Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam, Home to Unseen’s Onsite Programme. Image from Westergasfabriek.nl
Unseen, Europe’s prime indie photo fair and festival is back for its fifth edition. And on top of the usual 10-day visual extravaganza with the best new photography there’s plenty more including new special focus on augmented reality in photography and African portraiture. Not to mention that this year’s campaign artists, Christto & Andrew also feature in SLEEK 51‘s cabinet section. Here’s everything you should not miss at Unseen this year.
We’re also offering SLEEK readers 3 double tickets to the event! For the chance to win please send us your name to gloria@sleekmag.com. Winners will be notified on 13 September 2016.
“Making Memeries”, installation view, 2016 © Harry Mitchell: Self Publish, Be Happy
Making Memeries
Immerse into Bruno Ceschel’s augmented reality project which incorporates Lucas Blalock’s eight movable panel structures to allow their audience to determine what they experience via a free mobile app which allows control over the installation’s sounds, movements and graphics. A perfect opportunity to challenge the boundaries that exist between people’s on and offline existence.
“Tiger 2”, 2015, by Yoshinori Masuda. Image from Unseenamsterdam
Unseen Living Room & Dummy Award
Every year, Unseen allows the public to explore and learn about the most recent developments and movements within contemporary photography and this year the leading speakers are truly exciting. Look out for Roger Ballen (US artist), David Campany (UK writer, artist and curator), Princess Alia Al-Senussi (Libya), Mark Coetzee (Executive Director, Zeitz MOCAA, ZA) and Koos Breaker (Dutch artist). Today, the short list for the coveted Unseen Dummy Award 2016 will be made public on Unseen’s website. Last year, Japanese photographer Yoshinori Masuda won the Award and managed to enter the international photography industry by publishing with Unseen and Lecturis his first book “Tiger 2”.
Left: “Big Couple Green & Blue”, 2015 © Pierre-Christophe Gam. Right: Ene1 © Delphine Diallo
Face to Face: African Portraiture
In Africa, studio portraiture has played a very important role in the history of photography, and for this year’s Unseen Photo Fair, there will be a pop up studio at the Westergasfabriek dedicated to it. In the studio, visitors will be able to become subjects for African emerging and established artists, as they document them in their own unique approaches to studio portraiture.
“Hoopla”, 2016 © Clare Strand: LhGWR
All That Hoopla
Do you remember the last time you went to a local fair and genuinely wanted to play a hoopla challenge just for the prize? No? Neither do we. For this year’s Unseen, however, you will want to queue for a chance at that hoopla because artist Clare Strand will have her own attraction which aims at reimagining the approach to photography acquisition. And as you might have guessed it, her work will be the prize. Good luck!
Entrance to participating gallery: Galerie Fons Welter, 2015
Gallery Night
After last year’s success, Unseen has organised another event with Amsterdam’s most stimulating galleries exhibiting photography. The public will again have the chance to visit the selected galleries — for free — during their exclusive late-night openings. For those of you who aren’t morning people, this is your chance to take over and make the typical gallery visit more like a night owl’s soirée.
Left: “Operator’s Hand”, 2016 © Christto & Andrew. Right: “Flex Offense”, 2016 ©, Christto & Andrew
Unseen Photo Festival
The second edition of the festival starts on 16 September and will continue to build upon what Unseen introduced last time — a new take on artists and their involvement with exhibitions. The festival will take place primarily in the hip Spaarndammer neighbourhood, where artists will be offering interactive programmes: workshops, neighbourhood competitions, and you will even find the artists themselves preparing meals for the fiesta. The activities will serve as the perfect breathers between the Unseen campaign artists’ Christto & Andrew (who also feature in our autumn issue), Anton Corbijn and a selection of Japanese photographers.
Unseen Photo Fair will take place on 23 September until 25 September
Unseen Photo Festival will take place on 16 September until 25 September
For more information on the programmes click here