[Photo/VCG]

The 2019 Lishui Photography Festival and the third edition of the International Photography Seminar will take place from Nov 8 to 12 in the city of Lishui in Zhejiang province according to a press release from the China Photographers Association and Lishui municipal government, issued on Aug 13 in Beijing.

The biennial festival's theme is "New Start from Lishui", inviting photographers worldwide — professionals and amateurs alike — to meet in Lishui on the 180th anniversary of the invention of photography.

"The festival will focus on technological and art context changes since the birth of photography, as well as study trends in an age of different cultural backgrounds and technological innovations such as 5G," said Ren Shunv, deputy director of the organizing committee of the festival.

The five-day event will include an opening ceremony, international seminars, a theme exhibition, artist-in-residence programs, photography product expositions, cultural tourism product fairs, online and offline interactions and a closing ceremony. 800 exhibitions, more than 10,000 works and more than 30 academic exchange activities will be held for photographers, scholars, exhibition curators, editors, collectors and suppliers of photography equipment.

The organizing committee also set up a fund to honor superlatives like "Best Curator", "Best Exhibition", "Most Promising New Talent".

"The festival will attract nearly 10,000 photographers from more than 100 countries and more than 70 international organizations such as Format International Photography Festival, New York University and Orvieto Photography, " Ren said.

Created in 2004 by the Lishui City Council and the China Photographers Association, the Lishui Photography Festival was incorporated into the city's cultural policy to reinforce its label of "the Chinese City of Photography" given in 1999 by the China Photographers Association, and to build its reputation as a cultural and touristic center.

The last edition in 2017 attracted 250,000 visitors over the course of five days, with 1,050 exhibitions from more than 50 countries and regions, topping all Chinese photography festivals in terms of scale and number of participants.