Exhibition at Højbro Plads // Hilla Kurki – Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden, 2022
Exhibition in public space // Højbro Plads // 1-11 June
In her exhibition Almost All the Flowers in My Mother’s Garden Hilla Kurki portrays her mother’s flowers. Flowers are her mother’s passion and she “grows” them as she “grew” her daughters. In Finnish the same verb can be used for implying “to grow” or “to raise”.
In a way, her mother's flowers symbolise the daughters, each a beautiful, individual creature. All of them convey their stories and the care and attention all daughters deserve to grow. Her series is accompanied by texts of various intimate memories collected from anonymous daughters.
The exhibition at Højbro Plads is part of Copenhagen Photo Festival taking place 1 to 11 June in both public space in the city and at the festival center on Refshaleøen, where you can see another part of Hilla Kurki’s project exhibited.
Hilla Kurki (1985, Finland) lives and works in Helsinki. Kurki's work is linked to her personal life, which she presents as a universal experience that everyone faces at some point in their lives. Since 2016 she has exhibited in various international venues and art fairs and her work was selected for Elles X Paris Photo in 2018.
The project presented by Copenhagen Photo Festival was published as a book by Khaos Publishing in 2022 and selected among the Most Beautiful Books of 2022 by the Finnish Book Art Committee.
Hilla Kurki has been selected among 250 participants from all over the world, through an open call on this year’s overarching theme ‘Rewilding’ which contributes to the conversation about sustainable urban development and sustainable art in public space as part of Copenhagen being UNESCO World Capital of Architecture in 2023.
Exhibition at Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads // Craig Ames – Photographs of British Algae – AI Impressions, 2022
Exhibition in public space // Bertel Thorvaldsens Plads // 1-30 June
Craig Ames created Photographs of British Algae – AI Impressions using cutting-edge imaging technologies. He was inspired by the English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins and her photographic record of botanical specimens Photographs of British Algae – Cyanotype Impressions (1843-1853).
As a photography pioneer, Atkins created the world’s first photobook and photographic-based record of botanical specimens that inspired generations of artists and image-makers. Today, Craig Ames uses generative AI to create specimen exemplars of AI impressions.
Ames used the Latin names of the specimens that Atkins photographed and processed them 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, reflecting some of the many implications that this developing technology also manifests.
The exhibition at Thorvaldsens Plads is part of Copenhagen Photo Festival taking place 1 to 11 June in both public space in the city and at the Festival Center on Refshaleøen. The exhibition at Thorvaldsens Plads will however outlast the festival and ends 30 June. Craig Ames’ also exhibits other parts of his project at the festival center and at Landskrona Foto.
Craig Ames (1971, Great Britain) lives and works in Great Britain. His work concentrates on contested spaces, expanded forms of evidence, simulation and artificial intelligence imaging. He translates his ideas and projects with the help of different mediums, such as photography, AI imaging, text, online material, etc. His work is part of various prestigious collections such as Victoria and Albert Museum (The V&A) in London.
Craig Ames has been selected among 250 participants from all over the world, through an open call on this year’s overarching theme ‘Rewilding’ which contributes to the conversation about sustainable urban development and sustainable art in public space as part of Copenhagen being UNESCO World Capital of Architecture in 2023.
The public space exhibition at Thorvaldsens Plads is supported by Imagine5.
Phie Ambo’s ‘Organiseret Vildskab’ at the festival center
Image credit: Still from Phie Ambo's film 'Organiseret Vildskab' 2022. Drone photo by Anders Morgenthaler.
How do you make something wild that has been tamed for centuries? On 8 June we invite you to join us at the festival center for a screening and panel discussion of Phie Ambo’s latest film ‘Organiseret Vildskab’ about the rewilding of Hammer Bakke. The event is made possible by Imagine5 and Bio Bio.
Did you know that in Denmark we have less than two percent of wild nature left in Denmark? This makes us the second most cultivated country in the world. Rewilding nature is becoming increasingly important in the face of biodiversity loss and climate change
Denmark is, after Bangladesh, the most cultivated country in the world. This can be seen in our biodiversity, which has plummeted since the 1980s. We actually have less than two percent of wild nature left in Denmark, and something must now be done about that.
The dilemmas of ‘rewilding’
The Danish Nature Foundation has acquired a large area in Hammer Bakker with production forest, which is to be converted into wild nature with large grasses, butterflies and, with a little luck; a golden eagle or two. It is Denmark's largest forest project and the rewilding of Hammer Bakker in a way forms a kind of vanguard for the 15 nature national parks that the government has decided must be created in the future.
