Fernando Benzo welcomed this event by saying that "the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport is extremely glad to see this 20th edition because we are highly involved in this work. This year, we are going to be even more involved, with exhibitions prepared at various museums, such as the Cerralbo Museum, the Museum of Romanticism, the Fashion Museum and the Tabacalera installations. Furthermore, it is important to mention that we have added the Filmoteca Española [Spanish Film Archive] as one of the venues for PHotoEspaña this year".
In response to questions from the media about the collaboration from public and private sectors, the State Secretary for Culture said that he strongly believes in public-private partnerships. "It is basically about creating a cultural offer that gets better every day and, to do so, we need to have joint efforts between the public and private sectors", he said.
Finally, he encouraged everyone to visit PHotoEspaña "in order to discover that the art of photography is an exciting art form and for the whole public to come and enjoy the exhibitions".
Participation of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport will be at PHotoEspaña with various exhibitions dedicated to the work of the photographers Karlheinz Weinberger, Carlos Saura, Yolanda Domínguez and Fernando Maquieira, as well as photographic images by Joaquín Sorolla.
Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y DeporteFurthermore, Estudios Tabacalera will host a publishing laboratory where various national and international artists will debate their ideas around this type of work and give free reign to their collective creativity to produce a Photobook.
The exhibitions will take place throughout the summer at the National Museum of Romanticism, the Cerralbo Museum, the Fashion Museum, the Sorolla Museum and Estudios Tabacalera.
Also as part of PHotoEspaña, the Spanish Film Archive has also scheduled an event entitled Desiertos de lo real (el cine en la era digital), which will be screened at the Doré Cinema from 3 to 29 June.
Karlheinz Weinberger at the Museum of Romanticism
From 1 June to 17 September, the Museum of Romanticism is hosting the exhibition entitled Karlheinz Weinberger. En un círculo de rebeldes, which will show photographs by this Swiss artist (1921-2006) for the first time in Spain.
Discovered by the public only a short time after his death in 2006, the work by this Swiss photographer has been shown around the world and included in numerous publications. This exhibition, commissioned by Alberto García-Alix, forms part of the Carta Blanca section of PHotoEspaña.
Carlos Saura at the Cerralbo Museum
The Cerralbo Museum will host the exhibition entitled España años 50 from 2 June to 3 September, including the photography work by the film-maker Carlos Saura, which brings us closer to the reality of a country very different to the one of today.
España años 50 is a documentary project, a photograph album about towns and people in Spain that Carlos Saura gradually discovered during his various trips around the country. The exhibition comprises a selection of photographs through "the eyes of Carlos Saura on that Spain and its people, with empathy towards a population that had suffered the ravages of civil war and continued to suffer from poverty, oppression and the lack of liberty during the times of Franco rule", says Oliva María Rubio, who commissioned the exhibition.
Yolanda Domínguez at the Fashion Museum
The Fashion Museum will exhibit the work of the photographer Yolanda Domínguez from 8 June to 17 September. The exhibition, entitled Little Black Dress, stems from a personal reflection by the artist on the influence and pressure imposed by the decisions from the fashion world on shaping the female body.
The exhibition also includes audio-visual screenings such as Niños vs. Moda and Poses, a critique of how women are portrayed in the fashion world that has been viewed over a million times on YouTube.
Sorolla en su Paraíso at the Sorolla Museum
The exhibition entitled Sorolla en su paraíso. Álbum fotográfico del pintor will be at the Sorolla Museum until 1 October.
The exhibition presents over 70 photographs chosen from the museum archives and other collections to examine the relationship between Joaquín Sorolla and the photography of his time.
Fernando Maquieira at La Principal de Tabacalera-Promoción del Arte
La Principal de Tabacalera-Promoción del Arte is exhibiting one of the latest projects by the photographer Fernando Maquieira. For the last seven years and at over 50 museums around the world, Fernando Maquieira has been researching what happens to works of art when they are not on public display; what mysteries they hide when behind closed doors.
This exhibition, entitled Guía Nocturna de los Museos, will open to the public from 21 June to 3 September.
New artistic languages in the Spanish Film Archive
Pool MoncloaThe Spanish Film Archive is also committing to new artistic languages. The Doré Cinema will be showing Desiertos de lo real (el cine en la era digital) from 3 to 29 June. With these screenings, as part of PHotoEspaña 2017, the Spanish Film Archive is exploring the various ways in which cinema has tried to think about and confront its new identity following the switch from analogue creation to digital.
The screenings will include six sessions by such creators as Chris Marker, Leos Carax, Ari Folman and Isaki Lacuesta, as well as screenings on Saturdays by Filmoteca Junior with such productions as Avatar, Rompe Ralph, Lego. La película and Wall-E, which also reflect the paradigm shift in the status of the photographic image.
Publishing Laboratory at Estudios Tabacalera
From 5 to 9 June, Estudios Tabacalera will host a publishing laboratory where various national and international artists from several generations will debate their ideas around photography, and work freely and collectively to eventually create a Photobook.
The direction taken by this photobook will be steered by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarín, two men with outstanding international track records.
Descubrimientos PHE
This is a meeting point for photography professionals, which, during the first week of the festival, will offer an extensive programme of activities at PIC.A. Escuela Internacional Alcobendas PHotoEspaña.
Descubrimientos includes various portfolio exhibition sessions, which will put 140 photographers in contact with 30 national and international experts, and a series of workshops. This event is being supported by Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) through its Programme for the Internationalisation of Spanish Culture [Spanish acronym: PICE] in the Visitors category.
Finally, as part of the schedule for this 20th PHotoEspaña 2017, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport will also take part in other exhibitions, such as those at the Reina Sofía National Museum and Art Centre (La Tricontinental. Cine, utopía e internacionalismo), the Prado Museum (Cuando cuento estás sólo tú…pero cuando miro, hay sólo una sombra. Farideh Lashai) and the National Library (Los mejores libros de fotografía del año), which will open on 13 June.
Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte