About Biennale

"Reverie" is the motto of the 12th edition of the TIFF Festival, which returns in a new formula as a bienniale of photography. From 8 September to 8 October, we will present the main exhibition, 3 competition exhibitions of the TIFF Open section and accompanying exhibitions. The programme will be complemented by 3 days of opening events, as well as in the following weeks: meetings with authors, guided tours, discussions and concerts. 8.09–8.10.2023, TIFF Photography Biennale // Reverie

8.09–8.10.2023, TIFF Photography Biennale // Reverie

When looking for a title for this year's Biennale, we considered a word that describes the desirable relationship between the beholder and the observed. We chose 'Reverie', which encompasses time, reverie, attention and forgetfulness of what is happening around. And there - you know - crises: military, economic, psychological, ecological, social and political.

Contemporary events affect us - residents of cities, countries, continents and the planet - and deeply move us and sadden us internally. It is easy to fall into a state of malaise, the danger of which Ewa Bińczyk, among others, wrote about in “Epoka Człowieka”. Alternatives to such a state can be sought in activism, the creation of communities, the experience of art, but also in the act of resistance associated with the pursuit of pleasure.

The TIFF Photography Biennale will draw attention to the soothing and comforting power of images, which can play a significant role in the pursuit of well-being. We will consider whether the pleasure that accompanies an aesthetic experience can become a source of strength and inspiration for taking care of oneself and one's 'co-interns'.

The main exhibition, the three exhibitions selected in the TIFF Open competition and the accompanying events will refer to pleasure and the avoidance of suffering in various ways. We will address the sensually experienced structure of the image, the place of refuge, primitivism, direct experience located in the body, the apparent satisfaction of desire in consumption-driven late capitalism, and the organic construction of spirituality that overcomes guilt. Lectures, discussions and guided tours will broaden the range of issues addressed in the artworks to include philosophical, aesthetic and emancipatory interpretations of pleasure.

The opening of the TIFF Photography Bienniale 2023 // Reverie will take place on Friday, 8 September 2023 at 8:00 pm. in front of Recepcja, Festival Club at 46a Ruska Street. Free entry.

Organizer: TIFF Collective

Co-financing: Gmina Wrocław, Urząd Marszałkowski Województwa Dolnośląskiego

Partners: Centrum Kultury Agora, Krupa Gallery, Bulvary, IP Studio, Dolnośląskie Centrum Filmowe, Uniwersytet Artystyczny w Poznaniu, Wrocławski Instytut Kultury, Klubokawiarnia Recepcja, Już Tłumaczę, Galeria u Agatki

Patroni medialni: Kwartalnik Fotografia, Magazyn Szum, Radio LUZ, NN6T notes na 6 tygodni, Fotopolis