, enlightening and inspiring experience.

KAUNAS PHOTO festival this year goes to France, collaborating with the festival of Photaumnales in Beauvais, presenting a Lithuanian photography exhibition that tells a story of Lithuania and its people during the past half a century. This exhibition “LT – a tribe, traditions, trends” is honored to be the central exhibition of the Photaumnales festival, presented at the National Gallery of Carpet, welcoming the delegation of Lithuanian photographers. On display will be works by these authors: Antanas Sutkus, Vytautas Stanionis, Vytautas Stanionis younger, Klaudijus Driskius, Donatas Stankevičius, Mindaugas Ažušilis. Curator – Mindaugas Kavaliauskas. A part of the projection program of “Photaumnales“ opening day will celebrate Lithuanian photography too.

We sincerely hope that the 9th KAUNAS PHOTO festival will offer wings to real fans of photography.

Some photographers will find ways to the world of art photography through a meeting of international image community in a relatively globally unimportant town of Kaunas.

Others will find like-minded people, and feel togetherness in the company of the international image community, enjoying fresh photography, unseen works, unheard-of names.

Every year, KAUNAS PHOTO festival is covered in magazines, blogs around the world with most of them admiring the event. But believing in writers, articles, quotations, there is still a chance to make a wrong opinion about things. Let’s say … “Arles 2012 is dead. Long live Arles 2013. Whatever happens then, it couldn’t possibly be worse than this. Let’s not be hypocritical or too well behaved. Let’s say out loud what everyone else has been saying under their breath. This year’s festival was a failure.“ This was written by Jean-Jacques Naudet on “Le journal de la Photographie” daily blog. Many of those, who did not go to Arles, the 2012 version of the father of photo festivals, might consider the article as a decisive argument. Everyone makes his/her own mind.

And we, the organizers of KAUNAS PHOTO festival, will remember Arles 2012 as the festival of mind-blowing news. In the KAUNAS PHOTO festival presentation in the space of debates, Lucien Clergue, founder of Arles rencontres disclosed something unsaid for the first time: “If we have Rencontres d’Arles today, it is thanks to Lithuania”, referring to his accidental and decisive meeting with Izis Bidermanas, exile from Lithuania, who at the photo club of Arles in 1954 advised the young violinist to take more pictures, which Lucien followed for the rest of his life… For me this was a discovery that I was looking for during the previous 9 visits to Arles!

In quest of your own vision, come to Kaunas, be a part of KAUNAS PHOTO festival.

The opening events are on September 4-8. Exhibitions and other events are up until October 14.

Who knows, what kind of surprise you can come across.

Breathe in photography!

Catalog.

Please find KAUNAS PHOTO 2012 catalog: “Breath in Photography” here >>

KAUNAS PHOTO festival 2012 team:

Festival director & curator Mindaugas Kavaliauskas
Co-curator of “About Photography” exhibition Ieva Meilutė-Svinkūnienė
Coordinator Rūta Šatalovaitė
Exhibition architecture Donatas Stankevičius
Photo Night production Vaidotas Rutkauskas