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Here are the first details concerning the ninth Photomonth in Kraków, scheduled for May 2011.
Kraków’s Photomonth will this year be curated in its entirety by the artists Adam Broomberg and Olivier Chanarin. In their proposed programme the critical issue is the identity of the artist, which will be accompanied by broader reflections on the creation of fictional characters within contemporary art.
In contrast to previous festivals, this year’s organisers have opted out of an overriding theme, instead curating successive exhibitions to select a specific artistic strategy which the works on display will represent. In the co-operation between writers and artists, profiles and works by fictional photographers will be created which will be presented during the Festival. "We hope that in this way we’ll be able to question the concept of the artist as a brand," the curators explain. The central event Photomonth in Kraków 2011 will be an exhibition in the Bunkier Sztuki contemporary art gallery, presenting works by over thirty outstanding artists from all over the world and depicting the historical background to this strategy. The remaining elements of the programme will also follow this premise. The identity of the real authors – recognised writers and stars of photography – will remain hidden until the Festival opens. These are the names of artists who have already confirmed their presence at Krakow: Gabriel Orozco, David Goldblatt, Alec Soth, Matthew Buckingham, Johan Grimonprez, Jeremy Deller, Marine Hugonnier, Andro Wekua, Brian O'Doherty, Simon Fujiwara, Roger Ballen and William Kentridge.
The complement to this year's Photomonth will be an exhibition of books chosen by the Self Publish Be Happy website, which promotes self-publishing – limited edition books created directly by the artists.
The organisers have not forgotten the highly successful programme of accompanying events: This year these will include radio broadcasts, in which the fictional biographies of artists will be presented as independent works of literary art, film screenings, a reading room, and meetings with artists, who will showcase their projects. Photomonth will also include the finale of the Sittcomm Award, an international competition considered to be the most significant in the field of photography in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, as well as exhibitions by young artists in the ShowOFF Section, multimedia screenings of photography organised in urban spaces under the Slide Nite logo, and numerous meetings, screenings, discussions, lectures, workshops and portfolio reviews, all of which will be familiar from previous Festivals. One innovation will be the opportunity to purchase works presented in the ShowOFF Section.
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