Press release, 15. 6. 2015
Open Air Foto Festival offered photo stages,
workshops, and leaders of world photography
For the second time, Český Krumlov became a venue for the Open Air Foto Festival. From
5th to 7th June, visitors could see photogenic subjects wherever they went. Thanks to
participation of many guests from the Czech Republic and from abroad, amateur and
professional photographers could polish their skills straight in field.
The three-day photographic festival took place in selected interiors and in the streets of the
historic town centre. Thanks to various programme in respective locations, it was possible to create
beautiful nude, fashion, or glamour photographs. A couple of meters further the premises belonged to
completely different Japanese art of shibari; in the City park people learned how to take photo of
modern street sports such as skateboarding or slackline. In Museum Fotoateliér Seidel they could try
a time-honoured technique of cyanotype or create a period portrait. In the festival educational centre of
the St. Agnes of Bohemia Secondary School of Art and design the visitors has the opportunity to
capture artists when working or dancers performing pair acrobatics. Also taking photo under the
microscope and atelier of product photography were very interesting. “Everybody had a chance to
find their favourite genre and, at the same time, to discover a new one” says Martina Ptáčková, the
festival director. More than thirty educational and experience lectures were followed by ten practical
workshops, thirty five personalities from the world of photography gradually presented their work and
knowledge, and the festival environment attracted hundreds of visitors with camera.
Photography in the first place
For the whole day the visitors could learn new things, establish new friendships, and take
photo on more than forty photo stages, where, besides high-quality equipment, also professional male
and female models and experienced photo consultants were available. “I must say that I did not expect
that I could create a photo worthy of becoming a part of photographer’s portfolio in the photographic
festival ” says Michal Fanta, the blogger and photographer about the event. “I rather took it as a kind
of training. But OAFF tactfully showed me that I was wrong.” The course of the festival has been
positively assessed also by festival guests, who enthusiastically passed their experience on participants
of all age brackets. “I enjoy very much this kind of workshops” praised the event the world-famous
photographer Robert Vano. Also the workshop of Tereza z Davle, the expert on nude, was full;
moreover Tereza presented evening background of Český Krumlov for taking attractive glamour
photos. Among the participants were the renowned fashion and street London photographer Alex
Lambrechts or Lukáš Dvořák, master of luminography Jan Pohribný, world-famous ballet
photographer Tamara SofiG Černá, recognized portrait photographer Štěpánka Stein, or specialist
on air photography Libor Sváček. Even well-known Czech travellers Lenka Klicperová and Ondřej
Neff shared their experience and practical advices.
Starting line for young artists
The whole programme of this year’s Open Air Foto Festival was in the theme Man and
addiction. Students of secondary art schools and colleges from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,
who registered their works in the competition of photogenic ideas Art Room, showed festival visitors
how difficult and at the same totally different may perception of this theme be. The organizers
received 74 works and the jury (Ondřej Neff, Tereza z Davle, Milan Býček, Asen Šopov, Jaroslav
Svoboda, Vladimír Merta, Martin Busta) chose fourteen final works, which became a part of the
festival programme. The students were given a chance to present themselves and introduce their
production to the wider public. The visitors could take photo of clothes made of cigarette boxes,
costume of book pages, performance with ropes or tungsten fibre, photo stage of syringes, pallets, or
playful installations serving for deformation of photographed objects.
In the award ceremony, taking place on Saturday 6.6. in the City Theatre, Filipa Pavlík and
Ani Doseva from Secondary School Panská in Prague triumphed at ArtRoom with their work „Behind
the Wall“. In a short time, the final works appear in selected Czech and Slovak galleries within the
Confrontational exhibition. The Open Air Foto Festival can be even an important springboard for a
prospective career of professional photographer. Thirty-four years old photographer Martin Grobař
confirms this. He attended the first year as an amateur; this year he belonged among exhibitors: “For
a long time I’d been flirting with the idea to do photography, but the festival in 2013 was the
important impulse to start at full capacity” remembers talented photographer. “This year in May I had
my first exhibition in Ostrava, which I brought also to Český Krumlov. Many young photographers
were given their chance. The Festival Arts Council chose five Czech and Slovak talents, whose
production was introduced to the festival visitors.
Festival theme in all possible ways
In the premises of the St. Agnes of Bohemia Secondary School of Art and Design, namely
exhibitions, projections as well as workshops took place. The City Lounge club served for glamour
photography. During the long weekend, the Stollen Gallery belonged to Japanese art of shibari,
Industrials in Hradebni street hosted the ArtRoom works, and in the Prokyš Hall the visitors could
enjoy the popular genre – nude. The Museum Fotoateliér Seidl was focused, besides interactive
tours, on period portrait. The City Park livened up with popular activities of young generation –
skateboarding, tricks on a slackline, or break-dance. The Synagogue served to exhibiting as well as
relaxing. And the whole historic centre livened up with the photogenic programme thanks to acrobats
from The Different Kind of Circus, Hungarian puppeteers Ciróka Bábszínházban, or Cosplay masks.
The Mouse Hole became a venue of the wedding workshop; photo clubs met in the Luna Cinema.
Open Air Foto Festival 2015 in numbers
12 locations / 42 photo stages / 18 photo genres / 33 lectures / 35 personalities
16 exhibitions / 10 workshops / 78 partners / 18 schools of art from CR and SR
Contact for media:
Martina Ptáčková, press@foto-festival.cz, +420 777 931 506
Co-organizer of the festival is the city of Český Krumlov.
Festival and partial projects supported by:
International Visegrad Fund, South Bohemian Region, Czech Federation of Art Photography, Association of
Slovak Photographers , Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique, Photographic Society of America,
International Association of Art Photographers, ÚEB
Programme and product partners
Ośrodek Kultury i Sztuki we Wrocławiu (PL), Ciróka Bábszínház (HU), IRIS (SK), AKF (SK), Xtasy Foto
Studio, SUPŠ Sv. Anežky České, Museum Fotoateliér Seidel, Czech Press Photo, EIZO, Ades, Fotolab, 4studio,
DataLine, Zeiss, NONAC CV, APRO, Peak design, Sunny Flash, FUJIFILM, AFOP, Fotosféra, Cirkus trochu
jinak, Czech Beauty, Make-up Institut, AORT, Photon Europe, Hell, Pond5, FotoKrumlov, City Theatre Český
Krumlov, Písecká brána, Moravia Models, Regionální muzeum Č. K., Galerie Milana Zezuly, Atrakta, Zoner
Press, Infocentrum Český Krumlov.
Media partners
FotoVideo, DigiNeff, Lidé a Země, ePhoto.sk, magazín D., SAM, PhotoArt, FotoAparat.cz, CeWe, Digitální
FOTO magazín, Fotopátračka, VisitCeskyKrumlov.cz, odcloneno.com, Cool Light, Creative Life, Atlas Česka,
DigiFoto.cz, eHotel.cz, Festivalguide.cz, 4Foto.cz, Českokrumlovská televize, KUK, Moje Země, Resetmag.cz,
Učíme se fotit, Fripito, Photogenic.sk.
More information at www.foto-festival.cz