Evidence of Noorderlicht's respected international status does not come only from the enormous number of submissions from photographers world-wide for the Noorderlicht International Photofestival. The exhibition itself also has attracted wide interest outside The Netherlands.

Showing at Noorderlicht is clearly a must for both Dutch and foreign professional photographers. This year Noorderlicht received 1200 submissions; 87% of these came from other countries. The 90 photographers who ultimately took part in Metropolis - City Life in the Urban Age come from 36 different countries, representing all six continents.

Metropolis tour

On 9 October Metropolis will be closing its doors in Groningen, to open elsewhere in the world. In Europa a part of the exhibition will be seen from 28 October to 27 December in the Museum of Estonian Architecture in Tallinn, Estonia. At the same time, Metropolis will fly to the Middle East, where the famous The Empty Quarter Gallery in Dubai will show the lion's share of the exhibition between 19 October and 30 November.

International success

Not only Metropolis counts as an international success story for Noorderlicht this autumn. In Nigeria, the Lagos Photo photo festival starts in October, where the high points from Noorderlicht's 2000 Africa Inside festival will have an encore. Even as you read this, the Noorderlicht exhibition Travel Plans, by the master photographer Jeffrey Silverthorne, is hanging in Galerie VU' in Paris. Noorderlicht published Travel Plans, the exquisite survey of his oeuvre, in 2011.

Photos: Michael Wolf, Manal Al Dowayan, Yang Yongliang

October 2

13.00 hrs: Hans Wilschut - Megacities
In his lecture, photographer and artist Hans Wilschut will present his various work in different megacities around the world. He specialises in urban and industrial landscapes, often photographed by night and from surprising angles. 

14.30 hrs: Paul Gofferjé - The past is no present
Photographer and filmer Paul Gofferjé will try to answer the question wether we can achieve social changes through art. His work Beirut Panodramas (Lebanon, 1977-2004) is part of the exposition Metropolis. 

October 5

19.30 hrs: Bram Jansen - Kakuma, The Accidental City
Anthropologist Bram Jansen will give a lecture about his years of research and his experiences in the multi-ethnic refugeecamp Kakuma in Kenya.  

photos: Hans Wilschut, DePers

Each year, Noorderlicht invites galleries, museums and other locations to join the festival with their own exhibition. All those participating venues in the festival are paramount to creating that 'festival spirit', causing many visitors to take some time off and see as much as possible. The exhibitions in the Satellite programme are organised and assembled by the locations or the photographers themselves. The following two exhibitions are fine examples of the programme.

Galerie Sign - David Maroto

David Maroto's work reveals a layered use of photography, with overlaps with other disciplines. In First Circle, he makes connections between narrative and visual art.

more>>

Grand Theatre - Edward Burtynsky 

The Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky is world-famous for his photographs of industrial landscapes and nature as it has been transformed by industry. His work is included in the collections of important museums worldwide.

more>>

Photos: David Maroto

For sale in Aa-kerk and webshop

Pictures by all 90 of the participating photographers are to be found in the catalogue of the Metropolis exhibition, arranged according to the same division into 'chapters' as the exhibition itself. The 256 page publication is in full colour and soft bound. The introduction is an in-depth exploration of the theme of urbanisation and its consequences for life in the city. The catalogue can be purchased at the reception desk in the Der Aa-kerk or ordered via the webshop.

view online

The free Metropolis Magazine can be picked up at all Noorderlicht locations, including the satellites. In it you will find listings of all the exhibitions, interviews, activities and ongoing projects, visitor information, and, most important, lots of photos!

Do you want to plan your route including all all the main exhibitions and satellites before you arrive in Groningen? Consult the Magazine online!

In Oculus, Ken Schles takes us on a personal philosophic journey that points beyond the shadow-play of images. The exposition is a meditation on the nature of perception and existence in the gray light of this world. Alongside the exhibition, Noorderlicht will publish the book Oculus. A photographic book about images, memory, and the metaphor of light.

We infuse the world we encounter with meaning, with social and symbolic significance based on the value we place upon representations we share. This, perhaps, is the irony of our conceptualizations: We make and share images so that we may know the world. But what exactly is the nature of our image representations? And what are the implications of using the metaphor of the image to signify, codify and describe a dynamic and ephemeral world?

Spurred on by private upheavals to reappraise the connections we have to images and memory, master photographer Ken Schles takes you with Oculus on a personal philosophic journey that points beyond the shadow-play of images. It is a meditation on the nature of perception and existence in the grey light of this world.

Photo: Ken Schles - (My Daughter) Julia