It is the first event of this type in the cultural panorama of Pistoia, a real photography festival organized by the Gruppo Fotoamatori Pistoiesi, which also contains a wish in its name: Visioni. The project proposes a modern and contemporary vision of photography, combined with a cultural process and the promotion of concepts that accompany it in its development. Emerging authors and new faces from the national and international scene will be involved, without giving up a dialogue with more established photographers, following a specific theme that will change in each edition. This first edition is entitled “Legàmi” because it aims to explore relationships, relationships and connections, developed by each author and which will characterize the exhibition of preparatory events that are part of the festival itself.
“We realized that remaining closed among ourselves, in our little circle, was no longer enough for us – explains Sara Del Sarto, the president of the Pistoiesi Fotoamatori Group (we see her in the center of the photo together with the other amateur photographers) –. So we started some time ago to invite guests from other circles, increasingly well-known photographers, emerging faces. And then we asked ourselves why not organize a festival, also given the lack of events of this kind in our area. We decided to give it a try and we hope it will become a regular event , perhaps biennially. It would be in our will, to popularize photography which is an art that always remains in the background”. The program of events initially includes a series of talks, then subsequently the “Legàmi” exhibition.
After the interesting meeting at the beginning of June with Davide Monteleone, one of the most appreciated Italian photojournalists, multiple-awarded with some of the most prestigious international awards, whose most recurring themes are geopolitics, geography, identity, data and the interaction between image and science, continues on Saturday 29 June with the talk “The link between the story through images and people” with Mario Carnicelli, from Pistoia. A freelance photojournalist with long experience and international fame, he has been a special correspondent for various magazines and newspapers including Popular Photography, Espresso, Panorama, Corriere della Sera, Il Giorno. Carnicelli, alongside his documentary photography works, carries out personal artistic projects and the valuable publication “Nous” is recent, where his lens explores faces, transforming each one into a story and an era.
On 20 July 2024 it will be the moment of Massimo Vitali, known for his particular use of photography as artistic research, known internationally for his panoramas, will present “The landscape with many stories inside”.
After a summer break the events will resume on September 21st. A series of meetings is planned with the authors who will exhibit in the “Legàmi” exhibition. Chiara Arturo, Federico Arcangeli, Matteo Fenili, Anna Ratajczyk will give an introduction to the projects which will then be visible in the exhibition, sponsored by the municipality of Pistoia, which will be held in the Frescoed Rooms of the Palazzo di Giano in Piazza Duomo, from 4 to 27 October 2024, and which will be inaugurated on the afternoon of Saturday 5 October.
All scheduled events will be hosted in the Puccini Gatteschi Garden in Pistoia (access from Vicolo Malconsiglio, 6), will begin at 9.15 pm, and will require reservations, with the possibility of free entry via www.pistoiavisioni.it where all the info on the project.
Gabriele Acerboni
