Berglin’s bird homage to Audubon
Image credit: Erik Berglin from The Bird Project
The Swedish photographer artist Erik Berglin, who is one of the headliners at the festival center, is giving a very special birdwatching tour in collaboration with Dansk Ornitologisk Forening (Danish Ornithology Association) on Vesterbro 2 June. The artist will take us scouting for exotic birds on the urban walls of Vesterbro. The tour and urban bird exhibition is part of the artist's 12 year long The Bird Project that has rewilded cities across the globe with life size exotic birds.
Join us for a unique and exotic birdwatching tour of Vesterbro Friday 2 June when one of the festival headliners is taking us for a rewilding tour of Vesterbro spotting exotic birds on the city walls.
Over a period of twelve years the Swedish photographer artist Erik Berglin wheat-pasted hand cut photographs of birds in cities all around the world and now in connection with his exhibition at Copenhagen Photo Festival he has done the same thing in Vesterbro.
Rewilding cities across the globe with life size birds
For The Bird Project each bird is made in natural size and placed in a carefully selected location and then documented by the artist. In total Berglin placed no less than 4982 photographs of birds that were wheat-pasted in twelve cities all around the world.
“I sourced ornithology books in antiquarian bookshops and libraries. Suitable images were scanned, edited and reprinted. A few years into the project I learned about the American ornithologist John James Audubon’s monumental book Birds of America, from 1838,” Erik Berglin explains.
Inspired by Audubon’s Birds of America
“I was fascinated to learn that Audubon had also worked with bird illustrations in scale 1:1 (just like I had been doing on facades). It had taken Audubon 12 years to complete his book, so I decided to turn my project into an homage to Audubon and keep it going for 12 years and then I made a book with the same dimensions as Birds of America (100x 70 cm).”
“Remember to bring binoculars”
For the 2 June tour Eric Berglin will take us through the streets of Vesterbro to spot out the more than 20 exotic birds in life size around Vesterbro. During the tour he will talk about the species we find, about their natural habitat and his project rewilding the cities around the world. The project combines ornithology, storytelling and street art/street photography the photographer explains and for the tour he reminds participants: “Remember to bring binoculars”.
The Bird Project is supported by Vesterbro Lokaludvalg and Dansk Ornitologisk Forening.
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What: Art tour in Vesterbro with photographer Erik Berglin
Where: The tour takes off from Naturbutikken, Vesterbrogade 138, 1620 København V (home of Dansk Ornitologisk Forening)
When: 2 June 4.30-5.15
Go to event
Rewilding: Panel debates at festival center
Rewilding, sustainability and artificial intelligence
In collaboration with FUTURES Photography Platform we invite you to participate in a series of panel debates about art in relation to rewilding, sustainability and artificial intelligence on 1 and 2 June. The participating panelists are a mix of the exhibiting artists and invited speakers from the Danish and international art scene including Carina Hammer, head of sustainability at Louisiana, Majken Overgaard from Korridor, Raphaël Biollay, curator at Images Vevey and others.
CPF always put great focus on the architectural and spatial aspects when selecting artists and when designing specific exhibitions. Our considerations are led by a principle of sustainability, finding creative ways to blur the border between our exhibitions and the nature and atmosphere of our exhibition park at Refshaleøen in Central Copenhagen. Focusing on photography, architecture and sustainability is therefore at the core of our DNA as a photo festival.
Inspirational panels about the future of art and photography
The panels are thus sprung out of our overarching theme of 2023 and is a nod homage to Copenhagen’s celebration as World Capital of Architecture in 2023 which focuses on sustainability. The panels take place in a double tipi in the center of our rewilded exhibition park and seek to inspire, explore the theme, and not least give space to networking across national and cultural borders and across professional circles and industries within culture.
Programme
Rewilding art and photography – a sustainable arts practice
Public panel discussions 1 and 2 June
1 June - 1 pm-4 pm: A sustainable art’s practice – moderated by Imagine5
Artists and experts in the panel: Carina Hammer, head of sustainability at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, artist Alice Pallot (FR), photographer Daniel Hinks (CH/UK) and Krzysztof Candrowicz, curator, founder of Fotofestiwal Lodz and Jacob Theilgaard, director of Bæredygtigt Kulturliv.nu
2 June - 10 am-1 pm: Art in Public Space
Is the future of art to be more public – is it more sustainable, more democratic? Possibilities and challenges.
