About Nordic emerging photographers workshop in Kristiansund

Ten photography students or recent graduates from the Nordic countries are invited to Kristiansund and the Nordic Light International Festival of Photography in April 2018. The stay includes a three-day workshop and participation at the festival.

Workshop title: Photographing the Home

This workshop explores ways of making photographic work about home. It is aimed at emerging photographers who have begun, or are beginning, a project connected to ideas and experiences of home, and the objective is to develop the work towards completion.

In the workshop, we will examine the rich significance and complexity of this seemingly trivial subject, through an in-depth exploration of its representation in photography, art, literature and film.

We will consider ideas about home: as a psychological state, as a construct, as a place of close observation and connection, as the stage for family ties and intimate relationships, as tranquil or unsettling, and as a deeply symbolic site with layers of history and meaning.

Practically, you will be led through the stages of developing the work, from concept, aesthetic considerations, ethics, editing, sequencing, writing a statement and title, to planning the presentation of the work.

The workshop is conducted by Clare Gallagher who is course director for BA (Hons) Photography with Video at the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University.
The workshop will result in a curated exhibition at Nykyaika Photographic centre in Tampere autumn 2018 or at another collaborational festival. The exhibition will be curated by an emerging curator from the Backlight Festival. The workshop is funded by Nordic Cultural Fund and organised by Landskrona Foto, Nordic Light Festival, Backlight Festival and Katalog - Journal of Photography and Video.

What winners receive

The workshop takes place from Monday 23 till Wednesday 25 April 2018 in Kristiansund, Norway. Arrival in Kristiansund on Sunday 22 April. The Nordic Light photo festival begins with a festival parade on Wednesday at 5 pm and lasts until Sunday afternoon/evening.

The stay includes 5 days/5 nights with workshop and festival, with an option to extend the stay with 2 more nights at your own expense, but to an affordable price. Lunch and dinner will be served at fixed places during the 3 days of workshop and 2 days of festival. You will receive a Festival Pass that gives access to all daytime lectures and exhibitions throughout the festival.

Included:

• Flight round trip to a maximum of NOK 1950
• 5 nights in shared hotel room with breakfast (Sunday – Friday)
• 5 lunches and 5 dinners at local restaurants
• Festival Pass for the Nordic Light International Festival of Photography

Optional (to be covered by you):

• 2 additional nights in a shared hotel room with breakfast (Friday – Sunday), total price NOK 770 pr. person. Lunch and dinner are not included.

Judging criteria

The presented projects relevance for the workshop and artistic quality. The participants must come from a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and we aim for nationalistic and gender balance.

Jurors

Tuula Alajoki

Occupation: Curator, Festival Director

Tuula Alajoki (b. 1975) is a Finnish curator and the director of the Backlight Photo Festival (Tampere, Finland). She has been involved in Photographic Centre Nykyaika´s actions and Backlight since her graduation as a visual artist in 2001 and in 2012 she was appointed to be the director of the event. Alajoki curates exhibitions both in Finland and abroad and she works intensively to develop international art and artist exchanges. Currently she also lecturers and teaches analogue photography in Tampere. She has Masters degree in Art from the Aalto University, School of Art and Design and she has completed her studies with art history and theory at the University of Helsinki.

Jens Friis

Occupation: Independent curator, photo historian and publisher/editor

KATALOG – Journal of Photography & Video www.katalog-journal.com Jens Friis has a MA in History of Art and specialized in photography. He has previously been an active member of Gallery Image in Aarhus, Denmark and for a number of years he worked in a commercial gallery, Hamiltons, in London selling photographic art. From 2003-2016, he was curator in charge of the photographic collection at Museet for Fotokunst in Odense, Denmark as well as the artistic co-director of the Danish photo festival FotoTriennale.dk initiated by same museum. In the same period he was also the editor-in-chief of the magazine KATALOG – Journal of Photography & Video supported and published by the museum. Now in its 28th successful year, KATALOG is published by Jens Friis independently since 2015. KATALOG is part of Nordic Photo Festival Network and the European collaboration Parallel. As an author, he has written numerous articles for the magazine. He has also contributed to the book Dansk Fotografihistorie [Danish Photographic History] published in 2004 and the chapter on Danish photography in the third volume of The History of European Photography 1970-2000 published in 2016. He is serving on several international nominating committees for awards as well as the advisory committee of the Spanish magazine EXIT.

Jens Friis is interested in all shapes of photography and visual media arts – prints, books, videos, installations, etc. He will discuss your work and might give you advice on how to develop as an artist. He may also facilitate publication in the magazine KATALOG and participation in group-exhibitions and festivals.

Clare Gallagher

Occupation: Course director and independent curator

Clare Gallagher. She was born in Northern Ireland and studied photography in London, Canterbury and Belfast, earning an MFA Photography with distinction. A photography lecturer since 2003, she is also working on a practice-based PhD on women’s domestic practices. Clare is course director for BA (Hons) Photography with Video at the Belfast School of Art, Ulster University.

Her work examines the ordinary and everyday, focusing on experiences of home. It has been exhibited in Europe, North America and Asia and been featured in The Guardian, Lenscratch and Source Photographic Review.

Ingunn Strand

Occupation: Managing Director of Nordic Light International Festival of Photography

She has been the manager of Nordic Light International Festival of Photography for the last two years. On the edge of Norway's north west coast, world renowned photographers, aspiring photographers, students and others interested in photography, art and culture gather in the charming coastal city of Kristiansund. Lectures, exhibitions, gallery talks, book signings, workshops, portfolio reviews, breakfast movies and more.

She holds a master of management from BI Norwegian Business School, has a certificate of apprenticeship in commercial photography, has been working both with press photography and administration.

Jenny Nordquist

Occupation: Artistic leader Landskrona Foto

Jenny Nordquist is also head of a photography department at Östra Grevie Folk High School in Sweden (one year leave from February 2018), an artist, and a lecturer in photography and critical studies. From 2011 to 2016 she ran a gallery space for art photography in Copenhagen, Denmark. She holds an MA in Image and Communication from Goldsmith University of London and a BA in Photography from London College of Communications.