Fotofestival Schiedam takes place from September 3rd until September 20th and is an annual photo manifestation in three weekends with exhibitions and activities showing current and actual developments in photography. The program is based on a theme that explores the relationship between photography and the world because this once trusted medium increasingly shapes and colors to the way we perceive our reality. Fotofestival Schiedam wants to highlight exciting and high-quality imagery that does justice to the complexity of contemporary seeing, showing that there is a world of choices and thoughts hidden behind the final result. Like previous years, Fotofestival Schiedam is characterized by the special combination with other (art) disciplines. At a special location in the town’s historic center, various art projects are exhibited, from young talents as well as established names, presented in spatial installations that move beyond the idea of a flat photograph attached to a wall.

The theme of Fotofestival Schiedam 2020 is transitions. Although we seem to enjoy – in the west – a life of unprecedented prosperity, we also seem to be controlled by a feeling of chaos and discomfort. Differences between rich and poor, and the politically right and left wings, seem to be growing. Put differently, the historical moment in which we live seems to reach a tipping point that we recognize in different crises. These crises or transitions will be the common thread through the 2020 edition of Fotofestival Schiedam. Photography is a medium of transition par excellence and allows us to reflect on moments of transition. As a still image, photography isolates a portion of time and space. But it is this cut-out that makes us aware that the world never stops. A temporary halt only exists by means of motion, a transition towards a new era.