PHOTOGRAPHY CENTER OF THESSALONIKI HISTORY

PHOTOGRAPHY CENTER OF THESSALONIKI (GREECE) 

Photography Centre of Thessaloniki is a non-profit organization running for the last twenty years in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the Balkans, Europe and lately across the world.

In Greece Photography Centre of Thessaloniki became known all these years especially due to the long struggle for artistic photography and of course, through the exhibitions and other events (street actions, school guided tours, intervention with articles on press).

Photography Centre of Thessaloniki has collaborated with almost all of the museums in North Greece as the Photography Museum of Thessaloniki, the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Byzantine Culture, Water Supply Museum of Thessaloniki, Folk life Museum of Xanthi, with foreign institutes (Goethe Institute, French Institute, Italian Institute), as well as with many municipalities and prefectures.

It has also become known in the Balkans during the last fifteen years due to the development of collaborations and exchanges with individual photographers, but also with all the important institutions and festivals (museums, universities, galleries, photography centres, and photography festivals) that foster the photography in the Balkans through events under the name “Aspects of Balkan Photography”.

Since 2005, the activities of the Photography Centre of Thessaloniki are spread across Europe through its involvement, as founder member, in the Photofestival Union, in which take part the most important non-governmental photography festivals from all European countries.

The site of Photography Center of Thessaloniki www.fkth.gr accomplished something unique: To provide with documents, CVs and photography material almost all of its exhibitions and also to include links with photos from the most prominent Greek and Balkan photographers.

Photography Centre of Thessaloniki publishes also many catalogues, photo albums and DVDs, especially for its international exhibitions in Greece.

The future orientation of Photography Centre of Thessaloniki consists in organising important festivals and collaborations with prominent agents and festivals in Greece, the Balkans and across Europe. This orientation will follow the way the company paved so far, through institutions that the same company created and developed successfully (“Aspects of Balkan Photography”), involved in their foundation and later supported (Photofestival Union and World Union of Photography Centres).

The standards, according to which the photographers are judged whether to participate in the company or not, are very high and is given emphasis on the enrichment of the company with young and competent photographers, encouraging their participation in high level festivals for grabbing opportunities and collecting experience.