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Quo vadis, photography?
Quo vadis, photography?
Severin Matusek
August 28, 2015
© Markus Spiering / EyeEm
Photographing, processing, sharing – this is the concept behind the EyeEm photo app. Over ten million photographers have connected here, and companies can also purchase their pictures for commercial purposes. Where is all this taking us? This is the question the Berlin start-up company want to focus on at the EyeEm Photography Festival & Awards on September 18 in New York, where everything is about the future of photography. We talked with Severin Matusek, Community Manager at EyeEm.
In 2014 the festival took place in Berlin – why did you opt for New York this year?
New York has always been like a second pillar for us. After we had our first exhibition in Berlin in 2010, we then took it to New York. It's not only the fact that New York is one of the most exciting, creative communities in the world, but also because many of the photographers belonging to our community come from there. There is an extremely high concentration of photographers, creative people, agencies, publishers, media and institutions located in the city, and they're the ones defining the pulse of the age. That's why it was clear that we had to do the next festival there.
What criteria do you use to decide on the speakers you'll have at the festival?
Our goal is to bring together the best brains from the fields of photography, technology and the media, so as to be able to discuss the future of photography from a multi-disciplinary perspective. That's why, for example, we've invited Christian Plagemann who researches virtual reality at Google, and who has helped develop Google Cardboard, something like a piece of virtual reality equipment made out of cardboard, available to anyone. Then we have Ron Haviv and Ed Kashi, who are using VII Photo to tread new pathways in photo journalism and virtual storytelling; and JiaJia Fei, who is responsible for digital strategies at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. We're in the middle of a revolution, that's not only fundamentally changing photography, but also journalism, advertising and publishing. It'll be exciting when all the people from these different areas come together to share their vision of the future.
What are you expecting from the festival?
New ideas and exciting discussions. A day that everyone will remember for a very long time. A great party. And an event that changes and expands our horizons from what photography is today, to what it could be in the future.
You can find out more about EyeEm and the festival at:
www.festival.eyeem.com
A 30 percent discount is available for the first two festival registrations using the following discount code: EYEEMHEARTSLFI
In 2014 the festival took place in Berlin – why did you opt for New York this year?
New York has always been like a second pillar for us. After we had our first exhibition in Berlin in 2010, we then took it to New York. It's not only the fact that New York is one of the most exciting, creative communities in the world, but also because many of the photographers belonging to our community come from there. There is an extremely high concentration of photographers, creative people, agencies, publishers, media and institutions located in the city, and they're the ones defining the pulse of the age. That's why it was clear that we had to do the next festival there.
What criteria do you use to decide on the speakers you'll have at the festival?
Our goal is to bring together the best brains from the fields of photography, technology and the media, so as to be able to discuss the future of photography from a multi-disciplinary perspective. That's why, for example, we've invited Christian Plagemann who researches virtual reality at Google, and who has helped develop Google Cardboard, something like a piece of virtual reality equipment made out of cardboard, available to anyone. Then we have Ron Haviv and Ed Kashi, who are using VII Photo to tread new pathways in photo journalism and virtual storytelling; and JiaJia Fei, who is responsible for digital strategies at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. We're in the middle of a revolution, that's not only fundamentally changing photography, but also journalism, advertising and publishing. It'll be exciting when all the people from these different areas come together to share their vision of the future.
What are you expecting from the festival?
New ideas and exciting discussions. A day that everyone will remember for a very long time. A great party. And an event that changes and expands our horizons from what photography is today, to what it could be in the future.
You can find out more about EyeEm and the festival at:
www.festival.eyeem.com
A 30 percent discount is available for the first two festival registrations using the following discount code: EYEEMHEARTSLFI
ALL IMAGES ON THIS PAGE: © Severin Matusek
Severin Matusek+-
Severin Matusek works as Community Manager at EyeEm. He also worked in the photo industry previously – he has written and published a number of photo books, and has coordinated community projects in over 150 countries. He lives today in Berlin, and organizes the yearly EyeEm Festival & Awards. More
© Markus Spiering / EyeEm
© Markus Spiering / EyeEm
