On September 16, the second edition of the Unseen Photo Festival will open its doors in Amsterdam, with Anton Corbijn acting as guest curator. The festival will also feature a section focused on Japanese photography, and institutions such as the Eye Film Museum and the Stedelijk Museum putting on exhibitions and adding to the fray.
Corbijn has curated “TOUCHED–Craftsmanship in Contemporary Photography” at the Museum Het Schip, with work from 12 artists who “implement customs of artisanal photographic processes or photographic prints to unique objects.”
The exhibition will include Dirk Braeckman, Antony Cairns, Adam Jeppesen, Paul Kooiker, Susanna Kraus, Thomas Mailaender, Nerhol, Taiyo Onorato, and Daisuke Yokota.
The festival, most of which will take places in the historic Spaarndammerbuurt area, will also feature the exhibition “Christto & Andrew: The Politics of Sport,” a show exploring the role of sport in the artists’ native Qatar. Qatar doesn’t have the same sporting traditions of some western countries, yet it hosts many major tournaments, a dichotomy that is at the heart of the exhibition.
Christto & Andrew, The Rumble in the Jungle (2016). Photo ©Christto & Andrew.
This year, some of the major art institutions in Amsterdam are also taking part in the festival. The Eye Film Museum is hosting “Celluloid,” a group show including works by Tacita Dean, João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva, Rosa Barba, and Luis Recoder & Sandra Gibson.
Meanwhile, the Stedelijk Museum is showing “Horseday” by Mohamed Bourouissa, and De Appel, World Press Photo Foundation, and Foam will all be hosting exhibitions to coincide with the festival.
jhvhgxfhm from the series History X, (2016).Photo © Paul Kooiker courtesy of tegenboschvanvreden
As one of the many happenings taking place in the area of Spaarndammerbuurt, Josildada Conceição Gallery will also be showing young, contemporary Japanese photography, including works by the artists Fumi Ishino and Harumi Shimizu.
The festival also coincides with the fifth edition of Unseen Photo Fair, which takes place between September 23 – 25 in the Westergas area in Amsterdam, and in which 53 international galleries will present works by more than 150 artists.
The Unseen Photo Festival takes place in Amsterdam from September 16-25, 2016. Unseen Photo Fair takes place in Amsterdam from September 23-25, 2016.