A candid and reflective sharing by photographers, curators, publishers, gallerists on ideas, decisions, and processes behind to continue on despite the current unprecedented time. Disruption/Adaptation covers how festivals continue to sustain and engage with their audience during this period of time. 

Lauren Hadler
Lauren Hadler, the Director of Education and Public Programs at the KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival, has been with the festival since its first edition in 2013. She has diverse experience in industries from architecture to the arts, working with various governments, organizations, and artists in both the public and private sectors.

She works internationally with Japanese crafts and sits on the Advisory Board of the CASE Art Fund, an NPO with photography at its heart, raising awareness about children’s human rights through the exhibition of photography in non-traditional ways.

KYOTOGRAPHIE, held in Kyoto is one of the few truly international artistic events taking place in Japan. While honoring its millennium of history and tradition, Kyoto is at the same time a leading light of culture on an international scale.
Valuable collections of photography and works by internationally renowned artists are exhibited in elegant, historic buildings as well as modern architectural spaces. Some shows feature the work of traditional artisans, while others highlight collaborations with the most modern technology. The exhibitions are presented outside the traditional galley format and work in harmony with the spaces in which they reside. Accompanied by an extensive Public and Education program and the hugely popular satellite event and award KG+, KYOTOGRAPHIE proudly returns in September 2021.

www.kyotographie.jp/

Fiona Sweet
A prominent and highly respected arts director and curator, Fiona Sweet is renowned for inspiring and intelligent delivery of uniquely curated festivals and exhibitions. Currently, Fiona is the Creative Director of the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Australia’s leading contemporary photographic event.

Held every two years, the Biennale is a 60-day festival delivering a dynamic program of two major photographic exhibition streams: a curated Core Program showcasing acclaimed domestic and international artists and the Open Program that fosters the development of new artists. Fiona is also the Director at the National Centre For Photography, Australia’s newest and only regional gallery dedicated exclusively to photography.

In 2017, her inaugural year as Creative Director, the Biennale drew an audience of over 26,800, contributing an economic impact of $3.89 million to the local economy with the celebrated American artist David LaChappelle as the headline artist.

Fiona’s directorship of the 2019 Biennale was responsible for more than 37,000 visitors with an injection of $7.8 million into the city’s economy. Her fourth year working with incredible artists and curators, the festival prompted audiences to question, explore, and be changed by art. She successfully invited Chinese artist Liu Bolin as the headline artist, exhibiting his Camouflage series – highlighting critical works from the past 15 years of Bolin’s creative output.

As a curator, her interest lies in the interdisciplinary and experimental approaches to the photographic medium. Fiona’s practise often investigates the intersections between the human body and the human psyche and its response to shifting societal perspectives, power dynamics, and challenges.

Fiona is an influential and in-demand public speaker, industry judge, photographic portfolio reviewer, and assessor in Australia and internationally. The recipient of many prestigious design awards, Fiona was the Director and Founder of Sweet Creative and former Board Director of the Australian Graphic Design Association. Fiona was the recipient of an Ian Potter Foundation Travel Grant in 2018 for her research on international art festival best practice.