Can you tell me about how you decided to put together the first Lianzhou Foto in 2005?
Sometimes it is due to chance. At that time I just moved to Southern China; before I was working for a photography magazine in the North while being involved in Pingyao International Photography Festival, which was the very first international photography festival in China. On day a local newspaper invited me to participate in a seminar about photojournalism. This is when I met Lianzhou’s new mayor. He told me he wanted to host a creative event in the city. I already had some experiences related to photography festivals, as I used to be Pingyao International Photography Festival Director’s assistant.
I told Lianzhou’s mayor that we could organise a photography festival. Lianzhou was just a small city with little industrial development, so tourism provided a way to bring economic growth. In light of these circumstances, we thought it could be fruitful to launch a photography festival. The mayor was smart and accepted to collaborate with me, in truth I just gave him the idea.
How the mission of the festival – and of the museum – evolved over the years?
Since the very first edition of the festival [in 2005], the mission has always been to promote Chinese contemporary photography and to introduce them to the rest of the world. This mission has not changed over fifteen years. We now have an excellent professional platform with the museum, which we wanted to create since the beginning. In other words, today we have more tools in our hands. Yet the mission stays the same.
In truth at the beginning, the festival’s goal was chiefly to offer a professional platform to exhibit Chinese contemporary photographers. The festival allows us to show the most contemporary works from all over the world, but it doesn’t reflect the whole history of photography itself. This remains a short-term project in which our job is to gather interesting artists together.
Since the establishment of the museum in 2017, we finally have had a professional and permanent organization that is building its own collection, while developing archival and research activities. We now have a long-term approach and the capacity to look back upon the history of Chinese photography, while pursuing our objective to promote Chinese contemporary photography. [It should be noted that] in fifteen years, the city changed mayors four times. But we told them our dream to maintain our mission and to create this museum. Each of them trusted us.
What does it take to be a women director of the sole public museum dedicated to photography in China?
Maybe it is because I have both female and male characteristics [laugh]. I always loved to take responsibilities and do great things. Maybe it has to do with my family background: I was the oldest child in the family, so I always had to take a lot of responsibilities and to take care of other children. Generally speaking, I like challenges.
There are in China a few women directors of institutions, such as Gong Yan who is head of the Power Station of Art in Shanghai and who graduated in Paris. In my case, I think it was due to chance! “The opportunity found me,” a local adage says. Of course I work hard to achieve my goals, but I don’t think it is something I have set up in the first place. I just try my best as I love my career.
How would you describe Lianzhou Foto Festival in a few words?
It’s hard to say in a few words. Perhaps I would say “experimental”, “open”, like a “window” that enables people from the inside to see what is like outside, and vice versa.
What’s next for Lianzhou Museum of Photography?
We have already contacted several curators, but we haven’t decided yet who is going to be invited and what will be the next main theme. Sometimes we would decide the theme first. In fact there was a few times where we thought about specific themes were right, because they echoed our long-term observation of social and art developments. And based on this thread we approached curators. But sometimes we would choose a curator who has an interesting idea to develop, it depends. Overall we set up 12 exhibitions a year and place the emphasis on publishing catalogues for each occasion.
More information:LIANZHOU FOTO FESTIVALA Chance for the UnpredictableNovember 30, 2019 - January, 3 2019www.lianzhoufoto.com
LIANZHOU MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHYWINTER EXHIBITIONS November 30, 2019 - April 5, 2020Lianzhou Museum of Photography, 120 Zhongshan South Road, Lianzhou, Guangdong www.lmop.org.cn
