The Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography is dedicated to Swiss and international emerging photography and takes place every spring in Biel. The Photoforum Pasquart hosts one of its exhibition in its exhibition spaces, and proposes one project for each edition.

Theme 2020/2021: Cracks

Identity crises, political instabilities, ecological transitions, economic restructurings – the photographers and projects exhibited in the 24th edition of the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography create spaces to reflect about the implications of the ruptures that preoccupy our societies today. At a time when our political systems are in crisis, debates about coexistence are rising, protests are ringing out across the globe and when social networks provoke a sense of community as well as physical isolation, the festival offers a face-to-face encounter with contemporary images. This year’s edition aims to question our collective unconscious, and perhaps, in a climate of breakdown, find a collective awareness. Because at last, is it not from the cracks and gaps that the decisive moment emerges?

Our itinerary through the city of Biel/Bienne features more than 20 exhibitions at various venues. Building on new collaborations, the festival launches two special projects to be discovered as part of the exhibition program: the Enquête photographique Jura bernois and the Taurus Prize for Visual Arts. Moreover, the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography will be enlivened by meetings, performances, radio programmes and workshops.

Discover the full programme here: https://www.bielerfototage.ch

Project by the Photoforum: cry of an echo by Małgorzata Stankiewicz

For centuries and against all odds, Poland’s Białowieża Forest withstood destructive human behaviours within its grounds. Yet in 2016, under the pretence of its protection, the new Polish Environment Minister Jan Szyszko approved a large-scale logging in areas which up until then had been excluded from all human intervention.

The project cry of an echo was conceived during a month spent by the artist as a volunteer at the Białowieża National Park in Spring 2016. It comprises a total of 46 images that were intentionally mistreated by masking, chemical contamination, uneven development, bleaching and retouching.

Its presentation at Photoforum Pasquart includes enlargements of the original silver gelatin prints, alongside a sound piece created by the artist for the exhibition. It is accompanied by an excerpt of a text about the Białowieża Forest by Simona Kossak, a scientist, ecologist and activist who lived for 35 years in this primaeval forest and dedicated her life to its protection.

Image: Pierre-Kastriot Jashari, Mi-temps, 2019x

Image Cry of an echo ©Małgorzata Stankiewicz

Image Cry of an echo ©Małgorzata Stankiewicz

Image Cry of an echo ©Małgorzata Stankiewicz

Image Cry of an echo ©Małgorzata Stankiewicz