[7P] – [7] places [7] precarious fields

Fotofestival Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg presents exhibitions on current hot topics in [7] places.

Between September 18 and November 15, 2015 Fotofestival will show 44 work groups (with over 1,000 fantastic, intense and multilayered images) by 50 artists from 18 countries. Seven museums and art associations in three cities and two German states will discuss explosive and political topics that significantly impact our reality of life on a personal and societal level. For this purpose, the Swiss curator Urs Stahel invited newcomers, already established artists and great stars of the photography and art scene.  

Boris Mikhailov, for instance, photographed at Maidan in Kiev; Ad van Denderen documented for many years migration movements around the Mediterranean between exodus and mass tourism. Ai Weiwei, who documented the construction frenzy in Beijing, and Polly Braden, with her long-term project in London’s financial district, both show the economic and political powers that triggered our crises. Trevor Paglen has been concerned with communications controlling the world for years (a subject that became public when NSA working methods were disclosed) while Edmund Clark photographed in Guantanamo; both artists uncover institutions that undermine the postulated rule of law in which they operate and, by emphasising our ethical principals, infiltrate these standards. Do we benefit from this situation? Does it harm us? Both? Or, are we simply indifferent about it?

Urs Stahel about the exhibition: “The exhibition requires the visitor to look at the pictures, to study them and to think about the situation of the world. The subjects cover societal problems and simultaneously touch personal life. The artists share with us their artistic debate and, at the same time, challenge us to take a position with regard to these precarious fields. The exhibition prompts us in a seductive way to stop looking paralyzed at the ‘hole in the wall’ and waiting…and to at least take a cloth and stuff it into the hole, or to think about the reasons why the hole is there.”

In-situ project: The in-situ project has become a characteristic and substantial part of Fotofestival Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg’s profile. This year, Fotofestival could win over Swiss artist Jules Spinatsch for that matter. He produced one new work in the region for each of the seven topic areas and in line with his “Surveillance Panora­ma Projects”—a specific shooting technique that uses computer-operated cameras. The result is high-definition panorama pictures, between photography and film, hybrids of 19th-century panorama painting and surveillance technology of the internet age.

List of artists: Ai Weiwei, Ilit Azoulay, Lewis Baltz, Taysir Batniji, Daniel Blaufuks, Melanie Bonajo, Laurence Bonvin, Gaëlle Boucand, Polly Braden, Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, Edmund Clark, Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques, Keren Cytter, Hans Danuser, Simone Demandt, Lukas Einsele, Melanie GilIigan, Jim Goldberg, G.R.A.M., Mishka Henner, Thomas Hirschhorn, Hiroko Komatsu, Glenda León, Sharon Lockhart, Boris Mikhailov, Yann Mingard, Suzanne Opton, Trevor Paglen, Marco Poloni, Maya Rochat, Julika Rudelius, Allan Sekula & Noël Burch, Rico Scagliola & Michael Meier, Dayanita Singh, Jules Spinatsch, Henrik Spohler, Juergen Teller, The Experimental Visualisation Lab, Stefanos Tsivopoulos, Ad Van Denderen, Frank Van Der Salm, Nick Waplington, Henk Wildschut, Paolo Woods & Gabriele Galimberti

Extra events: Fotofestival offers numerous extra events for the opening weekend from September 17 to 19 and during the entire course of the festival, such as artist’s talks, workshops and debates. The Fotofestival organisers wish to emphasise in particular the artist lectures, where artists talk about their work during the opening. Furthermore, a portfolio review will be organised.

App and programme: All exhibitions and events are listed in the programme and can be visited online via www.fotofestival.info. The festival app provides visitors via a smartphone or tablet with helpful information relating to exhibition venues, subjects and participating artists. The integrated navigation tool takes visitors as quickly as possible from one exhibition venue to another. An overview about all events and current news will also be provided. The app is available for iOS and Android at no charge.

Catalogue: A comprehensive festival catalogue will be published by Kehrer Verlag: 272 pages, 420 images. 

Network: Cultural event organisers and art sponsors of an entire region are working closely together to make Fotofestival happen and are constantly extending the existing network. This year for instance Fotofestival was able to deepen its cooperation with Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg through two common projects. Art History students from Heidelberg report from Fotofestival in a student blog. Reviews, interviews, portraits and texts about the curator, the artists and the art will be published on www.festivalblog.com.

Partners and sponsors: The three cities Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg are permanent partners of Fotofestival. Fotofestival Mannheim-Ludwigshafen-Heidelberg was supported by premium sponsor BASF SE, main sponsor MVV Energie AG, the Ministry of Science, Research and Art Baden-Wurttemberg, and numerous other patrons and sponsors.