7/3/2013
Format13
Different venues, Derby
The 6th edition of the Format International Photography Festival features exhibitions under his theme 'Factory: Mass Production', and includes an exciting new exhibition 'Notes Home' - the history of the British postcard produced by the Archive of Modern Conflict'; the UK premier of 'Album Beauty' from the collection of Erik Kessels; 'Silvermine' a unique view of China discovered from found photography and curated by Thomas Sauvin; Ken Grant's intimate portrayal of Thatcher's working class Britain 'No Pain Whatsoever and Still Waters' a special commission by Brian Griffin.
FORMAT13, the 6th edition of the FORMAT International Photography Festival is building up to be the biggest and most ambitious yet, making the city of Derby once again the place to discover new and exciting photography from around the world.
Artistic Director Louise Clements has curated a rich line up of exhibitions under the festival’s theme FACTORY: Mass Production, and includes an exciting new exhibition Notes Home - the history of the British postcard produced by the Archive of Modern Conflict; the UK premier of Album Beauty from the collection of Erik Kessels; Silvermine a unique view of China discovered from found photography and curated by Thomas Sauvin; Ken Grant’s intimate portrayal of Thatcher’s working class Britain No Pain Whatsoever and Still Waters a special commission by Brian Griffin, one of the UK’s most influential and creative portrait photographers.
FORMAT13 will be a celebration of Derby, the birth place of mass production, and explore how the factory continues to be relevant in the 21st century digital age.
FORMAT International Photography Festival presents the best of emerging international talent, showcasing it alongside the masters of photography.
The FORMAT International Photography Festival was founded by Louise Clements and Mike Brown in 2004 and has established itself as a world class biennale and must-see event in the photographic calendar, with over 100,000 visitors in 2011.
Located in Derby, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the festival has built its reputation through its championing of international photography and in particular bringing new talents from China, Indian sub-continent, Africa, South America and the Middle East to the UK for the first time.
The FORMAT International Photography Festival prides itself on providing opportunities for emerging photographers and continues to do this through its EXPOSURE Open competition. Entries for FORMAT13’s EXPOSURE Open were submitted from over 30 countries.
The final selection of 70 photographers, chosen by an international panel of photography experts, will be shown in venues across the city including the appropriately named Chocolate Factory - a disused factory in the heart of Derby. The winner of this year’s Paul Hill Award was won by Andreas Meichsner for his series, TUV: to the acid test, a surreal document of the curious world of product testing in Germany.
The Opening Weekend, 8th – 10th March will begin with a spectacular launch on the evening on the 7th March, featuring Elemental Force, a new performance from Deda celebrating the world’s first factory with a site specific film; pyrotechnics; an ariel performer and presentations from the festival patrons and the famous after party with guest photoscene DJs including Sue Steward, Paul Lowe and Brian Griffin.
It will also feature a conference; participatory photography by The Human Printer; a giant human Zoetrope; the FORMAT Photobook Market; the launch of a photo blog app from a team of photographers from Bangalore; Portfolio Reviews; film screenings, workshops; professional practice talks; show reels of photography from Bangladesh, Poland, France and much, much more.
FORMAT actively encourages the participation of amateurs and photography enthusiasts through its MobFORMAT, a platform which enables participants to upload their photographs. This year the photo feed will come from a new partnership with the international mobile photo app EyeEm. The images submitted will be printed out for visitors to pick out their favourites to pin on the wall, creating a MobFORMAT curated exhibition.
For all press enquiries please contact
Bridget Coaker
Troika Photos
020 7833 2330
bridget@troikaphotos.com
8th March – 7th April 2013
Derby, UK