The 9th Vintage Photo Festival in Bydgoszcz will be held under the slogan "Observatory". This year will feature, among others, photographs by Edward Hartwig, Andrew Rovenko, Maria Beetle, astrophotography by Jason De Frietas, a unique project showing the lives of Simona Kossak and Lech Wilczek, as well as film screenings about the lives of Nan Goldin or Lee Miller. "Photography Quarterly" is one of the media patrons of VPF.
The idea of the Vintage Photo Festival was based on the rich photographic traditions of Bydgoszcz, where the Foton factory operated for decades. This is one of the largest analog photography festivals in the world, which attaches great importance to photographic archives. During previous editions, it was possible to see, never before presented, black and white vintage prints Margaret Potocka, colorful slides from the Himalayas Wanda Rutkiewicz, archives Natalia LL, Teresa Gierzynska, Ewa Rubinstein, Chris Niedenthal, Bogdan Konopka or Tadeusz Rolke.
This year at the ninth edition of the Vintage Photo Festival, the theme will be "Observatory," referring to the celebration of the year of Nicolaus Copernicus. The exhibitions on display will show a spectrum of experiences: from personal stories through observation of social phenomena, exploring the relationship between man and nature or astrophysics, they will be complemented by film screenings about the lives of Nan Goldin or Lee Miller, Margaret Bourke-White and Martha Gellhorn.
- To begin with, the story The Rocketgirl Chronicles. In March 2019, as the world closed in, the Odessa-based photographer who lives in Australia Andrew Rovenko and his daughter Mia embarked on a one-of-a-kind adventure. Together they explored quiet city streets and empty parks, rode empty buses and found magic in mundane surroundings. The Rocketgirl Chronicles is a collection of memories of explored worlds and stories of a small astronaut. The project, which was born during the sixth lockdown in Melbourne, has received critical acclaim and worldwide recognition, published in Vogue and Rolling Stone, among others, and the author was named Australian Photographer of the Year 2021 by Australian Photography magazine.
- The first such exhibition in Poland. An exhibition dedicated to the legendary Simona Kossak. Independent, an uncommon scientist, environmentalist, author of films and radio plays, actively working for the Bialowieza Forest. A nature lover who believed that she found among animals what she had never experienced from humans. Simona Kossak's life in Bialowieza, away from the hustle and bustle of civilization, was documented for years by her partner, naturalist and photographer Lech Wilczek. Rarely in the photos were they together. During the festival, it will be possible to see the couple's photos for the first time, by Maciej Musial, but not only. And also by Lech Wilczek himself. The combination of the two authors' photographs starring Simona Kossak is the first such exhibition in Poland.
- Exhibition by Edward Hartwig One of the most famous Polish photographers, creator of the author's concept of photography. He photographed almost all his life and was the recipient of many prestigious awards in Poland and abroad. The exhibition at the Bydgoszcz Art Center will be an opportunity to see the artist's works from the 1920s to the 1990s.
- Jason De Freitas is an engineer, explorer, and photographer known for his unique approach to imagery, characterized by a seamless blend of analog media and cutting-edge technology. For the past five years, Jason has dedicated himself to the niche genre of astrophotography, combining his technical expertise with his love of traditional photographic techniques. He transcends the limitations of analog media with innovative and original approaches, resulting in expressive photographs. During the festival, the artist will show drones designed by him for analog photography. The exhibition and a meeting with the artist will take place at the Lubostroń Palace near Bydgoszcz.
- Film screening Reporters. Three women and war. An inspiring portrait of Margaret Bourke-White, Martha Gellhorn and the Lee Miller, three pioneering female photo journalists who made history as the first female correspondents to cover World War II. Their accounts and memoirs clearly reveal a different point of view, changing our view of the war. The Americans, convinced of the media power of their magazines, granted press accreditation to the women. Their insights, feelings and photos have a unique specificity and depth that dispel war myths created by men for men. The festival will feature the director of the film Luzia Schmid.
- Director Laura Poitras (who won an Oscar for the Citizenfour) shows the life and work of Nan Goldin From their perspective. "All that beauty and blood" depicts the life of photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her fight against the pharmaceutical Sackler dynasty, largely responsible for the huge number of victims of the opioid epidemic.
- Emilia Martin The blue of the far distance, winner of Grand Press Photo 2023 in the "own vision" category. Exhibition The blue of the far distance is a long-term exploration of the relationship between humans and the starry sky in an era marked by light pollution. Working on the research and creative processes, the artist visited amateur observatories where the sky was too bright to see anything, hand-built planetariums hidden on the ceilings of private rooms, farms, and sheds. The blue of the far distance is a safe place of escape, a collage full of cosmos on a human scale, a collision of the everyday and the exceptional.
- Vintage photographs from the collection of Élise Pic and Jacques Barbier (Atelier Kloug). The festival will present a curated exhibition from the archives of Elise Pic and Jacques Barbier, who have been archiving and collecting old analog photographs for more than 10 years. Together they run the Kloug galleries in Toulouse, France. Their collection includes more than 3 million photos purchased mainly at flea markets.
- Gloriosis. Photographs by Maria Beetle. The photographer was primarily known for her architectural photography, including her 1945 documentation of demolished Warsaw. The artist's oeuvre, however, turns out to be more diverse: Chrząszczowa also photographed flowers and landscapes or, finally, created few but interesting experimental works from the area of abstract photography. It is likely that most of Beetle's photographs of flowers (except those taken outdoors) were created at home, in a small studio. In addition to these photographs, Beetle's drawings also appear - floral decorative motifs or fragments of illustrations.
- The Bydgoszcz Museum of Photography will present the exhibition Jerzy Wardak. The artist, who died in 2022, is one of the last members of the legendary ZERO-61 group, which had a huge impact on the strategies of photography in the second half of the 20th century. Exhibition Alchemy and scissors is a journey back in time, to what can and should become a source of reflection on our condition, but also a source of inspiration for those who move in the world of photography. Jerzy Wardak, whose work and technique we will recall during the exhibition, was a master of classical photomontage.
- Exhibition Krzysztof Gierałtowski Polish Artists at the Photographer's Foundation. The exhibition consists of large-format black-and-white portraits commissioned by Andrzej Szwalbe, depicting Polish artists who created works for the Bydgoszcz Philharmonic; among those portrayed were Jonasz Stern, Jerzy Krechowicz, Magdalena Abakanowicz and Stefan Gierowski. During the festival, Krzysztof Gierałtowski will receive the Golden Reel statuette for lifetime achievement.
- Exhibition of finalists Vintage Grand Prix 2023. This year, the jury awarded 3 main prizes and 4 honorable mentions, among them the unique photographic duo Wetzel&Schuster with the project Supermodels. The artists examine iconic photographs of women in the history of photography, and analyze the relationship between photographer and model, taking on the role of previously admired female models. Iconic original photographs have shaped our collective aesthetic expectations of a "photo with a woman," but what becomes apparent when the roles are reversed? What feelings accompany photographers when they are not behind the camera, but in front of it? What does it feel like to be observed?
- Main exhibitions in the exhibition space of the Bydgoszcz Financial Center. Curatorial tours of the main exhibitions. Exhibitions at partner venues (Museum of Photography in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz Art Center, Joint Gallery). Workshops on traditional photographic techniques in cooperation with the Museum of Photography in Bydgoszcz. Film screenings, premieres of photographic and biographical books, author meetings, Vintage Photo Bazaar (fair of photographic things, including equipment, books, old photos).
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