The IV International Festival "PhotoKrok" named after S. Yurkovsky is taking place in Vitebsk

The IV International Festival of Photography "PhotoKrok" in Vitebsk features around 300 authors from 15 countries, the 180th anniversary of photography, unique works miraculously preserved from the archive of a Belarusian photographer of the early 20th century, lectures, and master classes by renowned masters of photographic art.

 

The main theme of the forum is "The Present Day," and it is the present that the works of photographers from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, some countries of Asia and Western Europe, and the USA are dedicated to. Out of almost 1500 submitted photos for the main competition, the jury selected just over 120. They are unique witnesses of topical modernity. The competition exhibition can be viewed in the exhibition hall of the art center at 7 Tolstoy Street.

 

Despite the fact that in 2019 photography is only 180 years old, this

The art form has much to boast about: from labor-intensive shooting and printing methods, humanity has moved to digital photography, which can be taken in a second with a single click. At the same time, the scope of photography use has expanded: now it not only serves as historical visual documents capturing people and events of entire eras, but also carries valuable information about geographical locations and scientific achievements of humanity. In addition, photography is boldly integrated into various genres of other art forms.

 

Interesting exhibitions will be held as part of the festival. One of them presents unique works by Belarusian photographer Sava Sivko from the Lyubchansky region (Grodno Oblast), which capture the life of peasants in Western Belarus from 1920 to 1950. These classic photographs were found in a semi-ruined house, and for some time the author could not be identified. The glass negatives miraculously survived, and the complete collection is striking in its number – over 1020, many works are in foreign galleries. In Vitebsk, 170 photographs printed from original negatives, the master's photographic equipment, and household items of that era will be presented. The exhibition is located in the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

 

For the first time at the festival, the "Stena" gallery is hosting a solo exhibition by a foreign master – Italian photojournalist Paolo Laddomada, brought from the African continent. The photographs showcase villagers from Cameroon, Tanzania, and Rwanda. Additionally, there will be a debut by Vitebsk photographer Ilya Terentyev, who shoots exclusively on film and prints his works on silver gelatin paper using chemical post-processing.

The photo festival will run until June 30.

ALESYA PUSNYAKOVA, Photos by Anton Stepanishchev, "Vitebskiye vesti".