Launch programme confirmed for international photography festival

The launch programme for this year’s FORMAT International Photography Festival, which will take place at venues across Derby, has been confirmed.

Organised by QUAD and the University of Derby, the festival will transform the city into a vibrant showcase of the best photography and lens-based media that represent the theme of ‘Conflicted’.

This year, it will take place from 13 to 30 March at venues including QUAD, Derby Museums’ Museum of Making, Down to Earth Derby’s Electric Daisy, Dubrek’s gallery and the university’s Banks Mill Studio.

Jodi Kwok, QUAD and FORMAT curator, said: “The theme of ‘Conflicted’ not only embodies conflict itself but also offers a timely, thought-provoking lens through which to view the world.

“Society is full of contradictions, yet photography has the unique power to give us a voice.

“Through its curated programme, this edition of FORMAT Festival uses both the lens and archives to reflect these truths with clarity, raising awareness about issues unfolding both close to home and in distant corners of the globe.”

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, which is one of the festival sponsors, said: “Marketing Derby is delighted to be backing FORMAT25.

“It is the UK’s leading photography festival, a major event in the city’s calendar, attracting thousands of visitors, not just locally but across the globe.”

FORMAT International Photography Festival was established in 2004 by Louise Fedotov-Clements and Mike Brown and is the UK’s leading international contemporary festival of photography and related media.

It organises a year-round programme of international commissions, open calls, residencies, conferences and collaborations in the UK and internationally and welcomes over 100,000 visitors from all over the world to its biennale.

FORMAT encourages people to engage with a range of work from new and emerging photographers alongside that of some of the best-known practitioners in the world.

A year ago, festival organisers put out an open call  for FORMAT25, encouraging people to submit work that reflects ‘multiple facets, factions, hopes and fears of the world today’.

Photographers who will take part in this year’s festival have now been selected. They include local, national and international names.

The programme for the launch weekend, which will take place from 13 to 16 March, has been confirmed, which will include the FORMAT25 Photobook Market, Portfolio Review and Conference.

Leading up to the opening, festival organisers intend to release more details of key exhibitions and various programmes.

For more information about FORMAT25 visit https://formatfestival.com/.