Format International Photography Festival

Format International Photography Festival (stylised as FORMAT) is a biennial photography festival held in Derby, UK that. It was established in 2004 and takes place in March[1] in various venues in Derby including Quad, University of Derby, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, Derwent Valley Mills, Market Place and in nearby cities.

Format comprises "a year-round programme of international commissions, open calls, residencies, conferences and collaborations".[2] Though it exhibits some work by established photographers, it is predominantly a platform for emerging photography.[3] In 2010 The Guardian called it "the UK's leading photography festival".[1]

Format24 will take place 16 March – 30 July 2024.[4]

Organisation

Format was established in 2004 by Louise Clements and Mike Brown, and built on the legacy of the past Derby Photography Festivals.[5] It is organised by QUAD in partnership with the University of Derby. It was Directed by Co-Founder Louise Clements also known as Louise Fedotov-Clements from 2004–2022; in 2017 it was directed by Monica Allende.[6]

Episodes

2006 – Format06

The theme was "Transform" and it took place in September/October.[5]

Included work by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin.[5]

2009 – Format09

The theme was "Photocinema".

Included work by Aaron Schuman[7][8] and Wim Wenders.[9]

2011 – Format11

The theme was "Right Here, Right Now: Exposures from the Public Realm"—street photography.[10][11][12]

Included work by Giacomo Brunelli,[11] Raymond Depardon,[11] Bruce Gilden,[11][12][13] Joel Meyerowitz,[11][14] Chris Steele-Perkins,[11] Raghu Rai,[11] Alex Webb,[11][15] Zhang Xiao,[16] and 60 works by street photography collective In-Public including Nick Turpin.[12]

Speakers at the opening weekend included Bruce Gilden, Nate Larson, John Maloof on Vivian Maier, Chris Steele-Perkins, Mark Sealy, Amy Stein, Nick Turpin, Michael Wolf[15] and Joel Meyerowitz.[11]

2013 – Format13

The theme and subtitle was "Factory: Mass Production".[17][18] The festival had two categories: "Focus", which was curated, and "Exposure", "comprising work selected from an open submission programme."[17]

Included work by Ken Grant,[17][19][20] Erik Kessels,[17][18] and Archive of Modern Conflict.[18][21]

2014 – Format14

Included work by Zhang Xiao.[22]

2015 – Format15

The theme was "evidence" and it was directed by Louise Clements.[23][24][25]

Included work by Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel (Evidence).[26]

2016 – Format16

An off-year episode.[27] The theme was called "reGeneration3" and it was curated by the Musée de l'Élysée (Lausanne, Switzerland).

Included "work by some 50 students of 25 different nationalities and 40 art institutions".[27]

2017 – Format17

The theme was "Habitat"[28]—"landscape, environment, migration, digital worlds, ideas of home and displacement, conflict and regeneration".[2] The headline exhibition explored the Anthropocene.[3]

Included work by David Moore (his play The Lisa and John Slideshow),[29] Lisa Barnard,[2][3] Sohrab Hura,[2][3] Ursula Biemann,[3] John Maclean,[2] Tom Hunter[2] and from the W. W. Winter studio in Derby.[30][31][32]

The Format Conference included a talk by Martin Parr.[29]

2018 – Format18

Included work by Mark Neville (Displaced Ukrainians and Battle Against Stigma).[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bowes, Gemma (6 November 2010). "Derby daze: high times at the Festé festival". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Wheeler, Alex (28 March 2017). "FORMAT17: Highlights of the UK's largest photography festival". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Format Festival – the low down – British Journal of Photography". www.bjp-online.com. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Format Festival - International Photography Festival". Format Festival. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b c BBC. "Start of a Transformation". Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  6. ^ "About FORMAT". www.formatfestival.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  7. ^ Photocinema : the creative edges of photography and film. Neil Campbell, Alfredo Cramerotti, Huw Davies, Jane Fletcher. Bristol, U.K.: Intellect. 2013. ISBN 1-299-38595-8. OCLC 842853203.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. ^ "Aaron Schuman ~ Once Upon a Time in the West". FOTO8. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  9. ^ Clark, Robert (7 February 2009). "Exhibitions preview: Wim Wenders, Derby". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Format's street photography focus". BBC News. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i O'Hagan, Sean (8 March 2011). "Right Here, Right Now: photography snatched off the streets". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b c Battersby, Matilda. "Format Festival: Street photography steals the show". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  13. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (11 December 2011). "The best photography of 2011: Sean O'Hagan's choice". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Joel Meyerowitz at the Format International Photography Festival - in pictures". The Guardian. 28 February 2011. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  15. ^ a b Coomes, Phil. "BBC - Viewfinder: Right Here, Right Now: At the Format Festival in Derby". Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  16. ^ Jacques, Adam (27 February 2011). "Portfolio: Zhang Xiao". The Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  17. ^ a b c d O'Hagan, Sean (10 March 2013). "Format international photography festival – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  18. ^ a b c "Aesthetica Magazine - FORMAT International Photography Festival, Derby". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  19. ^ Coomes, Phil (8 March 2013). "No Pain Whatsoever at the Format Festival". BBC News. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  20. ^ "Mersey beat: Ken Grant captured the spirit of Liverpool as it coped". The Independent. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  21. ^ Sherwin, Skye (15 March 2013). "Matt Calderwood, Sterling Ruby, Julia Wachtel: the week's art shows in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  22. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (17 April 2014). "Mythical beasts and voodoo worship: photographing pagan rituals in China". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  23. ^ "Ka-Boom at Format". BBC News. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  24. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (13 March 2015). "Sense memory: Peter Watkins's ghostly reflection on grief and loss". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  25. ^ "BBC Arts - Format photography: From Northern Exposure to Hidden Islam - BBC Arts". BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  26. ^ Clark, Robert; Sherwin, Skye (14 March 2015). "Alexander McQueen, Idiot Box, Format 15: this week's new exhibitions". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  27. ^ a b Clark, Robert; Basciano, Oliver (25 March 2016). "This week's exhibitions". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  28. ^ Searle, Adrian; Jones, Jonathan; Wainwright, Oliver; O'Hagan, Sean (7 January 2017). "Great exhibitions: 2017's best art, photography, architecture and design". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  29. ^ a b "Format Photo Festival: 10 Things to See and Do". Time. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  30. ^ "The forgotten shops of Derby – in pictures". The Guardian. 14 April 2017. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  31. ^ "BBC Arts - Portrait of a city: 150 years of photographing Derby - BBC Arts". BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  32. ^ "'Oldest photo studio' images on show". BBC News. 23 March 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  33. ^ Neville, Mark (29 March 2018). "Displaced Ukrainians and Battle Against Stigma – in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 October 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.