NEWS RELEASE
12-05-2009
In 20-22th of May begins the sixth photo art festival „Kaunas Photo“. Each year the spring part of the festival introduces photography of different country. This year „Kaunas Photo Polska 09“ stands in solidarity with newest Polish photography in order to remind important and unknown classical masterworks. Presentations of exhibitions will last for three days at the same hours – at 4 p.m. and at 5.30 p.m. In the evenings, at 8p.m., photo art fans will be invited to “Nights of Photography”, which are going to be arranged in old Radio factory (Savanorių avenue 66). During these three days big team of Polish photographers from Cracow, Warsaw and Bialystok will be presented.
Young Polish photographers have fixated various controversial pictures, which contradicts traditions of Post Soviet countries and new sallies of Western culture. These photographs are like a loupe which highlights new and old values, their conflicts and cooperation. Photographs, exhibited in “Kaunas Photo Polska 09”, reveal typical problems of countries which suffered Soviet pressure and today are the members of European Union.
„The young Polish photography is an interesting phenomenon, which in the last years has become the new myth in Europe. It not only complies with the rhythm of modern life, but also the ability to reconcile spirituality and kitsch, the image and content, social criticism and humour“- comments Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, artistic director of the festival „Kaunas Photo Polska 09“.
In the leading exhibition of “Kaunas Photo Polska” visitors will see premiere of photographs of Lithuanian derivation Polish photo artist Eustachy Kossakowski. His works will be delivered to Mykolas Žilinskas Art Gallery from Paris and Warsaw. Other personal and group exhibitions will be held in various art spaces in Kaunas centre: Kaunas Photography Gallery, F Gallery, Historical Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy, Povilas Stulga’s Museum of Lithuanian Folk Instruments and in exhibition place in K. Donelaitis Street 60.
„Kaunas Photo“, the largest annual photo art festival in the Baltic states, started in 2004 by Mindaugas Kavaliauskas intention, and already became a member of Photo Festival Union and Festivals of Light. “Kaunas Photo”, known as the festival of premieres, and is orientated in rising stars of European and Lithuanian photo art. During six years Kaunas Photo brought to the public unknown photographers from Nordic countries, Georgia, Australia. Artists selected for Kaunas Photo festival prove find immediate success elsewhere.
Festival organizators: VšĮ “Šviesos ratas” and Kaunas Department of The Union of Lithuanian Art Photographers
Main sponsors: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Kaunas Municipality.
Partners: Polish Institute (Vilnius), French Cultural Center (Vilnius), Vytautas Magnus
University, National museum of M.K.Čiurlionis, Modern Art Museum in Warsaw, ECO
(foundation of Eustachy Kossakowsky) Association (Paris), P.Stulga museum of Lithuanian national musical instruments, Museum of Medicine and Pharmacy, Institute Profotografia (Poznan, Poland) , Photo Art Festival (Bielsko-Biala, Poland), LIGHT.LT.
Persons for contact:
Photo art festival „Kaunas Photo 09“
Art istic director
Mindaugas Kavaliauskas
+370 650 77895
E-mail info(at)light.lt
Curator (speaking Polish too)
Aurina Venislovaitė
+370 614 80603
E-mail aurina(at)light.lt
Union of the Lithuanian Art Photographers
Chairman of Kaunas department
Gintaras Česonis
+370 682 23806
E-mail kaunasart(at)gmai.com 
