ONE WEEK ABOUT Photography
Introducing curator Ahmet Polet
It’s exactly a year ago when I wrote for Dutch Design Daily to share with you an interesting group of talented female photographers. Much has changed in the past 12 months. Obama was replaced by Trump, Usain Bolt didn’t win the 100 or 200 meter sprint at the World Cup in London and we live in a time where social media have a major global impact in such a way that even _cindysherman_ has decided to join Instagram. Which takes us right to the topic for this One Week About Photography.
For years I’ve carefully weighed my decisions on which editor or curator to work with and which gallery to hang my work in. I didn’t want my work to be placed in the wrong context or just looked at as a common image and I wanted to learn from the feedback I would get during exhibitions and collaborations. At the same time I wanted the viewer to take their time and effort to truly understand the work I make.
Nowadays, commercial companies often look at your social media presence before they decide to work with you for a job. Or some people can even start their own company just by the sheer magnitude of followers on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram.
Several months ago I was involved in organizing my first Instameet @inalab in Amsterdam North. It was new for me to meet up with these Instagrammers and I was kind of excited to see what they were interested in. I have to say it was great. Not at all what I expected. Some of them were definitely interested in making selfies but most of them were more interested in how to get better at photography and create stories instead of just shooting the same image over and over.
So let’s have a look at this new pot of gold and let’s see if it’s truly that amazing at the end of the rainbow. I focused on Instagram because of the photographic nature of the work and selected different perspectives and interesting stories to share with you. Of course all feedback and ideas are welcome. Enjoy this One Week About Photography Instagram Style!
Ahmet Polat