Photolux Festival – Innovation meets History

LFI: Could you please you share a bit of information about the festival?
Enrico Stefanelli: Photolux Festival is an International Biennial of Photography in Lucca, Italy. The name comes from the combination of Photo Lucca Exhibitions. The Biennial's sixth edition will be held from November 23 to December 15, 2024: for three weeks, the event will animate the historic city with exhibitions and numerous other activities, such as workshops, meetings, debates, book presentations, film screenings and award ceremonies.

We founded the festival 20 years ago now, making it one of the richest festival traditions in Italy. At first it was held every year; but after 2012 it became a biennial, in order to meet the high quality standards of the ever-growing event.
Photolux offers a framework for inspiring encounters, bringing together photography experts and enthusiasts, and presenting the work of great masters as well as up-and-coming new talent. Over the years, it has become one of the most relevant festivals within the European landscape, and has turned the little town of Lucca into a point of reference for the photography scene. This is also thanks to our team's organisational quality.

What was the original motivation for founding the festival?
The main reason that pushed us to create the festival was to develop a photographic culture in a country where many talented photographers were born, but where the medium struggles to be appreciated as a form of artistic expression. A low-threshold programme and events like ours are needed to make photography accessible to a broader public.

What makes the festival and its program stand out?
The Festival is undoubtedly a "unicum" on the Italian photography scene – but also beyond its borders. The diversity of the Photolux exhibitions is reflected in the diversity of the photographers. This year we also paid much attention to the widely-discussed technological innovations in photography and picture processing, which we feel should not be ignored. So, for example, we launched at open call for images created with A.I. Visitors also have a chance to join in workshops and test out new technologies, such as drones or 360-degree caption cams. In this way, we approach this comparatively young field of photography with curiosity. In turn, experts and photographers share their experiences and open up a space for discussion. 

How has the festival changed over the years?
Over the twenty years there have been many changes, including trying to adapt the manner in which we present the exhibitions and the additional services offered to the public. For example, during the numerous guided tours, we not only talk about the exhibitions and the authors, we also tell the stories behind the magnificent historic buildings and ancient churches that host the installations. 

Another example is that this year we will not have an inaugural weekend. Instead, each weekend we plan to feature photographers who are represented at this year's Photolux. This way we give the photographers more space, and the public the chance to meet with their favourites. 

Can you talk about a specific highlight of this year's event?
Without a doubt it will be the granting of the Photolux Award for Lifetime Achievement to Massimo Vitali, whose thirty years of photography will be presented in a very particular installation. Furthermore, for the first time in Italy, we will present the 40 years of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award jubilee exhibition, which had its premiere in Wetzlar in 2020. The exhibition will be complemented with pictures by the 2021, 2022 and 2023 LOBA winners.

What plans and visions do you have for the future of the festival?
I can't answer that right now. We are very focused on the preparations and realisation of this year's edition. Once Photolux 2024 is over, we can begin to concentrate on the future. It will certainly be an intriguing and fascinating challenge that will help us discover new talents and see the world from new perspectives.