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ART
UNDER LENS
FOTOMUSEO:
LIVE PATRIMONY OF BOGOTÁ
In August 2000, a group of
Colombians undertook the task of creating the FOTOMUSEO –
National Museum of Photography. Since the beginning, our objective
was that our “headquarters” be the streets of Bogota
in its totality. The capital of Colombia, with eight million inhabitants,
is a diverse and complex urban area, where people from all regions
of Colombia come together. It has an accelerated rhythm, in the
middle of incredible contrasts of development and marginality.
Until now, art had been reserved exclusively for museums and galleries.
The FOTOMUSEO wanted to contribute precisely to the democratization
of Colombian culture through photography. In this five year trajectory,
the capital has seen the work of important national and international
artists, including the portraits Carlos Duque, the photojournalists
Carlos Caicedo, Francisco Carranza, Henry Agudelo, León
Darío Peláez, William Fernando Martínez,
among others, and international artists Martín Chambi (Perú),
Robert Doisneau (Francia), Marta María Pérez Bravo
(Cuba), Morgana Vargas Llosa (Perú), Eugène Courret
(Francia) y Sebastiao Salgado (Brasil).
Since the appearance of the
FOTOMUSEO in exhibits in the north, center, and south of the city
(areas of great social contrast), the pedestrian has become a
daily spectator of the street exhibits, validating the concept
of the public space at the service of the citizens and of respect
for the quality of life of the individual.
In this process of integration
with the citizen, we have developed the PHOTOMARATHON of Bogota.
An interactive urban event, in which, for two days, professional
and amateur photographers pause to look for unknown aspects of
architecture, customs and the people of Bogota, in pre-arranged
routes, leading to a visual patrimony of the city. This graphic
testimony will protect the city from
Forgetfulness and be an invaluable heritage for future generations.
Aware of the importance of the
new generations, the FOTOMUSEO has been particularly interested
in spreading the new values in photography. Our shows of YOUNG
TALENTS enable us to see the promising and creative future of
the lens in Colombia.
Within this framework, and having
fulfilled our task of democratizing access to culture in Colombia,
we now have a new challenge: internationalizing our proposal and
making Bogota the seat of the I International Encounter of Contemporary
Photography. PHOTOGRAPHIC BOGOTA puts our capital in the front
lines of photography in the world. Within the theme of Document
+ Fiction, the citizens will be able to appreciate the best of
Brazilian, Spanish, American and Colombian artists, as well as
hear the theories of relevant international and national names,
such as Joan Fontcuberta (España), Victor Burgin (Inglaterra),
David Rieff (Estados Unidos), Abigail Solomon-Godeau (Estados
Unidos), Paulo Herkenhoff (Brasil), Stephen Ferry (Estados Unidos),
among others.
Five street exhibits, 23 gallery
exhibits, for a month and a half, and a seminar of Theory in the
Jorge Eliécer Gaitán from the 18th to the 21st of
October, will make Bogota the focal point of Photography.
???? 15 documentaries of noted
values in international photography, and two volumes collecting
the work of all the participants and the reports from PHOTOGRAPHIC
BOGOTA will show the depth of this event.
All our welcome to this new
proposal [project] of FOTOMUSEO. In this web site, one will find
the complete program of our encounter as well as all the exhibits
and activities of the FOTOMUSEO.
PHOTOGRAPHIC BOGOTA, as well
as the FOTOMUSEO, has been supported since the beginning by the
Instituto Distrital de Cultura [District Institute of Culture},
el Ministerio de Cultura [the Ministry of Culture], la Cámara
de Comercio [the Chameber of Commerce] and private companies who
understand that such events improve the quality of life of all
Colombians.
We thank our Board of Directors,
the FOTOMUSEO staff, and all our friends who have collaborated
in this task for their continued efforts and dedication to the
FOTOMUSEO.
Every day confirms that this
county is possible, thanks to its people who make “reality
marvelous”.
Gilma Suárez
Director |
