Photothings Festival 2024 celebrates Diversity in Brazilian Photography

The Photothings 2024 Festival, which is in its 4th edition, returns with the proposal to stimulate national photographic production, providing an inclusive and diverse platform for visual artists from all over Brazil. With a date set for the final event and awards for the 14th and 15th of September at the Monte Azul Community Association, in São Paulo, Photothings opens registrations between the 10th and 23rd of June, with the aim of highlighting emerging talents and promoting photographic art as a means of cultural expression.

For this edition, there is a commitment that 60% of vacancies will be allocated to artists from the north, northeast, mid-west and south of the country, as well as women, black people, indigenous people, traditional communities, LGBTQIAPN+, people with disabilities and other groups in vulnerable situation.

Without a pre-established theme, the initiative seeks to outline a plural panorama of authorial photography, revealing a generation of artists who face difficulties in accessing the market – which is still concentrated in a few galleries and art fairs. In this way, the objective of Photothings is to “pierce the bubble” and show the richness of photographic production from different regions of Brazil.

This year’s curatorship is in charge of photographer Léu Britto and historian Marly Porto. The selection committee that will select the award winners includes both established artists and emerging talent, with a significant focus on diversity and inclusion. “Photothings has a well-defined position in the Brazilian photography market: valuing names that are not invited to major events. I myself am an example of this. I participated in the first collection in 2021, exhibited in 2022, was a judge in 2023 and now I am curator in 2024”, says Léu.

The awards will be made up of three distinct categories. The first prize consists of five bilingual photobooks, with 40 pages in 15x19cm format, which will be part of the Photothings Collection, currently with 20 titles. The selection committee for this award includes Angélica Dass, award-winning photographer; Ina Henrique Dias, pedagogue, teacher and photographer; Juh Almeida, filmmaker and photographer; Marcelo Reis, visual artist and curator; Rogério Reis, photographer; Léu Britto and Marly Porto.

The second prize is a handmade photobook, whose graphic design will be developed by designer Julio Matos in partnership with the selected author and executed by Yume Ateliê, by Eliana Yukawa. The selection committee for this award includes Eliana Yukawa, Julio Matos, Léu Britto and Marly Porto.

The third prize is an online course that will result in the production of a handmade photobook. This course is carried out by the MALA project (Morada Andarilha de Livros de Artista) and, at the end, the book produced will be exhibited in France, in 2025. The selection of the participant for this award will be defined by the team formed by Estela Vilela, member of the collective MALA, Léu Britto and Marly Porto.

“This represents an unimaginable escalation for us, black, impoverished and favela dwellers. Therefore, I support and invite all image professionals, from the margins, to occupy this space, destined for good photography and the arts of the outskirts of Brazil”, adds Britto. More information clicking here.

Photothings 2024