Kolga Tbilisi Photo set for week-long celebration of photographic art

Some of the most fascinating international photo projects, award-winning photographers and local talent will make this year’s Kolga Tbilisi Photo week a major event starting this Friday.

Recognised as the largest annual photo contest and exhibition, the week-long event will include unveiling winners for the best photographs and series of the year.

In addition, it will present exhibitions celebrating classics of photographic art as well as contemporary artists.

Emerging enthusiasts of photography will have free workshops to attend, while activities will also involve lectures and portfolio reviews.

[The] 2017 Kolga Tbilisi Photo is exceptional for the number of powerful photography projects covering a wide range of topics and taken by the photographers from around the world”, said organisers ahead of the event.

The scope of the week will be underlined with over 15 exhibitions held at various spaces in Georgia’s capital.

Some of the venues selected for the displays will be the former Hippodrome Park, Artarea Gallery and National Archives of Georgia.

One of the winning submissions of this year's contest comes from photographer Dina Litovsky. Photo: Dina Litovsky/Kolga Tbilisi Photo.

The week will be opened with an exhibition of the winning projects of this year’s contest, presented in five nominations.

The categories are Documentary Series, Reportage, Conceptual Photo Project, Best Shot and Huawei Mobile Photo, in a continuation of last year’s nominations.

Another exhibition scheduled for the opening day will see an artist team led by Tezi Gabunia host a session titled, Complete the Painting.

Aimed to let the visiting audience participate in the creative process, the hosts will offer them the opportunity to "develop thematic images”.

A series by Greek photographer Nikos Pilos document the plight of refugees seeking to reach Europe. Photo: Nikos Pilos/Kolga Tbilisi Photo.

The photo-week will continue with more displays including an exploration of social themes by award-winning photographer Nikos Pilos.

Pilos’ works will illustrate the experiences of the refugees stranded on the Greek islands as well as their desperate struggles to reach the European mainland.

Later in the week, themes of nature will be portrayed in photographs by Nata Sopromadze.

Her works will go on display to present unique scenes of trees the photographer captured while wandering in untouched wilderness.

A photograph by German photographer Norman Behrendt for the group exhibition 'The Future is ours'. Photo: Norman Behrendt/Kolga Tbilisi Photo.

Kolga Tbilisi Photo will also feature exhibitions featuring exploration of the contemporary Iran, features on women in Afghanistan, cultural similarities between countries of the Caucasus region and more.

Apart from these events, experts, curators and photographers from across the world will take part in the week by conducting workshops for interested participants.

Britain-based photographer Karen Knorr will share her take on "narrative strategies in contemporary photography” in an illustrated talk hosted by the Creative Education Studio at Hotel Fabrika.

The popular creative venue will also host German Photobook Award-winning artist Wolfgang Zurborn’s talk about the art of creating photo books.

Works by Nata Sopromadze will illustrate the photographer's angle on natural scenery within her exhibition. Photo: Nata Sopromadze/Kolga Tbilisi Photo.

Another venue in Tbilisi, the Gallery Fotografia, will host Italian documentary photographer Giovanna Del Sarto’s workshop on the importance of artists becoming part of the situations and communities that are the subject of photographic work.

Lectures held within Kolga Tbilisi Photo week will include Stories of Iranian Photographers by Ali Akbar Shirjian and a talk on contemporary stock photography by Alexandr Medvedev.

The photo week will feature music shows by Tbilisi-based indie/alternative group Band of Mellow and Georgian producer Gacha Bakradze.

Established in 2002 as a competition for amateur photographers, the Kolga Tbilisi Photo contest has grown over the last decade to become the largest photo competition in Georgia.

Other international editions of the annual contest are held in Europe and the United States.

This year’s Kolga Tbilisi Photo will run through May 11.