Event Coverage: International Festival of Experimental Photography 2020
On January 17th, 18th, and 19th, 2020, over 200 experimental photographers converged in Barcelona, Spain for the first annual International Festival of Experimental Photography (EXP.20) hosted by Pablo Giori and Laura Ligari. Taking place over three days, this ambitious event hosted 18 workshops, 21 panel discussions, a double exposure photo walk, and two separate gallery exhibitions throughout a single weekend!
This event was hosted at three different event spaces that all had their own unique magical aesthetic that added to the prestige of this festival. Friday’s festivities were hosted at Centro Cívico Pati Llimona, a community audiovisual & photography center with exhibition spaces that has been running since 1991. Saturday and Sunday’s events were hosted at both the Institute of Photographic Studies of Catalonia (IEFC) and 33/45 Bar and Gallery. The IEFC was a beautiful location that has served as a high school and college campus for the last forty years. It featured classrooms, a full cafeteria (lunch was amazing on Saturday) and featured a ceilinged chapel on the third story that served as a place for the festival’s team closing remarks. It was the setting of a lifetime. 34/45 Bar and Gallery is and remains one of the busiest and trendiest bars in Barcelona, and it was the perfect location to end the evening on Saturday, drinks in hand, enjoying the recently installed exhibition by the EXP.20 team.
Not only was this festival hosted in beautiful locations, but it was also full of educational events and provided a venue for passionate film photographers from all walks of life to meet and exchange ideas and share their passion for our craft with one another. If I had to describe my weekend at EXP.20, I would say it was the summer camp experience I always wished I had. When I arrived on Friday, it was the first time in my life I had been with so many photography lovers in one place. It was wonderful to see everyone’s smiling faces riddled with excitement as they waited to meet friends and mentors that they have been talking to or following online for years prior to this moment. Though at first, this event seemed like a who’s-who of the film community (it was) in reality it was more like seeing long lost family members that you hadn’t seen in years. EXP.20 was able to turn what is normally an online-only community of photographers talking among themselves into a physical community that allowed for real-life connections and a sense of belonging to all of those who participated. It was a truly enriching experience.
There were embraces between people who I had only met on the internet before, laughter and jokes being told in multiple languages, and best of all: everyone treated each other like family the moment they arrived. It seemed that just by attending this festival you were enlisted into the EXP.20 family of artists and photographers and had an instant friendship with everyone in attendance. It was electrifying to be so close with so many people so quickly as we all navigated our way to the lectures, workshops, and debates we all had an interest in. In short, it’s difficult to put into words the buzz and excitement of having 200 photographers spending three days together learning, networking, and partying (we had a few gin and tonics), but luckily, I was able to gather quotes from other artists and photographers in attendance to see if they could capture the feeling of the environment of EXP.20.
“I’ve attended many photography conferences and few have compared to EXP.20 Not only was I blown away by the mass number of international artists dedicated to the practice of experimental photography - ranging from all parts of the U.S., Europe, Australia, South America, Asia, and the Middle East - the level of human connection felt was practically palpable. Yes, yes, there were hands-on technical workshops; informative lectures by big-name professionals; networking and social events; even solo and collective exhibition opportunities; yet the warmth and intimacy among the more than 200 participants far exceeded all expectations. Pablo Giori, Laura Ligari, and the EXP.20 team have unwittingly developed an inclusive formula by which a unique tribe of kind humans was cultivated in a present day world riddled with strife and turmoil. Makes one hopeful for the future of experimental photography, and humankind overall.”
- Patricia Rose Rocha“The “EXP.20” festival has resulted in a fusion of languages and nationalities, united by the love of experimentation and the game behind each image, personally I take great friends from all over the world and wonderful anecdotes!”
"The festival was something much more than networking and learning about plenty of experimental techniques and practices , it was the beginning of something huge! It was the establishment of an international "experimental" community with people of every age, gender and background in photography! People who have the tendency to question a normative approach to photography and search for this extra layer!"
- Mike Ioannidis“Without knowing what to expect, I was met with an incredible group of interesting people from all over the world. I attended talks and a workshop from which I learnt things that I would’t have been able to learn anywhere else! I brought home lots of inspiration and connections with people that will truly last.”
“Finally I found a photographic community I feel I belong to. Never imagined there could be so many people that love to do so many weird things with photography!”
“Everyone was willing to think outside the box, to share and learn from each other. I am sure the community we have born here will take experimental photography to the next level.”
