The photography exhibition ‘Communities’ offers a photographic view of the festival’s main theme, with its reflection on the various forms of communities and the ways they have to reinvent themselves in the face of crisis.

The word ‘community’ conveys a sense of solidarity, closeness and belonging, but as with a photograph and its negative, conversely, it can also conjure images of division and exclusion. The communities we belong to shape to a large extent how we view the world, what we consider to be the norm, and who we accept and don’t accept into our group, which means they can also lead to exclusion.

As a result of changing ways of life, traditional communities seem to be under threat on two fronts: they are facing possible decline and at the same time the risk of withdrawing into themselves and their own identities. Yet our undeniable need for community still persists. This is apparent in the emergence of new communities, but the strength and resilience of communities become even more evident in situations of political turmoil and war.

The photographers invited by the curator Marta Szymańska to take part in the exhibition – Yauhen Attsetski, Máté Bartha, Brendan Hoffman, Roman Franc and Alina Smutko – portray communities in all their diversity and force us to ask ourselves a number of questions: what remains common in a context where individualism seems to prevail? Do we still need and can we still create strong community bonds? And lastly, the most topical question, can communities save us in times of crisis and war?

Individual projects: Roman Franc (CZ), Máté Bartha (HU), Yauhen Attsetski (BY), Brendan Hoffman (US) and Alina Smutko (UA)

Commissionner : Marta Szymańska