May 8 – June 3, 2021.
The fifth edition of the Belgrade Month of Photography was held from May 8 to June 3, 2021, across 15 locations. During the event, works by around 50 authors from 15 countries were presented in about 20 exhibitions.
The Belgrade Month of Photography opened on May 8 with exhibitions at the Legacy House and the Balkan Cinema, where the works of Stephanie Pistel, Ines d’Orey, Ivan Blazhev, Karsten Kronas, Klaus Pichler, Made of Photos #2, Milan Marković, Miloš Nešić, Miloš Tomić, and Olatz Vazquez were displayed.
Stephanie Pistel exhibited her project Bucket List, a collection of portraits of renowned ballet dancer Sergei Polunin, taken in California, Moscow, and Belgrade. Stephanie Pistel is an internationally acclaimed photographer who has collaborated with many celebrities and magazines worldwide.
Portuguese artist Ines d’Orey presented her work Antre, inspired by Arvo Pärt’s composition Spiegel im Spiegel. Macedonian photographer Ivan Blazhev exhibited All Time is All Time, inspired by Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five, which focuses on the bombing of Dresden. Karsten Kronas from Germany presented the series In Search of Mr. X, in which he combines his own photographs with images taken by “Mr. X” from his stolen phone. Austrian artist Klaus Pichler exhibited the photo series This Will Change Your Life Forever. Over the course of two years, Pichler explored esotericism, collecting material from forums and gatherings, gaining an insider’s view into the irrational world of esotericism.
The work Cellular Interconnectivity by Milan Marković explores the theme of the interconnectedness of natural elements in relation to correlations and causality. Miloš Nešić presented his photographic performance Cornered, which he carried out during an 84-hour lockdown in Belgrade. Miloš Tomić exhibited Gentle Vandalism, a fascinating collection created through the manipulation and destruction of old photographs.
The work Minbizia was created by Spanish photographer Olatz Vazquez, who based her piece on her own body. After a delayed cancer diagnosis, she decided to document the changes in her life, body, and emotions.
The exhibition at the “Balkan” cinema also featured Made of Photos #2, a series in which photographers experimented with video formats to display their photographs.
The Belgrade Month of Photography was first organized in 2016, and this year’s edition is the fifth in a row. The organizing team dedicated this year’s event to all those affected by the chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, to those who are no longer with us, and to everyone striving to make our lives possible and easier.
The success of the festival is built on three strong pillars: the quality of the domestic photography scene, collaboration with art foundations, museums, galleries, and all international cultural centers and embassies in Belgrade, as well as contacts and cooperation with other international events that provide opportunities for Serbian photographers to present their work abroad and for foreign photographers to be brought to Belgrade.