Photography Festival in Derby from 15th March 2019

FORMAT 19 - FOREVER//NOW

Over 50 exhibitions over 20 venues over 30 days

FORMAT 2019 will once again welcome artists from around the world to the historic city of Derby, as it brings new and exciting contemporary photography to the UK for a ninth edition entitled FOREVER//NOW. Founded in 2004, FORMAT has helped place the UK photography scene on the international cultural map, making it a must-attend event.

FORMAT19 - FOREVER//NOW runs from 15th March to 14th April 2019 throughout Derby, in the city’s museums, art galleries and historic, pop-up and renovated spaces and buildings. There are over 50 exhibitions, including portraits of Elvis impersonators and off grid Siberian communities; documentary projects on the tribes of native Indians and the post conflict and wartime landscape of North Africa; a French treasure hunt for buried gold and the search for the truth behind the exclusive Bohemian Club in America - just a few of the many extraordinary photography stories to discover.

QUAD in Derby has three main exhibitions, which take place in the month-long festival and beyond. Mutable, Multiple is the festival’s lead exhibition, featuring six artists who use the narrative potential of photography to engage with their subject. Artists Max Pinckers, Edgar Martins, Stefanie Moshammer, Amani Willett, Anne Golaz and Virginie Rebetez present photographs which challenge modes of documentary and storytelling, exploring narrative, history, memory and myth, looking at issues of entrapment and disappearance, fantasy and escape, exile and longing. Curated by Tim Clark and Louise Fedotov-Clements, Mutable, Multiple is in QUAD Gallery One from 15th March to 9th June.

A new commission and UK premiere by Japan-born, Venice-based artist Kensuke Koike, entitled Happy Ending, presents an exhibition of collages, drawn from the city’s important photographic archives, W.W. Winter.  Kensuke Koike is a cut paper master who works with images and materials such as found photographs to produce intricate collage, installation and sculpture with skill and humour.  The artist has a taste for image re/construction, and his work has impressive precision and a considerable international cult following on Instagram. Curated by Louise Fedotov-Clements and Peter Bonnell, Kensuke Koike, Happy Ending is in QUAD Gallery Two from 15th March to 9th June.

FORMAT Open Call presents the work of photographers and artists who have been selected via an international Open Call in response to the FORMAT19 festival theme FOREVER//NOW. The photographs include diverse themes such as colonialism, identity, censorship, resistance and the reuse of archives. Artists featured are: Maria Sturm, Karl Ohiri, Liza Ambrossio, Steven Barritt, Garrett Grove, Xu Guanyu, IC Visual Lab (Alejandro Acin & Isaac Blease), Seunggu Kim and Gloria Oyarzabal. FORMAT FOREVER//NOW Open Call is in QUAD Extra Gallery Spaces from 15th March to 9th June.

FORMAT19 takes place in Derby from 15th March to 14th April. The biennale festival incorporates QUAD, University of Derby, Derby Museum & Art Gallery, Déda, Market Hall, BEAR, Artcore, St Werburgh’s Chapel, Pickford’s House, Eagle Market Intu, The Tramshed, Banks Mill, Furthest From the Sea and Unfold Arts.  The festival also includes Derwent Valley World Heritage Sites, Market Place and satellite venues. The festival was established by QUAD in 2004 and is the UK’s leading festival of photography and related media, organised by QUAD and DMARC, the Digital and Material Artistic Research Centre of the University of Derby.

FORMAT Festival Director, Louise Fedotov-Clements said: “This years’ edition for FORMAT is proving to be the biggest and boldest international event that we have directed to date, featuring more than 200 artists from more than 50 countries, alongside a rich programme of exhibitions and events, FORMAT is a vital force in the cultural ecology for practitioners and audiences alike.”

FORMAT19 programme includes exhibitions, talks, workshops and events, many taking place over the opening weekend, from 14th to 17th March 2019, with Exhibition Previews on the Festival Launch night, Thursday 14th March from 5:00pm. FORMAT19 Conference presents a range of high-profile international speakers, artists, writers and academics who will discuss themes relating to FOREVER//NOW. FORMAT Conference is organised by QUAD and DMARC. FORMAT19 Conference takes place at Markeaton Street, Derby on Friday 15th March.

FORMAT19: Portfolio Renew, the UK’s biggest photography portfolio review, is an opportunity for photographers to have their portfolios reviewed by over fifty international photo editors, curators, publishers and festival directors. FORMAT19: Portfolio Review takes place in Derby Museum and Art Gallery on The Wardwick on Saturday 16th March, places need to be booked in advance.

FORMAT19 Photobook Market features over 20 international publishers and collectives curated by Sebastian Arthur Hau and takes place in Derby Museum and Art Gallery on The Wardwick, from 15th to 17th March.

For the full programme of FORMAT19 exhibitions and events see www.formatfestival.com or see: https://www.derbyquad.co.uk/whats-on/art/format-international-photography-festival

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