- Ina Echternach
Though I would love to go through every single highlight from this festival, I wouldn’t be able to do it justice. With so many successful and long-standing artists and innovators involved, it would be difficult to tell you how amazing each one was without writing a novel. However, some notable artists and lecturers included: Raul Rodrigo Diaz (Paris), who conducted a great workshop on Polaroid manipulation; Diego López Calvín (Madrid), who presented and discussed the last 20 years of Solarography; Analog Forever founder Michael Behlen (California), who discussed social media and photobooks production; Steve Lovegrove (Australia), showed his experimental photographs made with ancient techniques; Marc Lenot (Paris) who lectures on History of Experimental Photography; and Dimitri Daniloff (Paris) who instructed a class on Photogrammetry. In addition, other guests came to explain their work and projects: curators Maria Rojas (Madrid) and Aida Navajas (Argentina); the film souper Carlos Baselga (Vila-Real); the founder of Double Expo Magazine, Renata Ursu (Rome), among many others!
If you weren’t able to attend, the only true way to experience EXP.20 would be to attend next year. However, if you click here, you can see the full detailed list of events, talks, and exhibitions. It will give you a true sense of just how varied the activities were throughout the weekend and how easily you could have tailored your days to your specific interests. Amazingly, such a logistically challenging event was created and executed by two individuals who had never hosted such an event before. Pablo Giori and Laura Ligari have outdone themselves and have set an incredibly high-bar for EXP.21.
So how did EXP.20 come to be? Well, it started on a local level and grew into an international movement. In 2018, Pablo Giori created the Barcelona Double Exposure Movement which morphed into the global film phenomena of #FilmSwapWorldWide, a project that allowed 80 photographers in 80 different cities to double expose rolls of film. This project came to a head in 2019, when they spent the majority of the year hosting 8 different exhibitions and publishing a photobook of their project. With this project under their belt, they decided that it would be a great thing for all of the photographers to meet in person, and EXP.20 was born! Not only did they invite the photographers involved in this global project, but they invited the rest of the world to join in this festival to share in their exploration of the medium we call experimental photography. Pablo summarized his vision for EXP.20 for The News Group of Catalonia:
"This festival is the direct product of how important experimental photography is in today’s world and is the result of the rising popularity of analog photography in recent years. People who have started experimenting with their father or grandfather's camera have come to realize just how interesting film can be. Within this momentum, we have been trying to define what experimental photography is because, since the 1940s, we have yet to come to a clear conclusion or definition of what exactly experimental photography is. This festival was not an attempt to define it in the technical definition, but an attempt to define an attitude and outlook on photographers’ efforts in their ability to always being able to find something new to do within the craft. This festival’s purpose was to bring together the people who will be sure to become a driving force in the alternative and experimental photography movement.”
When we asked Pablo and Laura how they thought the festival went, they had this to say: “We never imagined that this festival would blow up the way it did. We are still recovering from the most incredible experience of our lives. All of the people who came, spoke, and participated have given us the gift of community inspiration. It wasn’t just the good vibes, but the big smiles and the sparkle in their eye that made us feel like our festival really meant something and made a difference in their lives. We couldn’t be happier! Andrés Aguilar Caro of Instant Photographer.com had this to say about his involvement in the event:
“When I met Pablo Giori I blindly opted for an incredible project: a unique place to learn, know and share photography experimentally. What contemporary photographer would not throw headlong to something like that?
The history of photography is more interesting when it is up to us to create it, so I feel responsible for making this festival the best meeting point between genres, styles and shaping the future in the most creative and professional way possible.”
Now that the festival is over, and I have had the time to reflect on my experiences, it is clear to me why I enjoyed my self so much in such a short amount of time. The festival was a success because every single person involved, including the 26+ volunteers, believed in what we were there to achieve. Yes, it was important to discuss serious topics and learn the theory of experimental photography; however, the most rewarding experiences I encountered were the times I was sitting across the table and breaking bread with both high-profile and hobbyist photographers who I would have never come into contact with otherwise. At the tables, we shared: whether it be during lunch, nightly dinner outings at local restaurants, or late nights in trendy bars: every single person was equal. Our individual exhibition histories, social media follower counts, or prestige mattered very little when I turned to a stranger and asked them “Hey, what camera is that?”. Our love for our artistic medium was the thing that brought us together but I know it was the friendships I formed while I was there that will keep it that way. In the end, I had a blast at EXP.20 and I can’t wait for next year! I hope that this festival uses its momentum to grow and pushes the envelope on what an analog-centric event and conference should look and feel like. Bravo Pablo Giori and Laura Ligari, I can’t wait to see you again next year!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Behlen is a photography enthusiast from Fresno, CA. He works in finance and spends his free time shooting instant film and backpacking in the California wilderness, usually a combination of the two. He has been published, been interviewed, and been reviewed in a quantity of magazines and online publications, from F-Stop and Blur magazine to the Analog Talk Podcast. He loves the magic sensuality of instant film: its saturated, surreal colors; the unpredictability of the medium; it’s addictive qualities as you watch it develop. He is the founder of Analog Forever Magazine. Connect with Michael Behlen on his Website and on Instagram!
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