Forget Facebook: There’s a new spot to show off your photographic talent to people you don’t know! From May 13 to 17, thousands of people will head to artsy Dumbo to participate in the second annual New York Photo Festival.
The five-day event features competitions, galleries, workshops, book signings, curated exhibits and live events, all of which aim to explore the future of contemporary photography.
“The main mission of the New York Photo Festival is to bring scholarship to contemporary photography through the eyes of those that are swimming in it every day,” says Frank Evers, a co-founder of the event and the chairman of the festival’s jury. But with easier ways to view photography—“Oh, hi Flickr!”—is a festival like this already part of the past? The organizers certainly don’t believe so. In fact, they see the online photo community as a vital part of this industry’s future.
Part of the New York Photo Festival’s aim is to find ways for real world and the Web to not only co-exist, but also enhance one another. Evers has specifically made room for the web-based photo community at the festival; “We are seeing unprecedented amounts of discussion and celebration and participation in photography as a medium. We’re very engaged with the online photography world, particularly with the blogging world.We’re going to have a panel at the festival about photo blogging.”
Even with the increased convenience of viewing photography from the privacy of one’s home, those running the festival believe people will still be motivated to attend the event because of an intrinsic value in physically being surrounded by the artwork and its creators.
Jon Levy, director of the website Foto 8 and curator for the show Home for Good, believes there is also something special in being surprised with artwork and finding things you might miss when scrolling through a web gallery. Levy compares the festival to picking up a newspaper instead of finding stories on the web. “There’s something about buying a newspaper with the news that you didn’t expect to read, that someone has chosen for you, or an opinion that you don’t necessarily share.”
The shift toward online news, of course, has left many print publications in shambles. But for the photo community, the future is much less daunting, as the industry has already embraced its next chapter.
“[The photo bloggers] have a very serious photo community. A lot of good, serious people and serious dialogue is going on about important discussions and debates. I think its all fantastic,” says Evers. Only the future can tell what will hold for photography, but the New York Photo Festival is ready to start the discussion.
> New York Photo Festival
May 13-17, various locations, www.nyphotofestival.com.
