Asia’s largest art festival solely dedicated to photography returns to Shanghai Exhibition Center from September 8-11 with 52 galleries from around the world – 25 percent of which is showing in China for the first time.
Michel Comte, Naomi Campbell for Vogue Italia (White Story), 1994
“Before Photofairs | Shanghai existed, there was no sizable, internationally-minded, high-end outlet for photography galleries to come together in this way in Asia,” notes director Alexander Montague-Sparey.
“The response has been very positive and we have seen an increasing demand from new collectors from all over Asia. Photography has proven itself once again to be a great way in for collectors to have a go at collecting for the first time.”
Wim Wenders, Open Air Screen, Italien, Palermo, 2007, C-Print, 186 x 213 cm, Courtesy of OstLicht. Galerie für Fotografie, Vienna
As per tradition, there will be a series of public talks featuring unique insight from photography giants (Denis Darzacq, Michael Wolf, Anderson & Low, Stanley Fung) and insiders exploring topics like ‘the future of Korean photography.’
A new initiative will offer artists a private sales platform to show museum quality works, but even people who aren’t in the market for art will have plenty to appreciate.
Robert Mapplethorpe, Tulips (courtesy of BANK)
The works from iconic photographers Robert Mapplethorpe, Daido Moriyama, Martin Parr, Herb Ritts, Hiroshi Yamazaki and Hiroyuki Yamada will be spotlighted.
The new Platform section is dedicated to galleries showing in Chia for the first time, including Hong Kong’s The Empty Gallery presentation of Amit Desai and Elipsis Projects (London, Istanbul’s) look at Ahmet Ertung.
Wang Ningde, Two Men, courtesy m97
“We are focusing on new approaches to contemporary photography since 2000. Artists who are really breaking new boundaries in terms of photography processes; artists who are dedicated to reinterpreting the medium in an interesting way,” he adds, listing out a number of artists including Mainland artists Birdhead and Geng Jianyi.
Last year’s festival drew more than 26,000 visitors and Montague-Sparey is confident that figure will be smashed.
“The breadth, aesthetic power and elegance so inherent to the photographic medium has gone down very naturally in Shanghai,” he says.
Sep 8-11, 6-9pm (Thurs), 11am-6pm (Fri-Sun), RMB400 (Thurs), RMB100 (Fri-Sun) or RMB600 for Vip tickets. Shanghai Exhibition Center, website.
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