In May, the Scotiabank Contact Photography Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary in Toronto. Over the years, the festival has benefited tens of thousands of artists. It even set a new record of 1.4 million visitors two years ago.
Although the pandemic had a significant effect on last year’s festival, it went on as planned, with most of the events taking place online. Only about a third of the 186 activities took place in the real world.
Darcy Killeen, the festival’s executive director, said the festival’s appeal is its diversity and inclusiveness. The festival’s goal is to demonstrate that everyone can put on an exhibition and that it is a form of grassroots culture.
The Core Program, which includes both primary exhibits and public installations, is the festival’s centerpiece. Foreign artists’ work will be included in the exhibitions too.
The festival’s focus this year will be on black and indigenous creators and also LGBTQ+ artists. While many installations will remain virtual, public installations will proceed as scheduled, including those that were postponed last year.
