Evolution of Sight. 1991-2016

For the 25th anniversary of the Union of Photo Artists of Russia

As part of the 11th International Month of Photography in Moscow ‘Photobiennale 2016’, the Russian Union of Art Photographers and Multimedia Art Museum, Moscow present the project ‘Evolution of Sight. 1991—2016’, devoted to the 25th anniversary of the Russian Union of Art Photographers. The project was realised with support from the Culture Ministry of the Russian Federation.

Over the last quarter century the Russian Union of Art Photographers has produced and accumulated diverse approaches to documentary and art photography. This successful activity continues today, uniting three generations of Russian photographers. The different schools, varied creative techniques and experiments presented in one comprehensive exhibition provide the opportunity to see how photography itself, its language, form and style, have changed with the passing years. We can see how its authors creatively reshaped and reflected real events, phenomena, problems and processes, how they influenced one another’s work. Understand the transformation of photography due to the transition ‘from film to digital’ format, the opportunity for collaboration with photographic institutions world wide, participation in international projects and competitions, the appearance of the Internet and development of social networking sites and mobile communications.

The ‘Evolution of Sight. 1991—2016’ exhibition joins together renowned masters of photography and young, talented artists. Just as the Union of Art Photographers unites authors from dozens of Russian cities, its jubilee exhibition is unique for its broad geographical range. Photography ‘beyond the metropolis’ is fully represented at the Photobiennale 2016, and the display includes a whole series of exhibits dedicated to this theme. As well as authors hailing from Moscow and St. Petersburg, the Union of Art Photographers’ exhibition presents photographers from Samara, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Vologda, Novosibirsk, Krasnodar, Novokuznetsk, Kursk, Chelyabinsk, Cheboksary, Kungur, Yoshkar-Ola, Surgut, Kazan, Petrozavodsk, Krasnogorsk, Kaluga, Pavlodar, Blagoveshchensk, Kirovo-Chepetsk, Nizhny Novgorod and many other cities.

Of course one exhibition cannot cover the creative output of all members belonging to the Union of Art Photographers, but their work enables the history of Russian photography and the photo chronicles of Russian history to continue.