If you have been thinking about attending a good photography festival, then you have come to the right place. The Bristol Photo Festival is returning this year with the theme The World A Wave. First established in 2021, this is the second edition of the international biennial, which focuses on some of the best contemporary photographers from around the world. With the 2024 edition, the festival has unveiled an exceptional lineup of artists. Below, we discuss the details.
The lead image is by Hashem Shakeri, courtesy of the Bristol Photo Festival. All images are used with permission.
What is the Bristol Photo Festival About?
The Bristol Photo Festival attracted over 200,000 visitors in 2021, which will likely double. What makes it so different is that the festival celebrates the various aspects of our world. The projects, thus, are social, political, and environmental, as well as introspective and with a clear message about how our lives and society are shaping up today. Some projects also deal with our past, offering a holistic perspective of who we are.
This year, the exhibitions will showcase interpretations of the theme. Furthermore, they are spread across the city’s arts institutions and unconventional spaces. The Bristol Photo Festival has been designed to educate the community and foster long-term engagement with the arts. There are also collaborations with local residents and educational initiatives such as the Prison Mobile Library project, which explores the importance of art in our society.
The exhibition begins on October 16 and concludes on November 17. During the opening week, visitors can also attend includes artists’ talks, a book fair, tours, and parties.
A Look at The Upcoming Exhibitions
The are over ten exhibitions that are taking place during the festival. Some are likely to extend well beyond November, too. Some may stand out more for you than others, but the best way to engage would be to visit them all.
- Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah: The House is a Body: Running at Bristol’s Georgian House Museum, the photographer created the work during her residence. It aims to examine the museum’s colonial history through photography and memory.
- Ariella Azoulay: Unshowable Photographs: The photographer reinterprets the historical photographs documenting the Nakba, a forced displacement of Palestinians between n 1947 and 1950.
- Dreamlines: Picturing Bristol’s High Streets: A group of photographers collaborated with the locals to explore Bristol’s historic high streets.
- Andrew Jackson: Across the Sea is a Shore: This project explores Britain’s Caribbean diaspora in three parts, which include self-reflection and themes of family and belonging.
- Rinko Kawauchi: At the Edge of the Everyday World: Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi is well-known for dreamy images of everyday life. This is her first major UK survey in 18 years, where she showcases the mundane beauty around her.
- Billy H.C. Kwok, Jay Lau, Lau Wai: Realms of Memory: Using Hong Kong’s photographic archive, the exhibition delves into the city’s diverse facets, offering new interpretations by three artists.
- Kirsty Mackay: The Magic Money Tree: Through her project, Mackay explores the living cost crisis in England and its impact on gender and class.
- Amak Mahmoodian: One Hundred & Twenty Minutes: The photographer collaborates with 16 people who have been exiled from their native countries. Using photography, drawing, and poetry, Mahmoodian explores the new lives of these individuals and how dreams have helped them to connect to their past.
- Trent Parke: Monument: The project, which was produced during the last 25 years, highlights the themes of identity, place, and community.
- Nigel Poor: The San Quentin Project: This project, a collaboration between Poor and incarcerated individuals at San Quentin prison, aims to illuminate the place’s history and the challenges of representation.
- Sarker Protick: Spaces of Separation: The photographer analyzes the colonial architectural remnants in Bangladesh, merging photography, video, and sound.
- Bandia Ribeira: Not a Home Without Fire: The project depicts the invisible labor in Spain’s agricultural industry while focusing on the worker’s exploitation in a global context.
- Ritual Inhabitual: Oro Verde: They are the Cherán-based (Michoacán state) collective that chronicles the resistance against drug cartels in Mexico. However, unlike a documentary approach alone, the Ritual Inhabitual also fuses fictional photography to reclaim their communal autonomy.
- Hashem Shakeri: Staring into the Abyss: Shakeri uses poetic photography to highlight the complex reality of Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return in 2021.
- Herbert Shergold: Now Keep Quite Still: The photographer used glass plate negatives to portray the working class as Hollywood stars.
- Inuuteq Storch: Porcelain Souls and Keepers of the Ocean: The photographer depicts two bodies of work—a collection of images shot by his parents and a series of portraits of Sisimiut, Storch’s hometown.
As you can see, the projects are diverse and in-depth. So, do not miss the chance to inspire yourself and fall in love with the medium again. For more information, visit the Bristol Photo Festival website.