Helsinki Photography Festival 2005 to be continued…

The Helsinki Photography Festival is the oldest international photography event in Finland. The tenth edition, organised jointly by the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte and the British Council, will be celebrated under the title "to be continued… / jatkuu…” The collaboration is based on a shared interest in enriching photographic culture underlined by a desire to transgress national, linguistic and institutional boundaries. By presenting new Finnish and British contemporary photography and video art and by fostering lively discussions, the festival intends to address pertinent questions about the photographic medium as articulated through a variety of artistic positions.

Curators Mika Elo and Brett Rogers have selected the following artists for the main exhibition: Marion Coutts, Simon Faithfull, Anne Hardy, Wood & Harrison, Idris Khan, Mark Lewis, Caroline McCarthy and Danny Treacy from the UK, and Heli Hiltunen, Sanna Kannisto, Pertti Kekarainen, Jyri Pitkänen, Elina Saloranta, Jari Silomäki, Anu Suhonen and Sonja Suominen from Finland for the Helsinki Kunsthalle (8 October – 6 November 2005); Gareth McConnell from the UK for the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte (7 October – 6 November 2005) and Gary Stevens from the UK for the Museum of Finnish Photography (7 October – 6 November 2005).

Another key visual arts element of the festival is a curated programme of screenings by the following artists: Nooshin Farhid, Hannu Karjalainen, Johanna Lecklin, Susan MacWilliam, Ailbhe Ní Bhriain, Alli Savolainen, Hiraki Sawa and Kari Yli-Annala. This programme and related discussion events will be held in the MUU gallery from 8-16 October 2005.

In addition to the exhibition and screenings, there will be a seminar and a panel discussion on the role of photography magazines, a seminar exploring the themes of the festival, a comprehensive catalogue comprising texts by a range of widely respected writers, artists’ talks and an artist’s residency with the Helsinki International Artists’ Programme (HIAP).

The title “to be continued… / jatkuu…” suggests the end of an episode of a TV series, with a promise of something to follow and an expectation of new twists in the story – a combination of something familiar and safe; new and unexpected. The title also reflects the state of current debate within contemporary photography. Both in the UK and Finland, photographic practice is characterised by the return to fundamental questions. At the same time as artists are deliberating about these eternal issues, what becomes apparent is the impossibility of repeating the same old propositions, ideas and strategies. When pictured, the world always unfolds anew.

Helsinki Photography Festival 2005 "to be continued…"

artists:
Marion Coutts, Simon Faithfull, Anne Hardy, John Wood / Paul Harrison, Idris Khan, Mark Lewis, Caroline McCarthy, Danny Treacy, Heli Hiltunen, Sanna Kannisto, Pertti Kekarainen, Jyri Pitkänen, Elina Saloranta, Jari Silomäki, Anu Suhonen, Sonja Suominen, Gareth McConnell, Gary Stevens, Nooshin Farhid, Hannu Karjalainen, Johanna Lecklin, Susan MacWilliam, Ailbhe Ni Bhriain, Alli Savolainen, Hiraki Sawa, Kari Yli-Annala

curators:
Mika Elo, Brett Rogers

organisation:
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte; British Council

venues:
Kunsthalle Helsinki; Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki; Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki; MUU Gallery, Helsinki