Celebrating 20 with a book!

20 years / 20 festivals / 400 photographers exhibited

The Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography reflects on emerging Swiss photography in an anniversary publication. With texts in three languages (fr/de/en), this catalogue will appear in April 2016 from Snoeck Press. This represents an opportunity to tell the story of the creation of a photography festival and to look back on the careers of the photographers who have been exhibited.

This richly illustrated catalogue will take stock of twenty years of activities. It will also serve as a reflection on the present situation of festivals and of photography in Switzerland.

Important questions for the field will be raised: What are the challenges for a photography festival, and what are its future prospects? How does contemporary Swiss photography position itself? How does one build a career as a photographer? What sort of public outreach should there be for photography?

By supporting the project, you will contribute to the production of a high-quality reference publication. Thank you!

Details of the publication

20x25 cm, 200 pages, 400 images, 7 original essays, published in three languages (fr/de/en), print run of 1’500, limited edition of 125 copies with a special numbered print from Yoshinori Mizutani.

With contributions by Hélène Joye-Cagnard, director of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography; Elisabeth Herrmann, art historian; Najate Zouggari, sociologist; Nathalie Dietschy, art historian; Patricia Huijnen, art educator of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography.

Graphic design by B&R (Dimitri Reist and Noah Bonsma, based in Berne). Printed in Switzerland by La Buona Stampa on high-quality paper from the Love Paper Culture collection.

The 20th edition of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography

The 20th edition of the Festival will be celebrated in the spring sunshine, from April 29 to May 22, 2016. Recent work by twenty Swiss and international photographers, brought together under a current theme, will be exhibited in ten venues, some familiar, some unusual. A photographic stroll in the heart of the city of Biel/Bienne awaits you.

Some examples of rewards…

• The anniversary bags and t-shirts

• Editions of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography

Successfully launched in 2014, « Edition der Bieler Fototage » offers prints of images by young photographers. The publishing arm of the Festival is aimed at promoting and distributing emerging Swiss photography by offering devotees the opportunity to become tomorrow’s collectors.

Etienne Malapert / 2016 / Nr. 4

Yann Haeberlin / 2015 / Nr. 3

Michal Florence Schorro / 2014 / Nr. 2

Prune Simon-Vermot / 2014 / Nr. 1

• Guided tours and photography workshop

Interactive visit: with an instant camera in hand, you will be guided through the exhibitions by your own images; Focus on Photography: meetings with photographers ; Guided tour: an opportunity to learn more about the theme of this year’s Festival and to ask your questions about contemporary photography during a guided tour of the exhibitions.

• The limited edition

A limited edition of 125 numbered copies, including an original print from the series «Tokyo Parrots» from Yoshinori Mizutani.

Video credits: B&R, editing ; Nemo Mettler, music