Photo Vogue Festival 2019
Curated by Alessia Glaviano and Francesca Marani
November 14-17, 2019
BASE Milano
Now on its 4th edition, Photo Vogue festival aims to create a space for dialogue and interaction among the different photographic genres. Taking place from November 14-17, 2019, in Milan, Italy, the inclusive space welcomes fashion photography, documentary, reportage and artistic photography. This time, Photo Vogue festival has expanded to span the entire year with a series of satellite events in addition to the main event at BASE Milano from the 14-17.
Titled “A Glitch in the System”, deconstructing stereotypes,” the latest edition of the festival has been developed as a new chapter in continuity with its history. After considering the power of the female gaze in the artistic scene in the first edition of the festival, aptly titled ‘The Female Gaze’ (2016), which explored the political implications of fashion photography, the 2019 edition of Photo Vogue Festival seeks to broaden our ability to think, both in linguistic and visual terms, and push our thinking a step beyond the known and the familiar, and a step to the side from ideological and mainstream opinions.
The richness of PhotoVogue lies very much in its diversity; the platform boasts over 170,000 users from all around the world, working with different genres: it is this community they invite participate. The scouting project was open from March until the end of July of this year, where participants had to upload their photographs on the PhotoVogue website. The selected artists are: Caleb Stein, Carlo Rusca, Catherine Hyland, David PD Hyde, David Uzochukwu, Dustin Thierry, Evelyn Bencicova, Fee-Gloria Groenemeyer, Guanyu Xu, Guen Fiore, Hajar Benjida, Julia Gunther, Justin Keene, Karim El Maktafi, Mariya Kozhanova, Miguel Proença, Miora Rajaonary, Mous Lamrabat, Namsa Leuba, Nanna Heitmann, Osborne Macharia, Peyton Fulford, Prarthna Singh, Rhiannon Adam, Romina Ressia, Roselena Ramistella, Rydel Cerezo, Simon Lehner, Supranav Dash, Vikesh Kapoor.
For their fourth edition, Photo Vogue will partner with LagosPhoto, a photography festival that takes place on a yearly basis in Lagos, Nigeria. LagosPhoto and PhotoVogue will collaborate on the production of a joint exhibition that will start in Lagos in October ending in Milan in November, showcasing the best production of African and international talents on the chosen themes. The participating artists will be selected by two juries, one coordinated by LagosPhoto that will review the works presented by African artists, and the other run by the Vogue Italia office, which will shortlist the projects uploaded on the PhotoVogue platform on the topic of ‘A Glitch in the System’. The 15 candidates shortlisted by each jury will be reviewed jointly by the two jury-panels in order to select a final group of ten whose works will be displayed – with two different selections – at both events.
PHOTO VOGUE EXHIBITIONS:
A Glitch in the System, Deconstructing Stereotypes
Curated by Alessia Glaviano and Francesca Marani
14 – 17 November, 2019
BASE Milano
The works by 30 photographers in A Glitch in the System, deconstructing stereotypes have been selected with the aim of broadening the viewers’ ability to think, both linguistically and visually, beyond the known and the familiar of ideological and mainstream opinions. Collectively, these works direct the camera towards what mainstream culture does not perceive as familiar, promoting diversity of the subjects, but also to reflecting on the way we choose to represent the ‘glitch’. This is the alleged perceived anomaly within the system – so as to avoid perpetrating clichés and reinforcing an ideological vision that is the result of ignorance and lapse of judgment.
New ways of looking at gender fluidity, at the diverse wealth of body types and appearances and at the endless forms of beauty, of ethnic backgrounds and origin, are changing contemporary aesthetic standards and beginning to alter cultural and identity codes in terms of openness, dialogue and encounter. This only started to occur when the narrative was being extended to include not only those whose story we are telling, but those who tell those stories and who often share the same life experience.
Inez & Vinoodh Hi-Lo Transformers
Curated by Francesco Bonami
31 October – 13 November, 2019
Palazzo Reale
Inez & Vinoodh Hi-Lo Transformers, the artists’ first public exhibition in Italy, will consist of monumental hand-painted billboards of their iconic advertising work displayed inside the Prince’s rooms at Palazzo Reale. Since the beginning of their collaboration in 1986, Inez and Vinoodh, have embraced increasingly sophisticated technical and digital photography tools. This exhibition will subvert this trademark use of technology with rough and imperfect advertising boards placed against the lavishly decorated backdrop. Alongside the low-tech, a high-tech video will be on display, specially created for the festival from their archival images. The film will chronicle Inez & Vindoodh’s relationship with the constant changes of contemporary culture.
Fashion Moving Forward
Curated by Alessia Glaviano
14 – 17 November 2019
The Screening Room, BASE Milano
From Gordon von Steiner’s joyous and stylistically immaculate ultra-glamorous films to Pierre Debusschere’s abstract experimentations, this installation of 26 screens – one artist per monitor – will be visually impactful. The installation aims to be immersive and to trigger a chain of free, subjective associations in the observer as a subconscious consequence of the viewing experience.
Contemporary fashion films have emancipated themselves from cinema, as well as from the need of a linear plot – opting instead to let shapes, colours and sound be the guiding engine. This has driven experimentation and the embracing of an increasing number of cultured and sophisticated references. The resulting small masterpieces are widening our visual culture as well as our ability to learn the language of images.