Artists and experts in the panel: CPF solo artists Erik Berglin (SE), Hilla Kurki (FI) and Kristina Knipe (US), Raphaël Biollay, curator at Images Vevey and Louise Fiil Hansen, partner and design director at SLA Architects.
2 June - 2-3:30 pm: Panel discussion about future aspects
Artificial intelligence, utopias and science.
Artists and experts in the panel: CPF solo artist Craig Ames (UK), Futures 2023 talent Susanne Fagerlund (SE) and Futures artist Daniel Szalai (HU) and Majken Overgaard (DK) from Korridor and Lisa Giomar Hydén from Fotografiska in Stockholm..
NB! Limited seats – book in Billetto in the event links above
Join us for the Grand Opening 1 June!
Image credit: Kristina Knipe, solo artist 2023
We have been looking so much forward to this! Finally we can invite you to the Grand Opening of Copenhagen Photo Festival 2023 and unveil an amazing programme for a lovely afternoon in great company on 1 June – we look forward to celebrating contemporary photography in the Danish capital for the 13th time with you!
The Grand Opening 2023 of Copenhagen Photo Festival is celebrated with happy hour, DJ, a ‘rewilded’ photo performance and guided tours by the exhibiting artists and curators in our venue FRAME and the surrounding exhibition park.
A rewildet festival experience
The 2023 edition has a particular focus on the overarching theme, ‘rewilding’, and Copenhagen as UNESCO’s World Capital of Architecture in 2023. From 1 to 11 June the festival center and the surrounding wilderness will host no less than 13 exhibitions with around 60 artists and numerous performances, talks, workshops and family activities full of creativity and experimentation.
Exhibitions opening at the festival center
Hiding from Baba Yaga // Nanna Heitmann · Photographs of British Algae - AI Impressions // Craig Ames · Talisman // Kristina Knipe · Almost all the flowers in my mothers garden // Hilla Kurki · The Sunshiners; Code Red in Green China // Daniel Hinks · The bird project // Erik Berglin · On the Verge // FUTURES group exhibition · 2022 Paris Photo – Aperture Photo Book Awards · IMPACT // Atla · DMJX · KBH Film&Fotoskole · Oslo Met · VERA skole for kunst og design
The opening event is free and open for all from 4 to 7 pm
We look forward to seeing you!
Best wishes
Copenhagen Photo Festival
Check out all exhibitions and activities at the festival center
Spring is here – and so is this year’s poster
This year’s amazing festival poster and our new springlike logo colour are here to mark the beginning of the festival season and a truly rewilded festival experience at this year’s festival! And we have been looking so much forward to sharing it with you.
The poster image is created by one of this year’s headliners in the festival center, Craig Ames, whose photographs are inspired by the English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins and her photographic record of botanical specimens ‘Photographs of British Algae – Cyanotype Impressions’ (1843-1853).
Like Atkins’ work once did, Ames’ is created using one of the cutting-edge imaging technologies we have at our disposal today, AI, for his series ‘Photographs of British Algae – AI Impressions’ (2022).
The AI rewilded image
Through processes of text-to-image AI the name of the real algae, in this case the one known by its Latin name Lichina confinis, has evolved into this almost creature-like flower that makes you wonder about nature, technology and the rewilding and diversity of art in itself.
In his project Ames uses a broad sample of the Latin names of the specimens that Atkins photographed and processed through a text-to-image AI generator, producing a body of work which was labelled and catalogued to create a new visual taxonomy of simulated algae. In this way, the simulacra intentionally distorts the boundaries between the real and the artificial, highlighting the growing disconnect between the natural world and the simulated hyperreality.
A rewilded festival season has begun
The launch of the festival poster marks the beginning of the festival season for us and you can count on a lot more content on our platforms in the next two months about all the artists, exhibitions, talks and workshops that will sprout from this year's rewilded festival edition!
