THE PHOTOGRAPHIC BOOK: EXHIBITION AND HOSTED ACTIVITY AT RENCONTRES DE LA PHOTO

THE PHOTOGRAPHIC BOOK: EXHIBITION AND HOSTED ACTIVITY AT RENCONTRES DE LA PHOTO

For its 10th edition, Rencontres internationales de la photographie en Gaspésie is proud to be integrating, for a 5th consecutive year, a section devoted to the photobook into the Rencontres on Tour programming. Art historian and critic Serge Allaire is the curator of the exhibit Le livre photographique (The Photographic Book), which will have its official opening on August 16 at 4:30 p.m. at the Gabrielle-Bernard-Dubé library in Carleton-sur-Mer. That will be preceded, at 2:30, by a presentation and a discussion on the art book and on photobook publishing with Lithuanian artists Vilma Samulionytė and Gytis Skudžinskas, co-founders of the publishing house NoRoutine Books.

The importance of the photographic book is already well established in major international fairs in Europe and the United States. For more than twenty years, a number of international publications and events have stressed its importance as both a form of expression and as creation in its own right in photographic practice. In taking a step in the same direction, Rencontres is seeking to ensure a visibility for the Québec, Canadian and international photobook, and also to awaken the interest of the general public as well as that of collectors in the value of the book as a form of expression and as a collectible item.

The exhibition Le livre photographique will consist of three components. The first will be devoted to books by photographers participating in this 10th edition of Rencontres. The second will offer a selection of recent publications (2017 to 2019) by Québec and Canadian artists. Also, to ensure the international dimension of the exhibit, the third component will be devoted to foreign publishers. This year, for the 10th anniversary of Rencontres, part of the exhibition will consist of art books from Éditions Loco (France), co-founded and co-directed by Éric Cez. Another will be devoted to art books from NoRoutine Books, in Vilnius, Lithuania. The relationship with this Lithuanian publishing house falls into the context of a collaboration with the Kaunas Photo festival in Lithuania.

At the end of the exhibit, Rencontres will offer all books to the Gabrielle-Bernard-Dubé library in the town of Carleton-sur-Mer to enrich its collection. The organization thus carries on with its objectives of disseminating and making the photographic book better known. The curator of the exhibit and the directors of Rencontres warmly thank the participating photographers and the publishers who have generously contributed to making this exhibit possible.

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