Photo Festivals: Whether in NYC or Toronto, spring into festival season this May, there’s no better way to shake off those April showers.
Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival
Festival Theme: Figure and Ground
A few Festival Highlights:
From April 9th to July 3rd the ROM is showing Canadian photographer Edward Burynsky’s Oil series. Burtynsky’s “images explore the hotly- debated effects of oil extraction, our international dependency on the substance, and with an unflinching eye, Burtynsky presents us with the reality of oil production as its role in our civilization undergoes massive transformation”.
Olga Chagaoutdinova, Scarlett Hooft Graafland, Viviane Sassen and Dayanita Singh at MoCCA. The group exhibition Dynamic Landscape “looks at the confluence of physical and psychological factors that inform our perception of the world we inhabit”.
In transforming Toronto into the photographic mecca for the month of May, work by artists Alex Prager, Pieter Hugo and others will be featured on billboards throughout the city.
And to top it off, Magnum will be offering a series of workshops led by photographers Bruno Barbey, Chien-Chi Chang, Bruce Gilden, David Alan Harvey, Eli Reed, and Larry Towell. From May 9th to the 13th Magnum is holding practice-oriented workshops designed to develop personal photographic growth.
New York Photo Festival
NYPH11: PHOTOGRAPHY NOW: engaged, personal, and vital
From May 11th to 15th in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
Festival Highlights:
NYPH11 is divided into two main exhibitions, Hope: Between Dream and Reality curated by Enrico Bossan, and Subjective/Objective curated by Elisabeth Biondi.
One of the festival’s highlights is the New York Photo Awards, which will present the Jury’s Choice Award on May 13th. And good news for photographers, it’s not too late; the NYPA is still accepting submissions until April 25th, so get on it!
But, just wait, it gets even better… all Award Winners and Honorable Mentions will be featured in an exclusive main floor multimedia exhibition at the POWERHOUSE ARENA for the opening of this year’s festival.
With so many great events happening this May there aren’t enough days in the month, or hours in the day, to see it all. So I’m counting on you - the photo blogging community - to record and review whatever exhibitions you attend and relay your opinions for those of us who aren’t able to make it to TO or NYC this year.
