Sacred and Profane: declining it through photography allows, on the one hand, to make a journey around the world, which is also an inner journey, to discover the places of the spirit and the men who animate them, experiencing a tension towards the divine from time to time time different and always fascinating. On the other hand, to re-read sacred iconography in an irreverent or provocative key, to venture into territories generally considered unrepresentable, confronting the more earthly impulses and feelings of the human soul and its aberrations. Without neglecting everything in between, in the subtle nuances that always color contrasts that cannot be clear-cut. The photographic medium, therefore, as a privileged language for revealing this duality and investigating its different declinations and possible interpretations.
Along with the rich program of exhibitions and collateral events – workshops, portfolio readings, talks – which will see the participation of national and international photography experts, this year Photolux is also promoting three contests.
Self Publishing PHOTOLUX Award 2015
International competition dedicated to self-publishing. Open to all Italian and foreign photographers and photographic collectives, it aims to identify the best editorial projects and give them visibility and an opportunity for realisation. The winning project will receive a contribution of €4000 for publication and will be presented at the Festival. The international jury, chaired by Michael Mack, founder of the British publishing house MACK, is composed of Teun van der Heijden (Heijdens Karwei, Amsterdam), Jim Casper (Lens Culture), Claudio Corrivetti (Postcart, Rome) and Arianna Arcara (Cesura) .
Young Curators PHOTOLUX Contest 2015
International competition dedicated to young curators between the ages of 22 and 40, who will have to present a detailed exhibition project proposing an unedited and original reading of the theme of the 2015 edition of the Festival through a solo or collective exhibition of emerging artists who work with photography and/or video art. The jury is made up of Paola Binante (Accademia Belle Arti, Bologna and ISIA, Urbino), Chiara Dall'Olio (Fondazione Fotografia) and Roberto Tomesani (IED and Tau Visual).
Roberto Del Carlo Award 2015
An international competition that takes place every two years in conjunction with the Photolux Festival. The competition aims to identify emerging talents and give them visibility. The winning project will be produced and exhibited in one of the official venues of the festival and will be included in the catalogue. This year the curators and directors of the most important international institutions and magazines dedicated to photography are invited to propose the works of young photographers who are linked to the theme of the 2015 edition of the Festival. The jury, chaired by Marta Gili, director of the Jeu de Paume, Paris is made up of Daphne Angles (New York Times) and Lorenza Bravetta (Camera. Centro Italiano di Fotografia, Turin).
For the 2015 edition Photolux Festival has activated new important collaborations.
A cultural partnership was created with IED – Istituto Europeo di Design that was born with the intention of creating a network and structuring solid relationships with one of the most dynamic and active realities in the field of photography training. Photolux's programming and IED's educational offer are the basis for building a long-lasting collaboration full of perspectives.
