The United Arab Emirates will host the inaugural 'Dubai Photo Exhibition' from March 16 to 19, bringing together over 700 photographs by 129 photographers from 23 countries around the world.
The basics
The 'Dubai Photo Exhibition' presents visitors with a diverse range of artworks from the 20th and 21st century, highlighting a global perspective on photography. Its aim is to promote dialogue on photography from different countries, transcending geographic regions, techniques and forms. Eighteen curators from the 23 countries represented at the exhibition will provide visitors with an experience of the evolution of the medium, highlighting commonalities and diversity in photography. The exhibition will be presented in a purpose-built temporary museum in the Dubai Design District, which is the city's center for art and design industries.
An international crowd
This inaugural edition will feature some very early photographic experiments, including work by pioneer Frenchman Hippolyte Bayard (1801-1887). His 'Portrait of the Artists as a Drowned Man' (1840, France) is the exhibition's oldest image. It is the first known photographed self-portrait ever taken.
The exhibition will also highlight work by English photographer Maurice Broomfield (1916-2010), whose photographs focus on post-industrial expansion in the U.K. His "Cooling Tower Under Construction (1954, Cumbria, England) captures a cooling tower at the Calder Hall Nuclear Power Station. Also featured is American Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), an influential photojournalist whose work captured the essence of the Great Depression, humanizing the consequences of the era and people's hardships.
The Dubai Photo will also present contemporary work by five Korean photographers whose careers are still unfolding. Many of these works create a virtual scene by combining images, such as South Korea's Myoung Ho Lee's (b. 1975) Tree #2' (2011) from the 'Tree Abroad' series. Work by China's Li Lang (b. 1969) 'Father' series is comprised of photographs the artist took to commemorate his father's life. In order to restore each day, Li inscribed by hand the numbers representing the 30,291 days of his father's life on each image.
Meanwhile, eight of Australia's leading photographers that explore the complex nature of the world's largest island will be displayed. These are arranged under the themes 'The Land', 'The Nation', 'The Home' and 'The Past'.
Finally, work from Brazilian Cassio Vasconcellos (b. 1965) will also be featured in the exhibition. His "Aeroporto" (2015) is the portrait of an imaginary airport, built with hundreds of separate images Vasconcellos captured while flying over Brazil. This work is formed by 32 panels spanning 128x320 centimeters.
In addition to the artworks on display, "The Dubai Photo Exhibition" will be supported by a series of public lectures, workshops and an international symposium led by international curators.
A group effort
The "Dubai Photo Exhibition" is organized by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award. This is an annual competition launched in 2011 by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to develop and increase awareness of photography amongst the local Emirati population. Nine judges will determine who takes home the grand prize of $120,000. The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 but entries are closed for this year's edition. The award ceremony will be held on March 14.
The exhibition" is supported by the World Photography Organisation, which was founded in 2007 as a global platform on which photographers can promote their work. The organization provides a worldwide network across the photography industry linking photographers, curators, galleries, editors and photo agencies. It hosts a wide range of events every year, including exhibitions and student programs.
Comments
0 comment