In the last decade, there has been an increasing international interest in the photobook. Never before so many photobooks have been produced as today. In Belgium too, more and more photographers are discovering the possibilities of the book. They often choose very specifically for this medium to present their work.
However, very little is known about the photobook in Belgium today. Moreover, there is no initiative to map, study, support or stimulate photobooks in an active, structural way. This project aims to provide an answer to this by collecting and studying Belgian photobooks, with a focus on so-called author books, which have been produced since 2000.
To do this we build The Belgian Platform for Photobooks, an online space dedicated to the contemporary photobook culture in Belgium and abroad. Through articles, interviews, an online book catalogue and public collection, and offline events, it aims to inform, but also to engage and inspire a growing photobook community.
Within the framework of the platform we organize a first symposium The Individual, The Political and The Photobook. With this project and the resulting platform, we also want to make a valuable contribution to the upcoming historical retrospective exhibition and the accompanying publication (anthology) on the photo book in Belgium by partner FOMU.
Website: http://belphotobooks.org
