'Warsaw Photo Days' Festival is launched

Sarah Maple “Lollipop Lollipop“, 2011

First edition of Warsaw Photo Days Festival has been officially launched yesterday, Friday, the 4th of October 2013. In case you missed the news, here's a little recap. Warsaw Photo Days festival was initiated by its organizer, the Association of Polish Artists Photographers ZPAF Warsaw District in 2013. Its first edition will be held from October 4 to October 31, 2013 and is planned to be a place for meetings and presentation of various forms of photography, both from historical perspective and contemporary activities.

The Main Programme presented consists of three group exhibitions: "Female Metamorphoses of the Interwar Period" - a historical exhibition of Polish interwar photographs (curator: Magdalena Durda-Dmitruk), "PHOTO OBJECT"– an exhibition presenting the spatial objects created- with the use of photographs - between the '60s of the twentieth century and present days  (curators: Leszek Golec, Jagna Olejnikowska) and"Princesses" - a multimedia exhibition about the world of 'girlish' desires and fantasies depicted by contemporary Polish and foreign artists (curator: Katarzyna Majak, substan-tive consultant: Agnieszka Żechowska).

Zofia Rydet, Metamorphosis series, 1957-80, courtesy of the Foundation of Zofia Rydet in Cracow

The additional curatorial selection will review the most interesting photocasts of the recent years (curator: Andrzej Zygmuntowicz), as well as photographic workshops, meetings with authors and panel discussions.

There is a special highlight planned for the festival, an unique, in both concept and formula, Performative Symposius Gesture Towards Photography, during which the artists will partner with each other in order to exchange ideas and co-create photographic dialogue. The main idea is to investigate, describe, and above all, to "demonstrate" the visual and practical ways of expressing thoughts and "show" how the imagination and the critical mind work. The material recorded during the symposium will be a base for preparing the movie – a specific visual "treatise" on gesture.

Open Programme, themed "CLASH," will exhibit six projects drawn from more than 600 entries from around the world.



For full progamme and detailed information about the festival please visit their website.

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jadwiga Witkiewicz née Unrug, ca 1923, 17,2 x 12,5 cm (from the collection of S. Okolowicz and E. Franczak)