FOTOBOKFESTIVAL OSLO 2014

FOTOBOKFESTIVAL OSLO
04-14 September 2014
Opening Thursday, 4 September 19.00 at Fotogalleriet

The Norwegian Association of Fine Art Photographers (FFF) and Fotogalleriet welcome you to the annual Fotobokfestival Oslo, formerly known as the photobook seminar Flere sider fotografi / Various Sides of Photography.
By progressing from a seminar to a festival on photobooks in 2014, and its simultaneous name and visual identity change, we aim at stressing the importance of an artistic medium that has only in the recent years received wide international attention. With the establishment of photobook festivals and events in many parts of the world, and most recently the opening of the first photobook museum in Cologne (as a forerunner to a permanent museum), we are happy to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge on photobooks through this festival.

In 2014 the Fotobokfestival Oslo entails a comprehensive programme including lectures, debates, exhibitions, workshops and bookstands with independent Nordic publishers. It also marks The Norwegian Association of Fine Art Photographers’ forty-year anniversary and its on-going engagement with supporting photobook production in Norway.

Concurrent with the Fotobokfestival we are also happy to announce the winner of the Nordic Dummy Award for third time. For this award, artists with a connection the Nordic countries could submit their unpublished photobook, to be judged by a jury selecting shortlisted candidates and the winner. The shortlisted books for the Nordic Dummy Award are exhibited during the festival period. We are happy to announce Kehrer Verlag, Heidelberg, as our new collaborative partner for the publishing of the winner book, as well as Snøhetta/Henrik Haugan for the graphic design/layout. We are also happy to announce the Fotobookfestival Kassel as our partner in presenting the shortlisted candidates of the International Dummy Award 2014.

The festival’s lecture programme and a panel debate will thematically focus on the (lack of) photobook criticism as well as the photobook/photography as an inspiration in other literary fields. Participants include Sean O'Hagan (The Guardian), Rémi Coignet (Le Monde/The Eyes), Tommy Arvidson (omfotoboken. com), Morten Øen (photographer and poet), Tomas Espedal (author), Marie Lundquist (poet) and Terje Colbjørnsen (researcher), amongst others.

In the gallery space the visitor will encounter an exhibition of photobooks by four international critics (Critics’ Favourites), presenting their three favourite photobooks from the past ten years. The critics are Rémi Coignet (Des Livres et des photos/Le Monde), Matthew Carson (International Center of Photography, New York), Sean O’Hagan (The Guardian; The Observer) and Christina Töpfer (Camera Austria).

In addition, the visitor will be able to view the shortlisted candidates for the International Dummy Award and the Nordic Dummy Award. In the video gallery, Maija Savolainen, winner of the Nordic Dummy Award 2013, will give a comprehensive presentation of her work connected to the creation of her winning photobook.

On the last weekend of the festival (12-14 September), independent publishers from the Nordic countries will present their photobooks in the gallery space, with the possibility to purchase their books. The publishers are: Antenna Books (Oslo), Art & Theory (Stockholm), BBB Books (Stockholm), Débris (Oslo), Einer Books (Oslo), Feil Forlag (Oslo), Green is Gold (Copenhagen), Heavy Books (Oslo), Lodret Vandet (Copenhagen), Sailor Press (Stockholm), Space Poetry (Copenhagen).

Shortly before and during the festival period there will be workshops taking place for children and professional artists working with photography:

On Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd of September artist Jan von Holleben will conduct a workshop with children aged six to ten in which he creates a variety of (self-)portraits with children to make them very particular and fantastic - as the children see themselves or want to be seen. The results of the workshop are presented on one wall in the gallery space during the festival period. For further information on the workshop please visit www.fffotografer.no/nyheter and www.janvonholleben.com/workshops. Registration via workshop@fffotografer.no

On Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th of September art director, book/graphic designer and curator Greger Ulf Nilson conducts a workshop for professional photographers. The workshop is a thorough examination of all aspects of photobook production: from inspiration and analysis of early photobooks, to a review of Nilson’s own productions, to aspects of layout and graphic design. There will be individual advice and group discussions on the participant's own material. Finally, there will be a review of material samples and techniques together with Magnus Iversen from Göteborgstryckeriet, Sweden's foremost printing house. For further information on the workshop please visit www.fffotografer.no/nyheter. Registration via workshop@fffotografer.no

For a detailed festival programme and information on the Nordic Dummy Award please visit www.fotogalleriet.no (upcoming exhibitions and projects) or www.fffotografer.no (projects).