Photography Sector Day

Photography platform

With this first Photography Sector Day, we would like to launch a new platform, an open community for all those who are professionally involved with photography in our country. Via this platform we wish to bring people together and to share knowledge about development, production, distribution, presentation and reflection. In addition, the platform also aims to play a role in the image making and the international visibility of photography.

Sector Day Programme

09:30 – 10:00 Registrations
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome by Maartje Stubbe and introduction by Lissa Kinnaer
10:30 – 11:15 Keynote conversation with Mashid Mohadjerin and Inge Henneman 
11:30 – 13:00 First round thematic discussion groups: 
*fair practices and subsidies
*support and development
*internationalisation and visibility
*inclusivity and plurality of voices
*commissioning policy
13:00 – 14:00 Networking lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Second round thematic discussion groups:
*fair practices and subsidies
*support and development
*internationalisation and visibility
*archival care and legacies
15:30 – 16:00 Break
16:00 – 16:30 Summary of the discussion groups
16:30 – 17:00 Discussion about starting a platform for the photography sector
17:00 – 18:00 Networking drink

Discussion group themes

1. Fair practices and subsidies

What about fair practice in the photography sector? What sources of income are available to photographers? What are the current challenges and which aspects require specific attention? Where are the opportunities? At the Fair practices and subsidies table, we will take a closer look at issues related to funding and remuneration in the photography sector.

Moderator: Anna Ruygt (curator FOMU) (tbc)
Speakers: Dirk de Wit (Kunstenpunt), Maria Baoli (photographer), Arian Christiaens (photographer, lecturer), Katrin Kamrau (malenki.net), Maartje Stubbe (director FOMU)

2. Support and development

There are many existing initiatives that support starting and active photographers in their development. In education too, there is a big task to give lifelong learning a place. Is it useful to build bridges between initiatives or to look for certain collaborations in order to strengthen existing initiatives? At the Support and development table, we will map out which initiatives already exist, how they are being promoted and where there are specific needs or blind spots.

Moderator: Maarten Vanvolsem (LUCA School of Arts)
Speakers: Hanne Lamon (photographer), Johannes Elebaut (artist, lecturer), Anja Hellebaut (mentormentor), Mieke Coppieters (Beroepsfotografen.be)

3. Internationalisation and visibility

The table Internationalisation and visibility aims to determine the opportunities available to photographers to make international contacts, to produce and/or to present work abroad. For example through residencies, assignments, publications, and exhibitions. How do you develop your practice internationally? How do you build up a network? Where and how are such contacts made? How sustainable are they?

Moderator: Lissa Kinnaer (Kunstenpunt)
Speakers: Bruno V. Roels (photographer), Rein Deslé (curator FOMU), Sébastien Van Malleghem (photographer), Stefan Vanthuyne (writer, lecturer and founder of the Belgian Platform for Photobooks)

4. Inclusivity and plurality of voices

In an intercultural society, the impact of image creation cannot be underestimated. Photography bears a great responsibility to embrace that diversity and is expected to look around with as much inclusion and openness as possible. But are we applying this in practice? Are we already sufficiently alert and what can we do concretely? Are there barriers of which we are not aware of and how can we remove them? At the Inclusivity and plurality of voices table, we want to look as broadly as possible.

Moderator: Ruth Loos (research-arts-society Sint Lucas Antwerp)
Speakers: Taha Riani (Allyens), Danial Shah (photographer), Guinevere Ras (Nederlands Fotomuseum), Ans Brys (photographer)

5. Commissioning policy

Commissions are an important source of financing for the independent photographer. A few decades ago there was also a strong focus in our country on involving photographers in documentary photography assignments. This is still taking place today, but in a very fragmented way. How can the autonomy of the photographer be guaranteed within such a collaboration and to what extent can institutions finance such photography assignments via the arts and/or heritage decree?

Moderator: Steven Humblet (writer, lecturer and curator)
Speakers: Antje Van Wichelen (artist), Nick Hannes (photographer), Jan Kempenaers (photographer), Cateau Robberechts (Vlaamse Bouwmeester), Egon Verleye and Petrus Kemme (VAI – Vlaams Architectuurinstituut)

6. Archival care and legacies

What should I do with all my images? (Re)organise, save and forget: care for your archives and for photographic legacies. What does care for photo archives in all its material manifestations consist of? How to organise analogue and digital visual material and make it available? Should we keep everything? Questions about the preservation and management of the photographic legacy can be important for the living photographer, but also for the heirs.

Moderator: Laura Herman (Curatorial Studies KASK Gent)
Speakers: Inge Henneman (lecturer, writer, administrator of the artistic estate of Joris Ghekiere), Rebecca Wilton (Lighting The Archive), Sylvia van Peteghem (currently researcher at the archives of photographer Michiel Hendryckx), Leonard Pongo (artist), Aglaia Konrad (artist), Stella Lohaus (curator and founder of “SOS Nalatenschappen”), Ann Deckers (head collection FOMU), Rony Vissers & Bart Magnus (Meemoo – Vlaams Instituut voor het Archief), Jan Stuyck (Flanders Art Archives Centre – M HKA)

Reports

Read the reports of the discussion groups here or read the general report of the day here.

Language

The discussion groups, the introduction and the keynote were in English.

More information?

Send your questions to our colleague Lissa Kinnaer