Cortona is preparing for the July 13 kickoff of Cortona on the Move, a photography festival with increasingly international clout, this year in its seventh edition.
Running until October 1, Cortona on the Move has a multifaceted program comprising exhibitions, lectures, portfolio reviews for emerging photographers, traveling shows and numerous other initiatives and events. This year’s main venues are the Vecchio Ospedale, the Ex Magazzino delle Carni and the Fortezza Medicea del Girifalco, with other events programmed for Palazzo Mancini Sernini and Palazzo Cinaglia. No corner of Cortona is off limits, however: photographs are known to appear in various vicoli throughout the historic center during the festival months.
New developments at this edition include the launch of the “New Visions” open call, which attracted original documentary work reflecting the fluid, evolving nature of photography as an artistic language. 938 works were submitted and narrowed down to 15 finalists, which will all be on display on July 15.
© Matt Black/Magnum Photos. El Paso, Texas. Warehouse district. 2015.
Exhibitions at this edition range thematically, with particularly strong presences from the United States this year: The Geography of Poverty chronicles America’s growing gap between rich and poor through photographer Matt Black’s 50,000 mile journey around the country, while Donna Ferrato’s American Woman: 40 Years (1970s-2010s) explores themes of domestic violence, shifting roles of women in the United States, and the male gaze—along with its reversal.
© Klaus Pichler
Additional highlights include Austrian Klaus Pichler’s Golden Days Before They End, highlighting a dying nightlife culture of tiny den-like Viennese inns and bars, and Italian Francesco Comello’s L’isola della salvezza (The Island of Salvation), showcasing the Yaroslov community in Russia, a group of “paupers, misfits and outcasts where time stands still.”
For the full program, see the website.
