As part of Riga Photography Biennial 2022, on the 30th April from 11:00 till 18:00 an international conference “21st Century Central and East European Photobooks” will take place. Photography professionals and others interested in photography are invited to the exhibition hall “Riga Art Space” to join the experts in person. The entrance to the conference is free of charge.
The conference in Riga sets to develop reflections on the phenomenon of the Central European photobooks and to extend the already existing network. The keynote will be given by the photography and new media curator, educator and writer Moritz Neumüller (AT), and it will host internationally renown photography experts such as photography journal editor, curator, lecturer and writer Jan Babnik (SI), art critic and Tartu Art Museum’s curator Indrek Grigor (EE/LV), as well as photographer and Associate Professor at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest Gábor Arion Kudász (HU), Lithuanian artist and book publisher Vilma Samulionyte (LT), and curator, writer and editor of “Fotograf Magazine” Pavel Vančát (CZ). In today’s context, Riga Photography Biennial (RPB) is especially pleased to be able to host the Founder and Director of the international festival Odesa Photo Days, curator, photographer, and photography researcher Kateryna Radchenko (UA), and Antonina Stebur (BY), curator, researcher, and art historian based in Kyiv.
Riga Photography biennial 2022 manifests in eight international exhibitions and an extensive educational programme in Riga’s art galleries and urban environment from 21st April through 10th July. Biennial’s artists and curators invite viewers to explore the phenomenon of isolation from different angles and to re-learn reading information contained in an image. The conference “21st Century Central and East European Photobooks” is the central event of the educational programme.
As revealed by the curator of the conference, the art critic, historian and curator Adam Mazur (PL), ‘Reflections on the phenomenon of the photobook, which has been growing and flourishing for a quarter of a century now, lead to musings on the state of Eastern European scholarship on the topic. Previously, the 21st century history of Central Europe as told through the medium of photobooks was the subject of a conference in Vilnius 2021. Back then, it was accordingly already a follow-up for events previously held in Krakow and Olomouc, an exhibition and conference ‘Photobloc. Central Europe in Photobooks’. In Vilnius, scholars for the Eastern and Central Europe participated, and it has promped our thoughts of the next ‘instalment’ to be conveyed by way of history photobooks.’
The papers given at the event will focus on national narratives in book form based on the most interesting, canonical works. During the discussions the participants will try to outline the fundamental topics and problematise the contemporary production of photobooks in the region. The working language – English.
Riga Photography Biennial (RPB) is an international contemporary art event in Latvia, focusing on the analysis of visual culture and artistic representation. RPB covers issues ranging from cultural theory to current socio-political processes in the Baltics and the wider European region.
Partners and supporters of the conference “21st Century Central and East European Photobooks”: State Culture Capital Foundation, Association of Culture Institutions of Riga City Council, Exhibition hall “Riga Art Space”, Estonian Embassy in Riga, Embassy of Poland in Riga, “Poligrāfijas Apgāds”, Printing house “Adverts”, Hibnerstudio, “Rixwell Hotels”, “Kokmuiža”, Arterritory.com, Echo Gone Wrong, Punctum, BLOK and others.
More information: www.rpbiennial.com
For further inquiries:
Amanda Boka,
RPB 2022 public relations coordinator
amanda.boka@gmail.com
+371 26551248