Time-honored photography event to open in Pingyao

A press conference for the 23rd Pingyao International Photography Festival is held in Pingyao on Aug 18. [Photo/Pingyao Rong Mei] 

The 23rd Pingyao International Photography Festival (PIP) is scheduled to take place in the Ancient City of Pingyao from Sept 19 to 25, according to a press conference held by the Pingyao county government on Aug 18.

This year's festival will feature 16 sections in five categories, including photo exhibitions, image trading fairs, exhibition evaluations, academic exchanges, and a book fair.

It will showcase 1,800 works by 228 photographers from 27 countries, as well as 230 sets of exhibits from over 2,000 Chinese photographers. A record-breaking 112 universities will participate, both from China and overseas.

With 23 years of development, the PIP has maintained a high standard in terms of quality, artistry, and professionalism. It has become a cultural brand for showcasing Chinese and even global photography, and Pingyao has become a magnet for Chinese photographers looking to broaden their artistic horizons.

The international exhibition section of this year’s PIP will be supported by British scholar and photography theorist David Bate, as well as American photography historian and theorist Petter Yenne. Irina Chmyreva, Thomas Kellner, and Moshe Rosenzveig, famous curators who have worked with the PIP for a long time, have also been invited to collaborate on this year's international exhibition.

The festival will comprehensively display the diverse development of photographic art under various cultural backgrounds from around the world. It will engage in discussions about the humanities, tourism, and other fields together with representatives from the city government of Bottrop in Germany, deepening China-German cultural exchanges and cooperation. 

From a futuristic perspective, the festival will create a digital exhibition space to bring a fresh photography experience and explore the integration and development of artificial intelligence and photography. 

In terms of cultural extension and innovation, the festival will introduce a new section called "PIP Book Fair" for the first time. 

Selected photography works depicting the remarkable changes in China's rural areas during the fight against poverty will be on display at the exhibition on rural vitalization curated by Yang Kaisheng, the honorary chairman of the China Financial Photographers Association, during the week-long festival. 

In addition, a special photo exhibition highlighting the protection of cultural relics, and the development of Pingyao county and Jinzhong city in specific industrial areas will be offered to visitors.