How can we go back?
Phie Ambo’s Organiseret Vildskab is about the process in which we all – both humans and animals – must participate in order to save the pieces of Danish nature. Because how do you make something wild that has been tamed for so long?
Organiseret Vildskab is about how we humans can be included in the great narrative that is of nature.
Film screening and panel discussion 8 june
Join us for the screening of Organiseret Vildskab followed by a panel discussion and conversation with the director, Phie Ambo around how we can rewild Denmark, what will the transformation realistically look like and how can individual citizens do their part to ensure we get there. The panel will be led by Alexander Holm (podcast host and Den dyriske Time) and include the perspectives Phie Ambo (director), Rasmus Willig (Andelsgaarde) and a student film maker.
- 16:30 - Welcome & Screening of "Organiseret Vildskab"
- 17:30 - Panel + Q&A
- 18:30 - Delve into guided reflection & get to know the panelists and one another
- 19:00 Closing of Event
This event is created as a collaboration between CPF, Imagine5 who is an impact media foundation co-creating for a sustainable future and Bio-Bio who disseminates the green transition through documentaries, talks and theater.
Limited seating – book your seat here!
NB! Please note that the event is free if you have a festival ticket, but you need to reserve your seat via Imagine5's Billetto-link – if you have already bought a festival ticket, you will get it refunded via Imagine5 when showing your ticket at the screening.
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
Women of the sea
Image credit: Ida Johansen
They portray the Haenyeo women coming out of the sea after a hard and dangerous workday. They are tired and worn out, but still strong and powerful. Many of these women are 60-80 years old. Through generations they have gathered knowledge of the ocean and marine life. Right now you can experience 26 large format portraits by photographer Hyung S. Kim of the women of the sea is exhibited at M/S Maritime Museum in Helsinore.
Haenyeo are women of the sea. Female free divers that dive both for animals and plants. They live in close union with the sea, the waves and the storms.
Connection with the sea
The more than thousand year old haenyeo tradition is built upon togetherness, discipline, sustainable fishing and a spiritual connection to the goddess of the sea. The profession is inherited through generations and the girls learn the Haenyeo skills from a very early age.
A unique culture
In this special exhibition ‘Haenyeo – Women of the Sea’ M/S Maritime Museum of Denmark dives right into the story of these female free divers on the Island of Jeju in the South of Korea. A Culture so unusual that it is on the Unesco World Heritage list.
The outstanding photographic portraits of female free divers are shot by photographer Hyung S. Kim.
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 Shortlist 2023
THE FIRST FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE SPRING
This year's open call shortlist is now official, and like a true harbinger of spring, it signals that this year's festival preparations are now really picking up speed. A total of nine artists have been selected from a strong field of several hundred photographers and artists from more than 40 countries, all of whom have engaged in the theme of 'rewilding'.
The shortlist reveals a widely branched field, where classic photo techniques, AI technology, 'rewilded' street photography and classic portrait photography with a green twist mix with critical climate narratives and images where stories about identity and belonging sprout in new ways.
We, Copenhagen Photo Festival, and the programme committee would like to thank all of this year's open call applicants. It has been a pleasure to experience the inspiring approaches to the theme and not least the diverse and innovative palette of photographic tools that the artists have used.
We look forward to unveiling the selected solo artists exhibiting at the festival this summer on March 1st.
See the all the shortlisted artists
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FORÅRETS FØRSTE FESTIVALSBEBUDER
Årets open call shortlist blev i denne uge offentliggjort på vores hjemmeside, og som en ægte forårsbebuder signalerer den, at årets festivalforberedelser nu for alvor tager fart. I alt ni kunstnere er blevet udvalgt blandt et stærkt felt på flere hundrede fotografer og kunstnere fra mere end 40 lande, der alle har engageret sig i temaet 'rewilding'.
Shortlisten afslører et vidt forgrenet felt, hvor klassiske fototeknikker, AI-teknologi, 'rewildet' street fotografi og klassisk portrætfotografi med et grønt tvist blander sig med kritiske klimafortællinger og billeder, hvor fortællinger om identitet og tilhørsforhold spirer på nye måder.
Vi, Copenhagen Photo Festival, og programudvalget ønsker at takke alle årets open call ansøgere. Det har været en fornøjelse at opleve de inspirerende tilgange til temaet samt ikke mindst den mangfoldige og nyskabende palette af fotografiske værktøjer, som kunstnerne har benyttet.
Vi ser frem til at løfte sløret for de udvalgte solokunstnere, der udstiller på festivalen til sommer, den 1. marts.
Se alle de shortlistede kunstnere her