I visited 12/24 indoor and outdoor locations around Ostend, Belgium at the second International Photobiennial earlier this month - an exhibition at the top of a church tower, in an old fort, on a boat in the harbour as well as multiple displays along the beachfront and a plethora of small gallery spaces in the city centre. There was work by over 30 artists including Julia Fullerton-Batten, Joel Peter-Witkin and Mous Lamrabat all responding to the festival theme (In)fluence.
Photography festivals are not only a great way to see a massive and varied range of photography in one place in a short space of time but also a chance to explore a city you may never have visited before. Collective have made a habit in recent years of seeking out some of the newer, smaller photography festivals in cities like Lishi, China; Landskrona, Sweden; Gacilly, France; The Helsinki Darkroom Festival, Finland as well as Oxford and Brighton.
My mobile phone is filled with inspiration images from the work I saw in Ostend. And my 35mm film camera, which I used for a bit of street photography, documents my time spent exploring the city and the outdoor exhibits, flâneur-style.
https://www.fotobiennale.be/en
