Macau does not have a Contemporary Photography Centre. Could it have one? It could and it should.
This text, provocatively entitled "Manifesto", aligns some ideas in favour of the creation of a Contemporary Photography Centre, explaining why Macau can't ignore this idea.
1. Photography is a form of artistic expression in that is currently undergoing great expansion and development. There are more and more art galleries around the world specialising in photography. There are also an increasing number of art fairs and festivals dedicated to photography on a global level. Some focus on the activities of art galleries, others on artists, still others on photography books.
The list is long. But it is worth naming some, without taking care to distinguish their specialization and scope, to understand the extent of the phenomenon:
New York Photo Festival (USA).
Photomed – Festival of Mediterannean Photography (Lebanon).
Dusseldorf Photo Weekend (Germany).
São Paulo Photography Festival (Brazil).
Yangon Photo Festival (Myanmar).
FotoFest (USA).
Paris Photo (with one edition in Los Angels and another, the most important one in Paris).
World Press Photo (The Netherlands).
Head On Photo Festival (Australia).
Photo London (UK).
PhotoEspana (Spain).
Copenhagen Photo Festival (Denmark).
Vienna Photo Book Festival (Austria).
The Eye – International Photography Festival (Wales).
Photo Basel (Switzerland).
Athens Photo Festival (Greece).
Les Rencontres d'Arles (France).
Antiparos Photo Festival (Greece).
Visa pour l'Image (France).
Landskrona Photo Festival (Sweden).
Unseen Photo Fair (The Netherlands).
Encontros de Imagem (Portugal).
Hong Kong International Photo Festival (Hong Kong).
Paraty em Foco – International Photography Festival (Brazil).
Tokyo International Photography Festival (Japan).
Shanghai Photo Festival (China).
Singapore International Photography Festival (Singapore).
Fotobook Festival (Germany).
Lianzhou Photo (China).
Angkor Photo Festival (Cambodia).
Lisbon's Photobook Fair (Portugal).
Although extensive, this list is far from exhaustive. I could add so many other initiatives around the world that promote photography and the artists who have chosen this medium to express themselves. But this list shows that photography is the subject of a market that is very intense and taken very seriously.
2. Compared to other forms of art, photography, as an investment, faces some weaknesses and mistrust that place it, by some, in the lower positions of the hierarchy of artistic production, whose top is clearly occupied by painting.
For two main reasons: The first has to do with the durability of the medium, the photographic paper, which makes the investment potentially more uncertain. If the paper, perhaps due to the fact that it is of worse quality, degrades after a few years, then what to do with the "work of art" acquired?
The second reason is related to credibility and has to do with the possibility of a photographic image, especially in digital times, being reproduced as often as one wants. Collectors and investors bet on limited editions. But replicating a photograph beyond that contractual commitment to the market is a possibility to consider. Who can they believe and trust?
3. The so-called "Creative Industries" need specialization. And they need to focus on clusters that have potential for growth and international recognition. Photography is clearly one of the areas where these factors coincide. And the above-mentioned weaknesses may paradoxically be advantages in the purpose of creating a Contemporary Photography Centre in Macau.
Macau has many talented artists who express themselves through photography. And there are several initiatives to join efforts to publish zines, magazines and photography books.
In fact it is simpler and "cheaper" to do photography, especially when based on digital, than to produce art on other media such as painting and sculpture.
4. A Contemporary Photography Centre would serve to systematise and enhance all these works and efforts. It would serve to reflect on the most appropriate artistic practices. It would serve to promote the works of many artists who, in Macau, do not have access to the noblest and most institutional spaces to show their work. It would serve as a certification body for the work of artists and help to promote photographic publishing. It would serve to provide training on artistic practices, trends and movements. And it would serve to promote Macau as a space for culture and generational dialogue.
For these reasons such a centre cannot just be the initiative of a group of friends. It will always have to result from a public-private partnership between the MSAR and private entities and/or artists, in order to have institutional status, and to be able to represent the MSAR in the various international forums where photography is discussed and shown as an artistic expression. In order to be able to create it, the MSAR should provide adequate space for the development of activities, and allocate a certain amount of support.
Therefore, this simple manifesto is a clear call and an appeal to the institutional responsibility of the MSAR Government to create conditions for progress and cultural dynamism in an area where Macau has clear conditions to assert itself internationally.
