LOOK13, one of the UK’s leading photography festivals, will be launched on Liverpool’s Light Night, 17 May 2013. Taking place in venues across the city, it will present an exciting mix of events, exhibitions, participative projects and public realm works.
The festival asks ‘who do you think you are?’. It looks at what happens when we turn the camera on ourselves and others, to explore or project images about identity, subjectivity and the self. The theme will be developed through a wide range of material, from historical archives to cutting-edge contemporary work by photographers from Liverpool, the UK and beyond.
LOOK13’s artistic programme will reflect the multiplicity and dynamism of photography, featuring solo and group presentations, historical and contemporary material, emerging and established artists, gallery-based and public-realm works, participative projects, performances, competitions and screenings.
Dates
The festival’s launch night of 17 May 2013 joins forces with Liverpool’s Light Night, a city-wide late-night extravaganza of events, performances, previews and parties. An event-packed long launch weekend, from 16 to 19 May, will feature the National Photography Symposium (presented by Redeye), portfolio reviews, talks by artists and curators, workshops and pop-up studios. LOOK13 exhibitions will be open to the public throughout the main festival period – from 18 May to 15 June – with many running throughout the summer.
The festival team
The festival’s delivery team is led by Patrick Henry (director) and Harjeet Kaur (festival manager). Patrick Henry was previously director of Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool (2004 -12) and curator of exhibitions at the National Media Museum (1998 -2004). Harjeet has curated and managed a range of national and international exhibitions and festivals for organisations including the British Council.
Partners
Liverpool’s visual arts offer is regarded by many as the strongest of any regional city in the country. LOOK13 is working in close collaboration with a wide range of local and national partners, including Liverpool’s Arabic Arts Festival, Autograph ABP, The Bluecoat, Caravan Gallery, FACT, Open Eye Gallery, Photovoice, Redeye, School of Art & Design (Liverpool John Moores University), Tate Liverpool, Magnum,
Museum of Liverpool, Victoria Galleries & Museum, Walker Art Gallery and Wolstenholme Creative Space.
Colin McPherson, chair of the LOOK board, commented “LOOK13 will aim to build on the successes of the inaugural festival in 2011. It is aiming higher and going from strength to strength. We have a great team, working in collaboration with exciting partners and venues. We have been very fortunate to secure fantastic support from our funders.”
LOOK director Patrick Henry commented: “LOOK is about photography’s capacity to engage critically with things that really matter. LOOK11 was all about the camera as a tool for changing the world; LOOK13 asks what happens when we turn the camera on ourselves. Liverpool has an amazing network of museums and galleries – LOOK builds on those foundations to create a festival with real range and depth.”
The festival is being supported using public funding by Arts Council England’ and from Liverpool City Council’s Arts and Culture Investment Programme.
Above image: Kurt Tong, from ‘The Queen, the Chairman and I’