Get your tickets for the festival here.
The festival headliners 2023
Image credit: Nanna Heitmann
Copenhagen Photo Festival is happy to announce the six solo artists who have been selected as this year's headliners at Copenhagen Photo Festival 2023. This summer, photographs will literally be sprouting all over Copenhagen, when the selected six photographers engage with the theme rewilding and present us with new perspectives on an important, current topic.
The six solo artists exhibiting at Copenhagen Photo Festival 2023 explore this year’s theme rewilding in the widest sense of the concept and the complexities it entails. From the rewilding of nature to climate issues and diversity to the rewilding of other spheres e.g. bodies, society, social structures or art in itself.
From Magnum and AI photography to rewilding street photos and flower portraits
Each artist present their own perspective on rewilding and engages with it in an intriguing way – from classic photography techniques , AI technology, 'rewilded' street photography to portrait photography with a green twist, critical climate narratives and documentary photos, where stories about identity, healing and belonging sprout in new ways.
The six announced solo artist for the 2023 festival are:
Rewilding dilemmas
The concept rewilding refers to a process of letting nature regulate itself without human interference. Instead of ‘caring’ for nature in a way that serves human purposes or profits, rewilding seeks to restore, repair, cure or even heal nature in a sustainable way that serves nature in itself and aids our gasping climate and biodiversity. The concept has flourished in recent years and proposes solutions but also contests existing (man-made) structures and power relations.
We look forward to presenting the works of each artist with a solo exhibition at our festival centre on Refshaleøen or in the public space of Copenhagen.
OPEN CALL 2023 – Last Call for Entries
The deadline for submissions for our OPEN CALL 2023 is rapidly approaching and we are looking so much forward to exploring your take on this year's theme: 'Rewilding'. You can of course read much more about the call via the link below, but most importantly please note that:
The deadline for submission is 1 November!
In the video below Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen, our very own festival director and member of the jury selecting the winners of the OPEN CALL 2023, takes us on a tour of the festival exhibition park on Refshaleøen and introduces the open call, the overarching theme of ‘rewilding’ and some of the many possible ways to approach the theme.
“What happens if we want to ‘rewild’ photography? Rewild photo journalism? The story? The snapshot?” - Festival Director Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen
Go to the open call submission page here
Learn more about the open call 2023 here
Open Call – Frequently Asked Questions
Photo credit: Christine Almlund
What are you looking for? What can be submitted? What’s the theme? What does it require? What can I win? Who can apply? When is the deadline? The deadline for the OPEN CALL 2023 is rapidly approaching, so to help you getting an overview of the process we have listed the answers to the most frequently asked questions below!
Who can apply?
The open call for CPF 2023 is for all photographers and artists who want to break new ground and challenge the idea of what photography is and can be, now and in the future. You can apply on your own or as a group – we are very open for fruitful and creative collaborations that make sense within this year’s overarching theme. So go ahead and grab your next door land artist or team up with an inspiring (landscape) architect, light designer or someone else who can challenge the medium of photography!
What’s the theme?
Copenhagen Photo Festival's theme for the open call in 2023 is 'Rewilding' – understood in its widest sense. We have chosen the theme to connect with the celebration of Copenhagen as UNESCO’s World Capital of Architecture, the sustainability theme and to build bridges to our own exhibition park situated in the urban wilderness of Beddingen on Refshaleøen, which used to be an industrial shipyard building site. We look forward to being rewilded!
What can I submit?
Photographic works or lens based projects in any form. We are looking for works within both the documentary tradition as well as within the field of art, so the span of genres is very wide. We are looking for lens based works that engage with the theme in an interesting way. We very much enjoy projects that dare to challenge the viewer, the medium, the genres or the exhibition format itself.
What does it require?
You have to submit a project description and at least 10 images of your project. You can only submit one project and it must not have been exhibited in Denmark before. To participate in the call you have to pay a fee of €47.
What can I win?
The winners will get the opportunity to have their own solo exhibition in the heart of the festival's exhibition park, a fee, financial support to travel and accommodation, targeted PR via our platforms, networking opportunities and much more.
What are you looking for?
