Hit the Road!

Hit the Road is a photo event that will take place at various locations around the centre of Utrecht. It comprises three exhibitions that will show different sides of documentary photography. FOTODOK’s main areas of activity will also be highlighted: established (inter)national names, young talent and a clear link with the city of Utrecht: the highest quality but accessible for everyone.

Hit the Road may evoke memories of the book On the Road by the beat writer Jack Kerouac, or of your own travels around the world, of globalisation and people who fly from place to place. FOTODOK has given this idea of movement and travel the following twist:

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FD[000101] Campagne Hit the Road, © Rob Hornstra / FOTODOK


PROGRAMME HIT THE ROAD
- Friday September 12 until Sunday October 26, 2008
- Weds.-Sun. from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- opening on Dom Square; Fri. Sept. 12, 2008 / 5 p.m.
- From 5.30 p.m. a drink at the other locations

  


• Parking Spaces
Martin Parr worked on the series Parking Spaces between 2003 and 2007. He photographed the last available parking space in 41 different countries. It could have been your place, if you had been there in time. With Parking Spaces Parr highlights the universal frustration of looking for a parking space; a frustration experienced by car drivers the world over. At the same time, his series throws light on a global problem, that of the huge number of cars on our planet.
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FD[000033] Martin Parr, Parking Spaces, Mexico. La Paz. 2003. © Martin Parr / Magnum

- This is the first time the series Parking Spaces will be exhibited in the Netherlands and will hang in the internationally renowned Flatland Gallery on Lange Nieuwstraat 7, around the corner from Dom Square. You will need to go through the archway to reach the gallery.

About the photographer:
The British photographer Martin Parr (1952) is a chronicler of modern times. In a world in which image culture plays a central role, he depicts society from his own unique perspective. Bright colours, unusual angles and humour characterise his work. Leisure time, consumption and communication are recurring themes that he has explored during his numerous travels around the world. Parr’s work is exhibited in an artistic context as well as in the advertising and journalism world. In this way he succeeds in crossing the traditional divide between different visual arenas. He is an inspiration for many photographers. Parr has been a member of the world-famous photography agency Magnum since 1994.


• Roadtrip Utrecht
Ten top Dutch photographers went on a road trip through Utrecht’s neighbourhoods. Each photographer chose a different neighbourhood. The aim of this road trip through Utrecht is to show how documentary photographers from different backgrounds and with different interests observe and photograph. Where one photographer concentrates on portraits, the other focuses solely on the surroundings; and where one photographer tries to photograph in the most personal way possible, the other chooses to stay detached. Whatever their approach, they all returned with photos that show the neighbourhoods in a fascinating light.

The ten Dutch photographers are: Ivo van der Bent, Koos Breukel, Marco van Duyvendijk, Martijn van de Griendt, Rob Huibers, Dana Lixenberg, Isabella Rozendaal, Anoek Steketee, Henk Wildschut and Raimond Wouda.

- Road Trip Utrecht will be exhibited outside on Dom Square.



• Roadmap to Glory FOTODOK’s competition for talented photographers who graduated in 2007
It was announced at the beginning of May that Lucia Ganieva, Mike Roelofs and Karine Versluis were the winners of Roadmap to Glory, FOTODOK’s competition for talented photographers who graduated in 2007. All three winners received a working grant of 2,500 euro from FOTODOK with which to realise their proposals for the theme ‘Hit the Road’. The exhibition can be seen in the sports hall of the former gymnasium on Oude Gracht 373. This location could – after renovation – be FOTODOK’s new permanent home.

The portfolios and proposals were assessed by a jury of five people comprising writer and journalist Chris Keulemans, photographer and curator Andrew Phelps, image editor Jenny Smets, photographer and Silver Camera 2007 winner Dirk-Jan Visser and photographer and FOTODOK founder Rob Hornstra.

About the photographers:
Lucia Ganieva  (1968) studied photography at the Fotoacademie Amsterdam. Ganieva tells stories using portraits and details from the surroundings of those she photographs. In the former gymnasium, Ganieva will exhibit a series about the customs and traditions at Russian weddings.

Mike Roelofs (1982) also studied photography at the Fotoacademie in Amsterdam. Roelofs is interested in the lives of communities that often exist on the fringes of society. Roelofs is able to capture the loneliness and harshness of this existence but also the pride, joy and spirituality of these groups. For FOTODOK, Roelofs visited the Roma community in the village of Band in Romania.

Karine Versluis (1980) studied photography at the Koninklijke Academie voor Fotografie  in The Hague. Versluis combines opposing images in her documentary work. For example, an intimate portrait juxtaposed with a melancholy still life or a detached overview photo. This juxtapositional approach makes her series enormously dynamic. For FOTODOK, Versluis travelled to the Antilles in order to gain insight into the lives of Antillean teenagers.

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FD[000135] Karine Versluis, Enkeltje Schiphol, 2008



• FOTODOK reading at TUMULT
- September 24, 2008 / 7.30 p.m.
- Before the break, a reading will be given by the Austria-based photographer and curator Andrew Phelps.
- After the break, the British Magnum photographer Martin Parr and Erik Kessels from advertising agency KesselsKramer with make a dual presentation.
- Location: TUMULT, Dom Square 5 (doors open: 7 p.m.).
- Entrance: 7.50 euro / students 5 euro (reservation required: ).


• Education
In cooperation with UCK, an educational programme has been developed for children in the final years of primary school and the first years of secondary school. Road Trip Utrecht is the programme’s guiding principle. If you are interested in finding out more about this programme, please contact Bart Sleegers ().


• Utrecht's Light
In September and October, Utrecht will be turning the spotlight on photography. Different organisations – Academiegalerie, Centraal Museum, FOTODOK, UCK and SFU – have joined forces under the umbrella Utrecht’s Light to promote all the events that will be taking place.