The photographic world is zooming in on the small city of
Pingyao, Shanxi Province, in North China, to get a
better picture of what happens when photos and people cross
borders.
The Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIPF), which
opened on Saturday and will end on Friday, showcases more than
10,000 photos shot by 1,600 photographers from 41 countries.
Befitting of the festival's theme "diversity and harmony" more
than 20,000 professional and amateur photographers, journalists and
patrons from all corners of the globe have come to bring the works
of international photographers into focus.
"If you want to meet diverse and vibrant photographers, this is
the place to do it," said Nir Elias, a staff photographer in
Reuters' Shanghai office. Reuters spared no effort in making sure
the festival put the agency in contact with other photographers.
The company has rented a whole local production warehouse to
display its photographs, holds daily press briefings and has
organized exchange opportunities, including training classes on
sports photography and discussion workshops intended to improve the
lines of communication with Chinese photographers.
"I can see how many photographers are here and that is exactly
what they need exchange with international audiences and contact
with international photographers who are coming just to share their
knowledge," said Reinhard Crause, chief photographer of Reuter's
China bureau.
The size and feel of Pingyao make it an ideal venue for
festival-goers to meet and share ideas about pictures. With 2,700
years of history, the 2.25 square-kilometer town is renowned for
its ancient city walls, well-preserved dynastic architecture and
aura of antiquity.
"Pingyao is a small town, so we feel a sense of intimacy here,
which makes communication easy," said Stephen Dupont, photographer
of Contact Press Image, a US-based organization of photographers
focused on documenting social, political and human rights
issues.
PIPF's exhibitions are housed within the factories, warehouses
and courtyards spread throughout the city. Showcasing work in these
abandoned buildings of yesteryear gives the festival a rough-hewn
charm acclaimed as unique among major international
exhibitions.
Contact's exhibition area the dirt-floored shell of an abandoned
diesel factory became a site of international interfacing where
amateur photographers and photo enthusiasts engaged in one-on-one
discourse with top photographers of the likes of David Burnett
named "one of the 100 Most Important People in Photography" by
American Photo magazine. "We are particularly interested in
bringing photographs to places where they aren't often seen," said
Jacques Menasche, special projects director of Contact.
This is exactly what makes the festival worthwhile for people
such as 48-year-old local driver Zhao Chongren. "In a place as
small as Pingyao, we don't have many chances to enjoy prominent
photographic works like those featured in these exhibitions, but
the festival gives us this chance," Zhao said.
With exhibitors ranging from amateur students focused on
experimental photographic art to leading photojournalism agencies
capturing the realities of today's world, the festival offers a
snapshot of the diversity of contemporary photography.
Greenpeace's exhibit shows works addressing environmental
concerns, while the French Artcurial Auction Company is exhibiting
100 black and white works about China shot by 10 renowned
international photographers over the last half century.
ReGeneration showcases the works of 50 up-and-coming photographers
from art and photographic schools around the world, while a Free
Forum offers the public to showcase their work in a slideshow.
The variety of exhibitors demonstrates the boost in prestige the
festival has brought to the tiny ancient city over the last five
years.
"If I say I'm going to Pingyao, now, people will ask, 'are you
going to China for the photo festival? I would love to go next
year'," said Robert Pledge, president of Contact.
The festival is a dream come true for Wang Yue, director of the
festival's organizing committee.
Wang said he hoped the international festival could transform
the tiny town a "global village."
"The people of Pingyao built these city walls to stop invasion
from the outside, but now we are opening the gate to the outside
world," Wang said. "Photographs are a universal language. Through
these works, international photographers who come to Pingyao can
understand each other."
(China Daily September 19, 2006)
