10th PIP to open in September
The 10th Pinyao International Photography (PIP) is to open in Pinyao, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in Shanxi province on September 19.
As the world’s largest photo show, it attracts 2000 photographers every year and more than 8000 pieces are on display on average. For the 2010 show, Over 2200 photographers from 37 countries and regions are expected to participate.
The show includes 170 solo shows of domestic photographers and 30 independent shows. In addition, 13 foreign participants will also run their solo shows and 20 independent shows.
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All these exhibitions will be running in the well-preserved inner city that still retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing dynasties, conforming to a typical ba gua pattern (also known as Eight Diagrams; it is used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts). Its urban fabric shows the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries.
The ancient aroma of those ancient buildings also allures more foreigners to the show. The new generation of foreign curators and photographers are expected to join this gala and hold exhibitions with different themes, such as environmental protection and the Shanghai Expo.
The show also features four special exhibitions in celebration of its 10th anniversary.
Day-to-Day Life focuses on the lives of ordinary people and tries to show what life is like in different parts of the world. Beyond the Landscape, on the other side, makes a penetrating analysis of landscape photography in an aesthetic perspective. From Pinyao tells us how once-obscure photographers turned into a global phenomenon when their works appeared in the PIP. An Eyewitness to China, in a chronological order, shows photos taken by Chinese photographers in 1860-2000 that were rarely seen before.
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 Alasdair Foster,together with other reputed photographers will discuss the art of photos in the 10th PIP |
Thirty photographers from Taiwan province will also band together and showcase the beautiful landscape, social life and history of the island.
The 2010 show, called Confidence and Strength, will run from September 19 to 25.
With the genuine efforts taken in the past decade, PIP has become a well-recognized cultural brand that presents current trends in the world’s photography community, said Hu Shuping, director of the organizing committee.
More to the point, the committee is working to have an improved appraisal mechanism in place that is both just and authoritative.
During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China. It is now merely renowned for its well-preserved ancient city wall. Now it is trying to build up a global image and showcase its local character as a perfect combination of ancient dimension and modern art.The show delivers great economic goods to this ancient town. The year 2009 saw a significant increase in inbound tourists, ticket sales and comprehensive revenue. Sixty thousand jobs were created that year, easing the burden of unemployment on the local community.
The annual festival was initiated in 2001 in strict conformity with global practices. One hundred and sixty-five heavy-weights from the photography community of 16 countries and regions came to the show and displayed their chef d’oeuvre, making the audience find everything new and fresh.
