International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts
PHotoEspaña, the International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts was founded in 1998 with the aim of finding its inspiration in contemporary society, and is now one of the most important visual arts events in the world.
Each year its exhibitions and educational and professional programs attract more than six hundred thousand people, a figure that makes it the largest and most popular of all cultural events celebrated in Spain.
PHotoEspaña is one of the largest international forums for photography, and its prestige, recognized by the most important critics, has made it one of the world's essential cultural events. The Festival is made possible thanks to the support of private and public institutions, including the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the Community of Madrid and Madrid's City Hall.
Each edition of the Festival centers on a theme, and its program is divided into the Official Section, which takes in museums and large cultural venues, and the Off Festival, which counts on the participation of art galleries and other spaces. The Official Section's exhibition agenda is divided into three parts, offering a broad overview of photography and the visual arts. Every three years a general curator develops a thematic section related to a specific topic. The section dedicated to the great masters presents in depth exhibits of the work of artists relevant to the history of photography. The third section, called Invited Projects, completes the Festival's official program with spaces dedicated to awards and Spanish and international photography collections.
PHotoEspaña is an extraordinary opportunity to see photography projects, videos and installations by the most important national and international photographers and visual artists. Throughout the Festival's various editions more than 600 exhibitions have been celebrated in the citys principal museums, exhibition spaces, art centers and galleries.
In conjunction with the exhibition agenda, the Festival offers educational and professional programs, with activities targeting different sectors of the public. Campus-workshops and master classes; Descubrimientos-the viewing of Festival portfolios; and Encuentros-debates on photography directed at professionals and emerging photographers. Workshops for children and young people, and guided tours of the exhibitions complete the Festival’s educational programs.
In addition, PhotoEspaña is a Festival that aspires to be present at street level. With that in mind, numerous activities will take place in public spaces, such as the PHotoMarathon and Photography Night.
The heart of the Festival in Madrid is located along the Paseo de Castellana, the principle avenue dividing the city in two. In addition, in recent editions the city of Cuenca has joined the Festival, offering a more intimate ambience. The Festival's growing international reputation has led to collaborations with a different country each year, made manifest in the participation of artists and other figures in cultural events undertaken between institutions in both countries. This collaborative effort, which was launched in 2007 with the participation of France, continues this year with Portugal, through a joint artistic and communications program.
PHotoEspaña is organized by La Fábrica, a company dedicated to cultural administration that has set in motion numerous cultural, editorial and on-line initiatives.
THE FESTIVAL´S XI EDITION PHotoEspaña 2008's official program features 32 exhibitions divided into three sections.
Place (Lugar) is this year's theme chosen by the Festival's general curator Sergio Mah, in charge of the first section.
Historic and Great Masters exhibitions - a section that this year forms part of the thematic portion of the Festival, presents an in-depth look at the work of artists relevant to the history of photography.
Finally, Invited Projects rounds out the section with awards and Spanish and international photography collections.
Details of the shows in each section follow:
Place
- “Perhaps” Javier Vallhonrat
- Interferences. Minerva Cuevas,Ramón Mateos
- David Claerbout
- “To Place” Roni Horn
- “Compromised Places. Topography and the Actuality”
- Thomas Demand. “Camera”
- “On the Road” Pablo López / Mateo López / Odires Mlászho / Ana Laura Paiva y Fernando Martinho / Juan Valbuena
- “Horizon of Events” João Maria Gusmão + Pedro Paiva
- Marcellvs L.
- Florian Maier-Aichen
- Ignasi Aballí. “Photography for Gardens”
- “Cuenca: Juan López´s Version”
- Esteban Pastorino
- Ignasi Aballí. “No Activity”
- “Utopia” Frédéric Chaubin / Gayle Chong Kwan / Tacita Dean / Arni Haraldsson / Alec Soth / Wiebke Loeper / Mathieu Pernot / John Riddy / Stuart Whipps / Amir Kaki / Tsai Ming-liang
Historic and Great Masters exhibitions
- "The Home" Bill Brandt
- "Buried Memories: The Potographs of Henrik Ross"
- Robert Smithson. "Hotel Palenque"
- Leonardo Cantero
- "W. Eugene Smith. More real than reality"
- "Francesc Català-Roca's vision of Cuenca, circa 1956"
Invited Projects
- "Maria Lionza. The goddess with Eyes of Water" Cristina García Rodero
- "The Best Photography Books of the Year"
- "BES Photo"
- "Battered" Harri Pälviranta
- "Descubrimientos PHE08"
- "Mírate"
- "Invisible Details" Pablo Pérez Mínguez
- "Colección Caja de Burgos (I + E)"
- "A Private History"
Director de Comunicación
Álvaro Matías T. 91 360 13 24 amatias@phedigital.com
Oficina de prensa
Miryam González T. 91 360 13 24 mgonzalez@phedigital.com
International press
María A. Díaz T. +34 915 985 512 mdiaz@phedigital.com
Inauguration June 4
Image: Paolo Ventura, Milan, november 1994. Couple of lovers, 2005.