Press Release, 4.5.2015
The second year of the Open Air PHOTO Festival
introduces non-traditional approach to addiction
Český Krumlov is becoming Mekka for photographic art again. The second year of the unique Open
Air PHOTO Festival is taking place on 5. – 7. June, this time in the theme Man and Addiction. The
programme full of photo stages, genres, workshops, and meetings with both Czech and
International top experts will delight not only beginners and hobby photographers, but also
professionals and artists.
The original concept of the festival, where expositions are placed straight into a scenery of the historic
centre of the UNESCO town, mingling professionals with amateur photographers, makes the fantastical a real
phenomenon. „I dare say that the festival like this does not take place anywhere in the Europe. The programme
has been designed so that visitors are not only passive viewers, but they are involved in the action. They can take
photo of many attractive photo scenes until their battery is flat or a memory card is full“ says Martina Ptáčková,
Director of the Open Air PHOTO Festival.
The first day of the festival will be dedicated mainly to education. The St. Agnes Secondary School
will turn into the centre of the events. A part of the programme will be many meetings, lectures, or workshops,
lead by the top experts in their fields from our country and from abroad. The festival will be opened by a worldfamous photographer Robert Vano with his premiere workshop Two (genres) in one (days). Tereza z Davle
will introduce taking photo of nude and glamour. She made an exception for the festival and will run the only
public workshop this year in Český Krumlov. Fashion genre will be under the baton of Lukáš Dvořák,
glamour will be lead by Filip Matušínký. You can shoot the human body in motion with renowned Tamara
SofiG Černá. Magic of cyanotype will be revealed by Gabriela Kolčavová, period portrait will be presented by
Štěpánka Stein. Jan Pohribný will show you how to work with light; air photography with Libor Sváček,
meeting with a traveller Lenka Klicperová, or school of styling with Stan Steiner will not be missing.
The festival can boast the star-studded foreign attendance. Visitors can see a world-famous British street
photographer Alex Lambrechts, Daria Ilow from Poland, or Nadia Norskott from Norway. To mention
projections, worth seeing will be X-photographers, Czech Press Photo, introduction of young Czech-Slovak
talents or projections of Czech and Slovak universities with photography as a branch do study.
The historic centre turns into photogenic background .
The programme will move from lecture halls to the streets of Český Krumlov, mainly on Saturday and
Sunday. A very important part of the programme will be photogenic works of students from secondary art
schools and colleges from CR and SR. Within the ART ROOM competition, the students were tasked to create
such works in the year theme that any photographer can’t resist taking photo of it. So a lot of costume designs,
photo stages, installations, or happenings came into existence, and the best ones will be presented in Český
Krumlov.
In addition to attractive localities of the historic centre, which already served last year, art productions
and photo stages this year will be in further places. Newly it will be the Synagogue n as exhibiting and relaxing
space. Visitors can look forward to photogenic programme in the town streets, for example acrobats of a new
circus Circus in a different way, exciting glamour with the finalists of Czech Beauty in the City Lounge club,
portrait in the Museum Fotoateliér Seidel, industrial premises in Hradební street including the Stolen
Gallery, art nude in the Prokyš Hall, fashion in the City Theatre, modern sports in the City park, or a
wedding workshop in the Mouse Hole.
Saturday evening in the City Theatre will be dedicated to the announcement of winners of competitions
ART ROOM, the world competition Photo Award, and Photographer of the year 2014 of FotoVideo magazine.
Focused on addiction
Social and philosophical overlap of this year’s festival theme will be present across the whole
programme. Volunteers – clients of a psychiatric hospital Červený dvůr, specialized in drug addiction treatment,
will be involved in preparations of the programme. A team for young people Brno plans a meeting with experts
on prevention.
The way how is addiction perceived by modern secondary school students the visitors can judge through
students´ art works designed for the festival. But also professional artists and some of the visitors – members of
Czech and foreign photo clubs expressed themselves on the theme with their production.
In form of experience, the festival will introduce a range of other addictions – for example the modern one –
addiction to Selfie, uncommon addiction to pain by the Hell studio, or Japanese bondage with an excellent
exhibition of Petr Jedinák.
Complete programme and more information about OAFF at http://www.foto-festival.cz/en/
Contact for media:
Anna Březinová, anna.brezinova@icloud.com, +420 737 324 753
The co-organizer of the festival is the City of Český Krumlov
The festival and partial projects are supported by:
International Visegrad Fund, Czech Federation of Art Photography, Union of Slovak Photographers, Fédération
Internationale de l’Art Photographique, Photographic Society of America, International Association of Art Photographers,
Czech Press Photo
Programme and product partners:
Ośrodek Kultury i Sztuki we Wrocławiu (PL), Ciróka Bábszínház (HU), IRIS (SK), AKF (SK),
St. Agnes of Bohemia Secondary School, Museum Fotoateliér Seidel, EIZO, Ades, Fotolab, 4studio, DataLine, Zeiss,
NONAC CV (Canon), APRO, Peak design, Sunny Flash (Hensel), FUJIFILM, AFOP, Fotosféra, Czech Beauty,
FotoKrumlov, Make-up Institut, AORT, Photon Europe, Hell, Pond5, Moravia Models
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
1st year of the festival in numbers
17 locations/ 54 photo stages / 18 photo genres/ 98 photo models / 3000 visitors
120 lectures / 50 workshops / 36 partners / 30 personalities / 21 exhibitions
Watch a short spot Open Air PHOTO festival 2013
You can see the presentation HERE.
More information at: www.foto-festival.cz/en/