Over 708,000 Have Visited the PHotoEspaña 2010 Exhibitions

Written by Octavio Pérez Tuesday, 30 November 2010 23:21

MADRID.- The final results of PHotoEspaña 2010 were made public yesterday morning in Madrid at a press conference given by Claude Bussac, director of PHotoEspaña. At the gathering, the press was provided with general statistics on attendance and participation in the 13th International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts, which will come to a close on Sunday, 25 July. 708,000 people have visited the 69 exhibitions – 21 in the Official Section, 12 at other venues, 8 in OpenPHoto and 28 in the Off Festival – organised by PHotoEspaña 2010. Over 7,000 people participated in the numerous and varied activities organised by the festival.

Claude Bussac highlighted the interest and enthusiasm that both experts and the general public have shown in the festival’s activities and exhibitions, and emphasised the festival’s ability to maintain its programme despite the negative effects of the recession on the art world. She also applauded the work of the media and the support of public institutions as vital to the success of this edition of PHotoEspaña.

Continuing the pattern of previous years, PHE10 attracted an even greater number of visitors to its exhibition programme and experienced an exponential increase in the number of participants in educational and professional activities, proving that the festival has achieved one of its most important goals: getting the citizens excited and involved. The name of the new general curator of PHotoEspaña was also announced at this press conference. The Havana-based independent critic, curator and art historian Gerardo Mosquera will be in charge of the festival’s art programme for the next three editions.

Overview of PHotoEspaña 2010

379 photographers and visual artists from 42 countries participated in the exhibition programme, which was supported by the following cultural institutions: BBVA / Sala de Exposiciones de Azca, Casa de América, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Regional Government of Madrid / Sala Alcalá 31, Regional Government of Madrid / Sala el Águila, Filmoteca Española-Cine Doré, Instituto Cervantes, Matadero Madrid, Museo Colecciones ICO, Museo de la Ciudad, Museu Colecção Berardo, National Museum Art Center Reina Sofía, Royal Botanical Garden - CSIC / Telefónica Foundation, Circo Price Theater, Fernán Gómez Theater. Art Center / Banco Santander.Foundation.

Continuing the collaboration begun in 2008, Lisbon hosted one of the festival’s Official Section exhibitions – German Faces, featuring the work of Collier Schorr. Cuenca welcomed the OpenPHoto programme once again, this year offering exhibitions proposed by the embassies and foreign cultural institutes of eight countries (Germany, France, Mexico, the Central European Cultural Platform, Portugal, Poland, United Kingdom and Romania) at the following venues: Aula Cultural Universidad Abierta University of Castile-La Mancha, Escuela de Arte José María Cruz Novillo, Fundación Antonio Pérez, Fundación Antonio Saura. Casa Zavala and Museo de la Semana Santa of Cuenca. OpenPHoto also organised activities for children every weekend during the month of June.

The workshops of Campus PHE Comunidad de Madrid were held throughout the year in Alcalá de Henares. At the former Hospital of Santa María la Rica, courses and master classes were given by Alberto García-Alix, Ferdinando Scianna, Ricky Dávila, Juan Manuel Castro Prieto, Adriana Lestido, Lise Sarfati and Miles Aldridge.

PHotoEspaña produced 16 exhibitions specifically for this edition of the festival: Anatomy of Motion: Photographs by Harold Edgerton; Hard Loves, Adriana Lestido; Becoming Air, Óscar Muñoz; National Episodes: Tactic, Fernando Sánchez Castillo; The Art of Light, László Moholy-Nagy; Alejandra Laviada; La fotografía en el cine (Photography in Film); Cover-ups; Film Installation, by Roman Signer; The Best Photography Books of the Year; City Lyrics.Photographs 1936-1993, Helen Levitt; German Faces, Collier Schorr; Before Time, Bleda & Rosa and Jem Southam; Eustachy Kossakowski; The European Commission Photography Awards and Between Times: Instants, Intervals, Durations.

A new initiative was introduced this year to accompany the exhibitions, namely the PHE Books collection with all of the festival’s thematic publications: Time Expanded, the PHE10 Guide, and the Descubrimientos PHE Guide. The following catalogues were also published: Harold Edgerton: The Anatomy of Movement; Lírica Urbana: Helen Levitt ; The Art of Light: Lázsló Moholy-Nagy; Before Time, Jem Southam and Bleda & Rosa; Between Times: Instants, Intervals, Durations; and Obras Maestras Collection: Isabel Muñoz.

Record Turnout at Programmes for Professionals
PHotoEspaña 2010 has focused its efforts on the promotion of photography, creating professional programmes and general activities for all ages to strengthen the festival’s bond with society.This year the number of portfolios submitted experienced a 60% increase compared to the last edition, with a total of 1,851 portfolios sent by photographers from 76 different nations. The programme was a great success in terms of participation, and for the first time the number of international portfolios exceeded that of national submissions. Visitors were also able to enjoy an exhibition featuring the work of Alejandra Laviada, winner of the Descubrimientos PHE Brugal Extra Viejo Award in 2009.

Campus PHE Comunidad de Madrid (Campus PHE Regional Government of Madrid) offered two photography training opportunities. At Campus PHE Edición de Libros (Campus PHE Book Editing), 30 students from 9 countries worked with Cristóbal Hara, Hannah Watson (Managing Editor of Trolley Books) and Markus Schaden (founder and owner of Schaden Verlag) to prepare and present their photography book projects. The second activity was Campus PHE Grandes Maestros (Campus PHE Great Masters), a programme of photography workshops and master classes in which 105 students from 8 countries received valuable advice from Alberto García-Alix, Ferdinando Scianna, Ricky Dávila, Juan Manuel Castro Prieto, Adriana Lestido, Lise Sarfati and Miles Aldridge. The master classes given in Alcalá de Henares were attended by more than 800 people.

Expanded Educational Programmes
PHotoEspaña has consolidated its educational programmes. Together with Banco Santander Foundation, the festival organised an educational programme for 320 students from eight secondary schools in Madrid: the American School of Madrid, Colegio Concertado Nuestra Señora de Montserrat, Colegio Lourdes Fuhem, Colegio María Inmaculada, IES Grande Covían, IES Ramiro de Maeztu, IES San Isidro and Scuola Statale Italiana di Madrid.

Working with the Municipal Government of Alcalá de Henares through its municipal corporation, Promoción de Alcalá S.A., PHotoEspaña also prepared photography workshops for young people between ages 14 and 19. The aim of these courses was to get teenagers interested in discovering and handling photography in a participatory and educational way.

Programmes for the General Public
The Recorridos Camper (Camper Tours) attracted over 700 people who participated in 48 guided tours and family workshops in the month of June at BBVA, Círculo de Bellas Artes, Teatro Fernán Gómez. Centro de Arte / Fundación Banco Santander, Casa de América, Museo de Colecciones ICO, Regional Government of Madrid / Sala Canal de Isabel II, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Fundación Telefónica, Regional Government of Madrid / Sala Alcalá 31, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid, Regional Government of Madrid / Complejo El Águila, Matadero Madrid and Instituto Cervantes.

Association of Friends of PHotoEspaña
The Association of Friends of PHotoEspaña currently has nearly 1,500 members, of whom 70% are Spaniards and 30% are of other nationalities. This group of photography lovers organises exclusive monthly activities for its members, such as a tour of the ABC newspaper’s photography archives, a visit to the studio of professional photographer Isabel Muñoz, and members-only competitions such as Gran Vía: El cielo de Madrid, in which participants were able to photograph the Gran Vía in Madrid from the rooftops of the capital.

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