The spring of 2006 confirmed the curatorial success of Kaunas Photo participation in other European festivals of photography. Foto Grafia (Rome, Italy) showed an exhibition “Lithuanian Photography, road to the 21th Century: A.Sutkus, A.Macijauskas. R.Požerskis” (curated by Mindaugas Kavaliauskas) at H.C.Andersen Museum and festival of Sea Photography in Vannes, (Brittany, France) generously offered a guest country status to Lithuanian photography by hosting a Kaunas Photo produced exhibition “Lithuanian Sea Photography: between the 9th heaven and 99 km of seashore”. The latter exhibition in the central Musée de la Cohue attracted more than 20 thousand visitors.

In September – October 2006, Kaunas Photo Days 06 celebrated its third edition, marked by numerous premiere shows of more than 30 photographers from Lithuania, Ireland and Turkey, Brazil and Canada, Australia and Malaysia and many other countries and counting 40 exhibitions in total. The 2006 program was focusing on TIME. The highlights were first-time exhibition of Frank Rothe “China Naked” (Germany) at Olympic Casino, Andre Siegfried Wagner's (Germany) “Body and Soul”, Lisa M.Robinson's “Snowbound” at the Museum of Sports,  Xavier Zimbardo's “Lost Beauties” (France) at F Galerija,  the first Slovak show in Lithuania by Lubo Stacho at Fujifilm  gallery of photography, Adriana Groisman's (Argentina) „Tango never before midnight“, „Rubikon“ by Kevin Kwan (USA), „Maze“ - a depiction of a polar Swedish village by Celine Clanet (France) at the Jesuit Gymnasium Gallery, Steve Hart's „Bronx family album“ at Museum of Medicine history, „Standing stones“ by Barbara Yoshida and New „Orleans Sundays“ of Judith Cooper (both USA), fresh series of Lithuanian Rolandas Cikanavičius „Alone“ at the Kaunas County public Library.

The unforgettable review of Nordic photography “Nordic TIME” in Communication development Museum focused on the growth and life of a woman: four sisters-to-become women in Wilma Hurskainen's „Growth“ (Finland), mature 4 Sinko sisters in Hungary, photograped year by year by a Swedish Maria Arnell, sisters of honorable age in Pernille Koldbech Fich's work (Denmark) and considerations about “How much/many per year...” by legendary Swedish magazine “Expressen”, where woman is exposed to the amount of dishes she has to do per year...

The „Business Leaders' Center” hosted Nordic works of the beginning of the 20th century Swedish photographer Borg Mesch depicting the conquest of the Wild North, the stunning poolscapes of Iceland – “Hypernatural” by Astrid Kruse Jensen (Denmark). Here the symbol of the festival – Petri Anttonen's (Finland) inventive series of scanner- type long pose pictures, created in early nineties, were exposed.

Given that many works submitted to the festival's open program dealt with waiting, therefore it was decided to bring a part of exhibition to the „waiting“ and transport areas of the town. The longest exhibition of the festival – „Lithuanian Press photography 2006“ was exposed all along the cafes and boutiques of Laisves aleja – the stylish pedestrian street of Kaunas. The key pictures of the festival were esposed in troley -buses, circulating in Kaunas, Dillon Tangappan Daniel's (Malaysia) series „I missed the bus“ was exposed at Kaunas Bus station waiting hall. The 70 year old Aleksotas funicular hosted only world premieres - Brazilian Ludmila Steckelberg de Santana's „Absence of Colours“, Don Mc Neill Healy's (Ireland) „One travelling family” and „Ferry“ by Edis Jurcys, which was elected by the audience the best exhibition of the festival.

Opening visits of exhibitions, a master class given by Xavier Zimbardo to local photography enthusiasts, public discussion on “Photography and Time” at Vytautas Magnus University, animated by famous professor in culture studies Leonidas Donskis, and the traditional “Night of Photography” on October 12  held at Los Patrankos club with a big screen were among the most intense events in celebrating photography in Kaunas in 2006. As the director Mindaugas Kavaliauskas of the festival joked from the stage of Los Patrankos, “when Kaunas Photo Days approaches to the end, summer becomes winter and Kaunas Photo Days becomes the Night of Photography”, the time when Arles-style video clips made of photography meet enthusiastic applause from the public.

 

Collective exhibitions:
Lithuanian press photography (curator: Jonas Staselis)
Funikuli funikulia by Mindaugas Kavaliauskas, Aurelijus Madzeliauskas, Jonas Palys

 

Personal exhibitions:
Frank Rothe (Germany), Lubo STACHO (Slovakia), Barbara YOSHIDA (USA), Dagmar Schwelle (Germany), Judith COOPER (USA), Adriana GROISMAN (Argentina), Céline CLANET (France), Kevin KWAN (USA), Gina Glover (UK), Annet van der VOORT (Holland-Germany), Steve HART (USA), André Siegfried WAGNER (Germany), Lisa M. ROBINSON (USA), Xavier ZIMBARDO (France), Ozgun Serif SADGIC (Turkey)  Miki ALCALDE (Spain), Edis JURČYS (USA – Lithuania), Don Mc NEAL HEALY (Ireland), Ludmila STECKELBERG DE SANTANA (Brasil), Nathalie MOHADJER (Germany), Fern HELFAND (Canada), Michalil SAVOSIV – Sholk (Russia), Aleksandr ANTIPIN (Russia), Peter RIESETT (USA), Christoph BURTSCHER (Germany), Barbara DONAUBAUER (Germany), Richard PAK (France), Sanna MIERICKE (Germany), Rolandas CIKANAVIČIUS (Lithuania), Rita GODLEVSKIS (Canada-Australia), Dillon TANGGAPAN DANIEL (Maysia)

 

Nordic artists on the theme TIME, personal exhibitions:
Wilma HURSKAINEN (Finland), Petri ANTTONEN (Finland), Maria ARNELL (Sweden), Pernille KOLDBECH FICH (Sweden), Expressen magazine photographers (Sweden),Borg MESCH (Sweden, 1869-1956), Astrid KRUSE JENSEN (Denmark)