Visa Pour l'Image 2010
Two weeks of roundtables, exhibitions and special events will feature some of today's best photojournalists. Professionals are discussing this year's banner topic: the consequences of an increasingly digitized and altered photographic landscape. Others may want to stop in at Elle Magazine's roundtable on the portrayal of women, debates on rights and orphan works, or any of the digital media workshops being hosted.
Several journalists will be presenting their works including Michael Nichols (National Geographic), Paolo Pellegrin (Magnum), Brent Stirton (Getty) and Ziv Koren (Polaris). Nightly screenings are being held in the majestic courtyard of Campo Santo where tributes will be paid to Willy Ronis, Gilles Caron and Dennis Stock, along with the year's highlights and features on South Africa, Haiti, the Korean War and more.
The greatest treasure remains the exhibitions throughout this medieval Catalonian city. What better excuse to explore churches and convents than the opportunity to immerse yourself in the world of contemporary photography?
Couvent des Minimes:
Veteran shooter William Albert Allard is receiving a career retrospective. Famed for his work in National Geographic, Allard has probed cultures dismissed by stereotypes and misunderstanding. His landmark exploration of the Amish and Hutterites people, the Untouchables of India, cowboy holdouts and juke joints are worth their own event entirely.
Reportage by Getty Images photographer Walter Astrada left his native Buenos Aires for Spain, but his work spans the globe. The heartbreaking, often brutal imagery has brought the horrors of sexual violence in Congo, the murder of women in Guatemala and the exile of transsexuals in Paraguay into the public eye. This exhibition will focus on violence against women in India.
Geo Magazine sent Belgian shooter Cédric Gerbehaye down the Congo River, which produced this collection of dreams and fog that captures the complexity of one the world's most desperate places. Contrary to the usual bloodshed these pictures deliver a nuanced look at the people along the river, including an amazing portrait of Laurent Nkunda.
Parisian Guillaume Herbaut has done several essays on the fallout from Ukraine's Chernobyl disaster. His pictures are marked by trust and intimacy, allowing for some of the most humanistic work covering the nuclear meltdown. This year's collection investigates the scrap metal trade fueled by radioactive leftovers of the exclusion zone.
One of the world's revered masters, William Klein, is also receiving the retrospective treatment. Collections from four cities - New York, Rome, Moscow and Tokyo - cover his earlier years behind the lens.
Tackling the complicated landscape of the former Soviet Union is Polish born and Georgia-based Justyna Mielnikiewicz. Her work explores worlds of transition throughout Crimea and Ukraine, and this exhibition narrows the focus of her lens onto the tempestuous South Caucasus.
A master of form, color and light, Japanese photographer Kazuyoshi Nomachi is one of the few photographers allowed into Mecca. Daubing the rich canvas of religious ceremony with the striking palette of his advertising background Nomachi conjures a world of mysticism and feverish visions. This exhibition will be the artist's first in Europe.
Stephanie Sinclair has witnessed the battlefields of Iraq, the legacy of self-immolation in India, the strength of the outspoken Mukhtaran Mai. Her access is unbelievable, her subjects close enough to touch. Visitors will find themselves led into the unseen world of fundamentalist Mormans who secretly live lives of polygamy.
Other exhibitions include works by Antonio Bolfo, Corentin Fohlen, Grégoire Korganow, Olivier Laban-Mattei, Tanguy Loyzance, Andrea Star Reese and Gali Tibbon.
Eglise des Dominicains:
The highlight of this event will be Tomas van Houtryve's exploration of the world's last communist states. From Cuba to Nepal, China to Moldova, this VII photographer takes a fresh look at places subjected to cliche and stereotype. Even better are the two clandestine trips into North Korea, the world's most reclusive country. Also exhibiting are Michael Nichols, Athit Perawongmetha and Munem Wasif.
Other showcases are taking place at the Couvent Sainte-Claire, Castillet, Caserne Gallieni, Chapelle du Tiers-Ordre and the Arsenal des Carmes. If you're overwhelmed, start with the Palais des Corts where Carsten Snejbjerg's stunning essay on the migrants of Calais will be shown.
All exhibition venues have free entry through September 12th, 10:00-20:00. The screenings at Campo Santo begin at 21:45. For all other events check the festival's website and choose carefully.
Visa Pour l'Image 2010
28 August-12 September
Perpignan, France
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