BJP on the programme at the truly international Tbilisi Photo Festival

Returning for its eight edition from 13 September, Tbilisi Photo is an international festival in the heart of the Caucasus which hopes to bridge the image-making communities from across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

This year themed Fashion, the diverse programme includes a look at Guy Bourdin’s iconic oeuvre, the Dutch artist Viviane Sassen’s approach to fashion photography, and an exclusive display of Iranian fashion magazines published before the Islamic revolution in 1978.

Dubrovka theatre entreacte of a children’s circus “Aquamarin” performance. The theatre was the site of the 2002 Nord-Ost hostage-taking by Chechen militants and ensuing use of poisonous gas by Russian forces, which left at least 170 dead. Moscow, Russia, July 2017. From the series Russian Journal revisited, 1947-2017 © Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos
See you in My Dreams © Stanley Greene/Anna Shpakova archives

Elsewhere the festival hosts an exhibition by Magnum photographer Thomas Dworzak and writer Julius Strauss, who have re-traced the footsteps of American writer John Steinbeck and Robert Capa, who spent two years documenting life in Georgia, Ukraine and Russia after World War II. There will also be a tribute show to the late Stanley Greene, featuring a collection of never-before-seen polaroids and personal letters.

Alongside the main programme of events are talks with curators and photographers, and open-air night screenings at Fabrika, a refurbished Soviet sewing factory. This year the work of over 350 photographs will be projected on the screens in the Tbilisi’s historic neighbourhood, with BJP‘s 2017 Ones To Watch photographers included in the Night of Photography on 16 September, alongside special shows from Photo Vogue Festival, Delhi Photo Festival, and Ibasho Gallery.

Tbilisi Photo Festival runs 13 – 20 September www.tbilisiphotofestival.com

Bikini Collection – the trophy collection of a Soviet Soldier. 1953
Iranian Photo Studio of pre-Islamic revolution. Collection of Shadi Ghadirian
Iranian Photo Studio of pre-Islamic revolution. Collection of Shadi Ghadirian
East German fashion photo, Gunter Roubitzc, 1960-80. AKG Images
East German fashion photo, Gunter Roubitzc, 1960-80. AKG Images
© The Guy Bourdin Estate, 2017, courtesy of Art + Commerce, 2017
© The Guy Bourdin Estate, 2017, courtesy of Art + Commerce, 2017
Suhag Studio. Images by Suresh Punjabi, 1970-80
Suhag Studio. Images by Suresh Punjabi, 1970-80
Portrait of a Youth, Bleniotal, Switzerland, from The Circle of Life by Roberto Donetta
Taliban portrait, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2002 Taliban portrait, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2002. Collection of Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos
Female Workers of the chocolate factory Cima Norma, 1910-25. Blenio Valley, Switzerland. From the Circle of Life by Roberto Donetta © Archivio Donetta, Corzoneso
Portrait of a Youth, Bleniotal, Switzerland, from The Circle of Life by Roberto Donetta © Archivio Donetta, Corzoneso
De La Mar, 2010 © Viviane Sassen. In And Out Of Fashion
Izabela Radwanska Zhang

Starting out as an intern back in 2016, Izabela Radwanska Zhang is now the Editorial Director of British Journal of Photography in print and online. Her words have appeared in Disegno and Press Association. Prior to this, she completed a MA in Magazine Journalism at City University, London, and most recently, a Postgrad Certificate in Graphic Design at London College of Communication.