Emerging Europeans at Paris’ Circulation(s) festival

The Circulation(s) festival returns to Paris from 20 April – 30 June, featuring work by photographers based in or originally from Europe. This year the festival has been directed by Francois Cheval and Audrey Hoareau, who used to work together at France’s respected Musée Nicéphore-Niépce but left to set up The Red Eye project. And, as they’re at pains to explain, though the festival is pitched as a “European Young Photography Festival”, it actually promotes emerging work whatever the photographer’s age.

“There isn’t really an age limit, the only “true” condition is to come from Europe or to reside in a European country,” they say. “Another criterion is to not have been shown very much in France and Europe. We know that the term ‘young photography’ is ambiguous… Circulation(s)’ desire is simply to offer emerging photographers, regardless of their age, a springboard.”

They add that the festival was one of the first to question the overrepresentation of male photographers, and also to pay its exhibitors; in addition, this year’s edition includes photographers from “countries whose state of contemporary photography is insufficiently known”, such has Georgia or Estonia. It also includes Romania, which this year has a special focus as part of the French Institute’s France-Romania Season.

The Romanian photographers included at Circulation(s) are Ioana Cirlig, Felicia Simion, and Mihai and Horatiu Sovaiala. “It is in the very nature of the festival to explore the whole of European production and not to be confined to the so-called ‘prescribers’ countries,” explain Cheval and Hoareau. “So we went to Bucharest to meet the local photographic community: schools, galleries, photographers, associations.”

From the series Post-industrial Stories © Ioana Cirlig, in the Romanian artists selection

In addition to these photographers, Circulation(s) includes work by 34 other artists this year – two artists from the invited school (Pippa Healy and Patricia Petersen from the Work Show Grow intiative); two artists from the invited gallery (Ivan Da Silva and Nelson Miranda, who are both with the Portuguese gallery Adorna Corações, directed by Estefânia R. de Almeida); and the rest the “Jury’s choice” photographers hand-picked by Circulation(s) and Cheval and Hoareau, including Yorgos Yatromanolakis, Jordi Ruiz Cirera, Jaakko Kahilaniemi, and Ulla Deventer.

“In addition to the invited school and gallery that offer, with our agreement, two photographers each, there are two ways to apply,” say Cheval and Hoareau. “Some of the exhibitors responded to the call for applications; the other half was directly selected, either by the members of the association, or by the ‘artistic directors’ during sessions (in the form of collective screenings), where debates and arguments led to majority opinions.

“Working alongside a team made up mostly of volunteers – members of the association that carries the festival – corresponds to a framework in line with our conception of an ‘artistic direction’,” they add. “We believe in the effectiveness of the collective and reject the idea of ​​competition between ego! We do not wish to “lead” but to accompany and, perhaps, to bring something else; a political vision of the medium.”

Circulation(s) is open from 20 April – 30 June at Centquatre-Paris, 5 rue Curial, 75019 Paris www.festival-circulations.com/en/

From the series Post-industrial Stories © Ioana Cirlig, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series Post-industrial Stories © Ioana Cirlig, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series Post-industrial Stories © Ioana Cirlig, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series (visual) ethnographies © Felicia Simion, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series (visual) ethnographies © Felicia Simion, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series (visual) ethnographies © Felicia Simion, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series (visual) ethnographies © Felicia Simion, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series Reacknowledged Structures: Models © Mihai and Horatiu Sovaiala, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series Reacknowledged Structures: Models © Mihai and Horatiu Sovaiala, in the Romanian artists selection
From the series Reacknowledged Structures: Models © Mihai and Horatiu Sovaiala, in the Romanian artists selection
Untitled © Ivan Da Silva, part of the invited gallery selection
Praça das comunidades [Square of the communities] n.2, 2017. From the series Fundacao lar do emigrante Portugues no mundo [Founder of the Portuguese emigrant in the world] 2016-2018 © Nelson Miranda, part of the invited gallery selection
Untitled (deep green), 2018, from the series Right Color © Helene Bellenger, part of the Jury’s choice selection
Le rêve, from the series Le Soleil des loups, 2018 © Marine Lanier, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Project Iceworm © Anastasia Mityukova, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Für mich [“To me”] © Sina Niemeyer, part of the Jury’s choice selection
7 km of ink and 12 hours of recovery. Once Upon a Time #5 © Morvarid K, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series 100 Hectares of Understanding © Jaakko Kahilaniemi, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Indésirable [Unwanted] © Anna Cherednikova, part of the Jury’s choice selection
A burial for a young woman and her baby who died in a car crash. Mennonites in this community don’t drive, but they are allowed to ride as passengers. From the series Los Menonos © Jordi Ruiz Cirera, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Snapkins © Maksim Finogeev, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Non dite che siamo pochi [“Do Not Say We Are Few”] © Umberto Coa, part of the Jury’s choice selection
From the series Sick © Pippa Healy, in the Work Show Grow invited school selection
From What rough beast, its hour come round at last? © Patricia Petersen, in the Work Show Grow invited school selection
Diane Smyth

Diane Smyth is the editor of BJP, returning for a second stint on staff in 2023 - after 15 years on the team until 2019. As a freelancer, she has written for The Guardian, FT Weekend Magazine, Creative Review, Aperture, FOAM, Aesthetica and Apollo. She has also curated exhibitions for institutions such as The Photographers Gallery and Lianzhou Foto Festival. You can follow her on instagram @dismy