Street photography festival turns to Zoom for virtual showcase

Rotondes' Street Photography Festival will be online this year Photo: Gil Rigoulet

Due to the government's recent decision to disband all foreseeable cultural events and gatherings in the wake of Covid-19, the Rotondes in Bonnevoie will be taking its annual Street Photography Festival into uncharted territory. That's right...Zoom.

Running from 7 to 10 May, the festival will include a series of online events, workshops and conferences.

The traditional Slide Night is a variety of slideshows presented throughout the run of the festival and features street photographers from Luxembourg and around the world.

There will also be an online 'Open Wall' in which the Rotondes will showcase some of the best street photography shared by their audience on Instagram using the hashtags #luxstreetphotofest, #openwall, #splux, #rotondeshomedelivery or #rotondes. Submission can be either a single shot or a grouping of five shots collected in one post illustrating artists’ best street photography.

For the main event, guest speakers will hold conferences, complete with Q&A sessions, via Zoom. Here is the schedule and a short description of some of the speakers.

Vlad Eftenie

8 May, 7.30pm

Photo: Vlad Eftenie

Born and raised in Bucharest, Vlad Eftenie is a PhD lecturer at UAUIM (Ion Mincu University of Architecture and Urbanism) where he lectures on street photography theory and philosophy. A published author boasting several international exhibitions, Eftenie's works seeks to become "friend(s) with the unpredictable," allowing photographers to unexpectedly guide themselves into a discourse between themselves and the seeming chaos of the world around them, i.e. the streets. A veterened lecturer, not unfamiliar with coordinating the odd workshop or masterclass, Eftenie will be offering his knowledge and two cents about the world and craft of street photography.

Joe Aguirre

9 May; 9am one-on-one workshops; 7.30pm conference

Photo: Joe Aguirre

Joe Aguirre lives and works in New York City. With an eye for personal narrative, Aguirre's work distills the lyric of brimming life in NYC, developing a personal relationship to the streets and the people that surround him. Member of the international Photography collective, Burn My Eye, Aguirre is also the owner of gallery and publishing imprint Sad Songs in NYC. On Saturday, he will be sharing his insight into his work and experience as a photographer in both one-on-one workshops and a video conference.

Gil Rigoulet

10 May, 7.30pm

Photo: Gil Rigoulet

In 1984, Gil Rigoulet became one of the first photographers at the French newspaper Le Monde. Collaborating with numerous publications, both national and international, Rigoulet developed a passion for street photography which he explored in parallel to his career as a photojournalist. Tackling themes such as The Body and Water, Paysages en mouvement, les Photographes and more, Rigoulet only began showing his work on Street Photography after completing his tenure with the press in 2014.

To follow the festival's photo presentation click here and for the Zoom links click here.

Michael Reinertz is the LuxTimes' culture critic Photo: Guy Wolff

To follow the festival's photo presentation click here and for the Zoom links click here.

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