Trieste Photo Days 2023: the capital city of international photography

The Tenth Edition of the Trieste Photo Days – International Festival of Urban Photography ended with great success, taking place in a circuit of prestigious exhibition venues in the city and, starting from August 2023, in the region. The Festival which was held from 27 to 29 October offered the public a program full of new exhibitions, meetings with renowned international photographers, workshops, masterclasses, and in-depth studies with authors and scientific consultants, editorial initiatives.

A success confirmed by continuously growing numbers and by the many appreciations of photography enthusiasts who had the opportunity to admire a variety of unpublished and important photographic works of art, and participate in events of the highest artistic and cultural level.

Trieste is also confirmed as the capital of photography in 2023 thanks to the ability of the organizing associations dotART and Exhibit Around APS to involve, as special guests, international photographers of undisputed importance and host them at the Festival, offering the public unique opportunities for discussion, such as Alec Soth ( Magnum Photos), Jérôme Sessini (Magnum Photos), Kadir van Lohuizen (NOOR Images), Laura Zalenga, Lello Fargione, Natalya Saprunova and many others.

Alec Soth, member of the prestigious Magnum Photos Agency and known for his large-scale projects that portray rural and urban America, announced and awarded Natalya Saprunova as the overall winner of the 14th edition of the contest on Saturday 28 October live streaming at the Revoltella Museum international URBAN Photo Awards.

Jérôme Sessini, super guest of the Mythography III project: Diana, Minerva, Ceres, together with Enrico Medda, Professor of Greek Literature at the University of Pisa and curator of the volume of the same name, presented the collective exhibition which also sees his works freely inspired by mythology exhibited Greek/Roman. The exhibition is located in the Hall of Mirrors of the Sartorio Museum and can be visited until 26 November.

Kadir van Lohuizen, super guest of the 71% – The State of Water project, together with Gaetano Mangiameli, Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Milan – La Statale, where he teaches Cultural Anthropology and Environmental Anthropology and editor of the volume of the same name, presented the large collective photographic exhibition dedicated to Water represented in all its forms which hosts some works by Kadir van Lohuizen himself. The venue of the exhibition, which can be visited until 12 November, is the Sala Veruda of Palazzo Costanzi.

On Saturday 28 October Alec Soth, Jérôme Sessini, Kadir van Lohuizen and Laura Zalenga attended as jurors the URBAN Photo Awards 2023 awards ceremony in the auditorium of the Revoltella Museum. Present was the photographer Natalya Saprunova, overall winner of the 14th edition of the international contest, selected and awarded by Alec Soth in live streaming and many of the award-winning authors of the various URBAN categories.

The two talks held on Sunday 29 October by Jérôme Sessini and Kadir van Lohuizen were particularly evocative and profound.
Jérôme Sessini presented Ceux qui Restent (Those who remain) a project that focuses on the impact of social phenomena on the people and landscape of the Grand-Est region of France, a rural and industrial territory, questioning the mechanisms of social determinism and geographical, often at the origin of inequalities.
Kadir van Lohuizen presented Food for Thought, his latest project on the global food industry, a closer look at the world of our food production which, through photos and videos, explores the origin of our food and the role that the Netherlands and the maritime industry play in our food system.

As has already been the case for several years, there was also space for collaboration with the Photo Library of the Civic Museums of History and Art of Trieste, in which contemporary photography dialogues with historical photography and the oriental art collections exhibited in the museum, which this year brought to life at the Western Views in Burma exhibition in which the contemporary shots dedicated to Burma by Lello Fargione dialogue with the testimonies present within the USIS (United States Information Service) photographic fund preserved at the Photo Library.

Growing attention is also paid to young people under 35 with the first edition of the SPAZIO TALENT (Talent Space) at the “Arturo Fittke” Hall designed to discover and celebrate emerging voices in the world of photography, bringing new ideas and perspectives to the exciting photographic panorama of Trieste. Supported by the Pietro Pittini Foundation in collaboration with the Department of Education and Family Policies through the PAG – Youth Area Project of the Municipality of Trieste, it offers young talents the opportunity to exhibit their latest works, share their experiences in a talk or masterclass.

In parallel with the project presentation events, Saturday 28 October was dedicated to training events. In fact, three photography masterclasses with exceptional teachers were held at Palazzo Gopcevich: Kadir van Lohuizen, Pierpaolo Mittica and Francesco Aglieri Rinella. A unique opportunity to glean secrets, teachings and anecdotes from three great photography professionals.
Jérôme Sessini and Laura Zalenga also held two workshops, respectively on the narrative approach, ethical considerations, objectivity versus subjectivity and on photographic concepts, on how to find inspiration, ideal places and ideas and how to put it all into practice.

The main weekend of the Festival, which was held from 27 to 29 October, saw almost 2000 photos on display and over 700 photographers from all over the world exhibited between the 7 institutional locations in the center of Trieste and the 19 locations of the Trieste Photo Fringe circuit (with over 1600 photos on display), and the 5 out-of-town locations of the Photo Days Tour.

There are still many exhibitions not to be missed:

• Sala Umberto Veruda: 71% – The State of Water, with Kadir van Lohuizen (until 12 November)
• Sala Comunale d’Arte: Laura Zalenga, Don’t look at me (until 12 November)
• Palazzo delle Poste centrali: URBAN unveils the City and its Secrets (until 18 November)
• Civico Museo Sartorio: Mythography III: Diana, Minerva, Ceres with Jérôme Sessini and the “Trieste Museums Prize” exhibitions from URBAN Photo Awards 2023: Alain Schroeder – Lelo; Andrea Bettancini The failure of reason; Giovanni Sacco – Memento Mori; Martina D’Agresta – Tempra (until 26 November)
• Mercato Coperto: Urban Photography: Trieste and Cities from the World (until 25 November)
• Civico Museo d’Arte Orientale: Western Looks in Burma (until 28 January 2024)
• In city venues: Trieste Photo Fringe 2023, the widespread exhibitions of the URBAN Photo Awards 2023 in a selected circuit of venues in the city centre. Until December 2023

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Trieste Photo Days 2023 is promoted by the associations dotART and Exhibit Around APS in Co-organization with the Municipality of Trieste, with the contribution of: Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Kathleen Foreman Casali Charity Foundation, Pietro Pittini Foundation and Cassa Rurale FVG; in collaboration with the Photo Library of the Civic Museums of History and Art, the Museum of Oriental Art, the Sartorio Museum and the Department of Education and Family Policies through the PAG – Youth Area Project of the Municipality of Trieste; the Partnerships with CRAF – Center for Research and Archiving of Photography, Poste Italiane and the Postal and Telegraph Museum of Central Europe, AIDIA Trieste Italian Association of Women Engineers and Architects, Towards the MuMeG – Museo Mercato del Gusto, GO! 2025 – Nova Gorica-Gorizia and IoSonoFVG; collaborations with Trieste Airport, the Municipality of Erto e Casso and the Poreč Territory Museum.

Trieste Photo Days 2023 avails itself of the artistic consultancy of Vincenzo Labellarte.

Main Partner: Install.Pro, Unicusano Polo di Trieste, Cooperativa Lase e UNICAR Muggia Trieste, Trieste Coffe Festival
Partner: Friuli Innovazione, Matrix4Design, Fujifilm Italia, Videndum Media Solutions, Stroppa
Media Partner: Il Fotografo