Greetings
Greetings:
Herzliche Einladung vom Kuratorenteam Thomas Brenner und Jörg Heieck !
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Readers,
I send you kind regards for the very first International Photo Festival in Kaiserslautern. Kaiserslautern will be seen under the concept of contemporary photographic art from 15 until 18 September. For the first time, this exceptional photo festival will present impressive indoor and outdoor exhibitions accompanied by a diverse program of musical performances, culinary experiences, and lectures. With great pleasure, I have taken on the patronage of this beautiful event.
We, the Rhineland-Palatinates are proud of our diversely colorful art and cultural landscape. I am delighted that the International Photo Festival will enrich our culture-filled summer with sophisticated contributions. At the Lauter River, the festival will bring together international artists from all over the world under the motto “Identity.” Rhineland-Palatinate is celebrating its 75th birthday; this jubilee offers an excellent opportunity to highlight the question of regional identity. Along with international photography positions, numerous works of local artists depict Rhineland-Palatinate perspectives of the world.
Another focus of the festival is on Eastern Europe. In the face of the war in the middle of Europe, it is vital to preserve and further establish the cultural exchange of civil society. Art and culture are means of peaceful dialogue by building bridges between people across territorial and linguistic barriers.
My heartfelt thanks go to the lead organizers, Thomas Brenner and Jörg Heieck, who, in close cooperation with the Kulturzentrum Kammgarn and the city of Kaiserslautern, have put together a magnificent festival of artistic and cultural exchange.
I wish all visitors much fun at the International Photo Festival and exciting insight into the world of artistic photography in Kaiserslautern.
Malu Dreyer
Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany)
Dear Friends of photography,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
I look forward to a new festival in Kaiserslautern as part of the “Kultursommer Rheinland-Pfalz,” with the motto “Compass Europe: East wind” this year. At the time of selection, this motto’s oppressive topicality due to the Russian attack on Ukraine was not predicted. However, it seems that the desired appreciation of art and culture of middle and eastern European countries has gained significance.
I am delighted by the ambitious idea of an international photo festival here in Rhineland-Palatinate. One of the most influential artists of portrait photography and documentary-conceptual photography is August Sander (1876-1964), who stems from our Federal State. His renowned works are comparable with those of the Czech photographer Jindřich Štreit (b. 1946), which you can admire in Kaiserslautern along with photos of other influential Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, and Russian photographers. Alongside this central focus on Eastern Europe, many local artists, plus photographers from Germany and the entire world, will display their pictures. The question of “Identities” will offer exciting impulses for conversations and might initiate new thoughts.
Thanks to the curators and promoters of the festival, Thomas Brenner and Jörg Heieck. Thanks to the city of Kaiserslautern, Richard Müller, and the team of Kammgarn. And thanks to all cooperation partners and supporters of the festival, which is taking place in different locations of Kaiserslautern, but with its center at Kammgarn, where you can participate in the accompanying musical program.
I recommend the visit to the International Fotofest Kaiserslautern and its accompanying program and wish that you may make many exciting discoveries – and last but not least: have much fun!
Katharina Binz
Minister for Family, Women, Culture, and Integration, Rhineland-Palatinate
Dear Friends of Photography,
Dear Artists,
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
The first international Foto-Fest Kaiserslautern is impressive proof of how the exchange of ideas and networking can lead to something extraordinary. The idea for the festival was developed thanks to professional competence at the first meeting of “Laut(r)er Szenen”.
Therefore, it is both a pleasure and an honor for me, to welcome you to the biggest photo exhibition, Kaiserslautern has ever seen. At more than 20 locations and on more than 70 public display areas across the city you can experience the exciting and enriching impressions photographic art has to offer.
The French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson mostly known for his black-and-white-photography once said: “A good photo is one that you look at for more than a second”. In the coming days you will see countless examples of such good photos taken by over 30 renowned national and international artists.
Take you time to enjoy, what the two curators Jörg Heieck and Thomas Brenner, themselves masters of their trade, have put together for you. My heartfelt thanks go to them and to Kammgarn manager Richard Müller, who as Head of project is responsible for the festival management. In addition, I would like to thank everybody who contributed to the success of this great Foto-Fest, first and foremost patron Minister-President Malu Dreyer and the Ministry for Family Affairs, Women, Culture and Integration for its financial support.
And take the opportunity to see for yourself what is possible when everyone pulls together to build another beacon, one that ought to be a permanent part of Kaiserslautern’s cultural scene in the future. See for yourself and be inspired by how many facets make up a good photo.
As the previously quoted Henri Cartier-Bresson once put it, “It is an illusion that photographs are made with the camera…they are made with the eye, the heart, and the head.”
In closing I would like to invite you to go off exploring across Kaiserslautern!
Yours,
Beate Kimmel
Mayor and Head of the Department of Culture of the City of Kaiserslautern
Caros Jörg, Thomas e Christoph,
Um novo festival internacional de fotografia em Kaiserslautern é uma boa notícia. Quando comecei, vivi a fotografia de uma forma muito intensa. Foi para mim uma paixão profunda. Adorava o cheiro das minhas máquinas, o ato de fotografar, de revelar os filmes, de copiar as imagens. Era quase sublime a minha relação com a fotografia. E isso continuou durante toda a minha vida. Tudo que construí foi no sentido de poder continuar fotografando. A minha linguagem fotográfica foi ligada à minha forma de vida.
Desejo sucesso ao novo Kaiserslautern International Photo Festival.
Lieber Jörg, Thomas und Christoph,
ein neues internationales Fotofestival in Kaiserslautern ist eine gute Nachricht. Bereits als ich anfing, habe ich die Fotografie sehr intensiv gelebt. Es war eine tiefe Leidenschaft für mich. Ich liebte den Geruch meiner Kameras, das Fotografieren, das Entwickeln der Filme, das Kopieren der Bilder. Meine Beziehung zur Fotografie war fast sublim. Und das blieb so mein ganzes Leben lang. Alles, was ich aufgebaut habe, zielte darauf ab, weiter fotografieren zu können. Meine fotografische Sprache war mit meiner Lebensweise verbunden.
Ich wünsche dem neuen Internationalen Fotofestival Kaiserslautern viel Erfolg.
Sebastião Salgado