We are looking for lens based works that engage with the theme in an interesting way – within both the documentary tradition as well as within the field of art. We very much enjoy projects that dare to challenge the viewer, the medium, the genres or the exhibition format itself.
What are you looking for?
We are looking for lens based works that engage with the theme in an interesting way – within both the documentary tradition as well as within the field of art. We very much enjoy projects that dare to challenge the viewer, the medium, the genres or the exhibition format itself.
Read more about the OPEN CALL 2023
A Big Heartfelt Thank You
Video: Sonia Tomegros Regalado / @noia_de_mon
We want to thank everyone who made Copenhagen Photo Festival 2022 so very special. We are so happy for every single visit to the festival venue and at all the festival partner venues across Copenhagen and Scania – we are grateful you were part of this year's festival!
And of course we also want to thank everyone who made this year’s Festival Center so very special and worth the visit: Our three international solo artists, Hien Hoang, Alexandra Rose Howland and Krista Svalbonas, Tofu Collective’s exhibition at the Space Frame with Chinese artists Luo Yang and Lin Zhipeng, DMJX’s presentation of three photo journalistic talents Jesper Houborg, Louise Herrche and Mads Frost, Odesa Photo Days’ two exhibitions Granny by Olena Morozova, the group exhibition The Thin Line and the Norwegian curator Charlotte Wiig’s group exhibition of a host of female photographers called A Female Gaze and not least the five selected FUTURES Nordic Talents, Iben Gad, Tine Bek, Oscar Scott Carl, Inuuteq Storch and Luna Scales.
Thank you to our generous supporters and helping hands
We are also grateful for all the generous supporters financing the exhibitions: Københavns Kommune, Det Obelske Familie Fond, Creative Europe Programme, Nordic Counsel of Ministers and Værksted for fotografi as well as all the helpful and supportive volunteers and staff that make this festival physically appear at all.
Last but not least we want to thank everyone arranging events and exhibitions around Copenhagen and Scania from the many festival partner venues, the gallery walks and artist talks to DJ sets, sound and image equipment people and all the people engaging with the amazing world of contemporary photography – we genuinely appreciate your flexibility, engagement, good work and happy spirits – we love to make this festival with you!
Thank You! Click here to see all partners and supporters!
Festival Programme for the Weekend
Still not quite sure what to do this weekend? Don't know what to see? We've got the perfect remedy. The last weekend of the festival is going to be buzzling with activities and events at our Festival Center, so do not hesitate to stop by!
To help you navigate here's the programme for this weekend at the Festival Center – to learn more click on the event!
Friday 10 June
11-20 pm Enjoy the 9 exhibitions at the Festival Center and exhibition park
4-6 pm NFT-Friday with eyeeye.me
Saturday 11 June
11-20 pm Enjoy the 9 exhibitions at the Festival Center and exhibition park:
11 am-4 pm Photo Book Market with more than 15 publishers
Sunday 12 June
11-20 pm Enjoy the 9 exhibitions at the Festival Center and exhibition park.
11.30 am - 2.30 pm Cyanotype Workshop by Fotografi på Godsbanen.
1- 4 pm Polaroid Transfer Workshop by Sille Juline Høgly Petersen
4 pm: Apéro light – enjoy the exhibitions, music and a drink at the ROOF TOP BAR
AND as a special closing event:
We hope to see you this last festival weekend!
Meet Krista Svalbonas – solo artist 2022 under the Framing Vision category
"I think there's an importance to this work right now, especially since history is repeating. We are seeing the war in Ukraine, which kinds of mirrors this story as well."
The Baltic-American artist Krista Svalbonas is the woman behind the exhibition "Displacement" which won this year's open-call in the category Framing Vision and which is the amazing, thought provoking and scarily relevant result of an intensive research process into the history of her family's Baltic roots. Her parents fled the Russian regime after World War II and Svalbonas project excavates this history.
We were happy to have the chance to meet and interview Krista when she was visiting the festival for the install and opening last weekend.
Svalbonas' laser-cut photographs can be experienced at the festival until this Sunday, so don't hesitate to stop by!
Video credit: Sonia Tomegros Regalado