PHOTOQUAI 2009

Created by the musée du Quai Branly in 2007, PHOTOQUAI, the biennial for non-western photography, will be held from September, 22 to November, 22 2009 at the Quai Branly opposite to the museum, in partnership with the cultural institutions.

The first edition had been a success, and was widely praised in both cultural and artistic circles for its quality, ambition and relevance. The 2009 edition of PHOTOQUAI continues with its original mission: highlighting and enhancing the work of artists still unknown or little-known here in Europe, while encouraging a dialogue and a new way of looking at the world.

The artistic management of this second PHOTOQUAI biennial festival will be assured by Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh, an Iranian gallery manager, founder of the Silk Road Gallery which is dedicated to photography and which is unique in its kind in Iran.

The geographical areas in the Musée du Quai Branly’s collections (South America and Latin America, North America, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Near and Middle East.) will be represented in PHOTOQUAI, which will show the work of 50 contemporary photographers from all over the world.

The 2009 event will guarantee a continuity between the exhibitions on the embankments of the Seine and in the gardens of the Quai Branly Museum (which can be accessed free of charge), in the temporary exhibitions presented within the Quai Branly Museum itself and at its Pavillon des Sessions branch at the Louvre, and at the partner establishments.

Designed for the general public, PHOTOQUAI further contributes to highlighting the work of these artists by involving partner artists across the capital, from the Chaillot hillside to the Marais district, to give a complete overview of contemporary photographic creativity from around the world, including: the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (French National library) – Richelieu, the Monnaie de Paris, the Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris, the Japanese cultural centre, the Australian embassy, the Baudoin Lebon Gallery, the Bendana Pinel gallery, the Canadian cultural centre, the Mexico Institute and the Ecole Nationale de la Photographie (National School of Photography) in Arles.

With this second event, the musée du Quai Branly will celebrate Iranian photography on the western mezzanine, with the collection area offering a "snapshot" of Iranian photography from the late 19th century including portraits from the Quajar period and pictures of the Shah Reza Pahlavi, up to more recent works from major Iranian contemporary photographers. Whether visual artists or documentary makers, they are currently working in Iran and abroad, and contribute to expand the artistic involvement of their country throughout the world.

The musée du Quai Branly will also present a selection of ethnographic and artistic portraits at the Pavillon des Sessions (its branch at the Louvre) from its photographic collections including both ancient anonymous works and photographs by famous artists (Pierre Verger, H. Cartier-Bresson, Claude Lévi- Strauss and Roland Bonaparte, etc), dating back to the late 19th century to the 1960’s. Each Friday throughout PHOTOQUAI, the musée du quai Branly will organize meetings and discussions with the photographers and curators involved with the six geographical areas represented, conferences, films and roundtable discussions on the theme of photography, a presentation of the work of three guest photographers in residence at the Quai Branly Museum in addition to the meetings held in the Jacques Kerchache Reading room.

The musée du quai Branly photographic collection

The photographic collections at the Quai Branly Museum include approximately 700,000 works. The four continents: Africa, America, Asia and Oceania account for the mainstay of these collections which include some very old photos (dating from 1841 to the present day) and those of numerous great names in the history of photography.

The acquisitions carried out by the Quai Branly Museum on an ongoing basis since it was first opened are made based on a number of factors including geographical criteria, authors and photographers representing a particular view or photographic technique, from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. These acquisitions make it possible to consolidate its collection, ensuring that this museum becomes a reference where the representation of the non- European world is concerned.

PHOTOQUAI - EXHIBITION ON THE EMBANKMENTS OF THE SEINE
The 2nd biennial festival of non-Western contemporary photography
Ort: Quai Branly opposite to the museum
Künstlerische Leitung: Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh

50 PHOTOGRAPHERS

NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST
Greece-Turkey
Iran: Abbas Kowsari, Gohar Dashti et Katayoun Karami
Israël: Tamir Sher
Lebanon: Rima Maroun
Turkey: Melisa Önel

SAHARAN AFRICA AND MAGHREB
South Africa: Ilan Godfrey et Nomusa Makhubu
Algeria : Nadia Feroukhi
Egypt: Nermine Hammam
La Réunion: Raymond Barthes
Madagascar: Pierrot-Men
Morocco: Khalil Nemmaoui, Lamia Naji
Nigeria: Emeka Okereke
Tunisia: Mouna Karray

JAPAN – SOUTH EAST ASIA
Korea: Chung Chu Ha
Indonesia: Muhammad Iqbal
Japan: Masato Seto et Hiromi Tsushida
Malaysia: Nadia Bamadhaj
Philippines: Jake Versoza

OCÉANIA (AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND)
Australia: Brook Andrew
New Zealand: Joyce Campbell

NORTH AMERICA, CANADA AND HAWAII
Canada : Arthur Renwick, Jeff Thomas et Adrian Stimson
Hawaii : Jan Becket

AMÉRIQUE DU SUD ET MEXIQUE
Argentina: Esteban Pastorino, Hugo Aveta
Brazil: Julio Bittencourt
Mexico: Jeronimo Arteaga, Pablo Lopez Luz et Daniela Edburg
Peru: Morfi Jimenez et Pablo Hare

INDIA:
Atul Loke et Sooni Taraporevala

CHINA – CAUCASUS :
China: A Yin, Meng Jin, Lu Guang et Jin Ping
Afghanistan: Fardin Waezi
Armenia: Anahit Hayrapetyan et Karen Mirzoyan
Azerbaijan: Sanan Aleskerov
Kazakhstan: Erbossyn Meldibekov et Saïd Atabekov