PRESS RELEASE | Amsterdam, 25 September 2017

Unseen Amsterdam closed its 2017 edition with a record number of visitors, innovative additions to its programme and high quality gallery presentations Amsterdam has seen a display of new international photographic talent as Unseen Amsterdam 2017 concludes another successful year in showcasing the best in international contemporary photography. The sixth edition of Unseen Amsterdam closed on Sunday 24 September 2017, having seen well over twenty-four thousand visitors and major acquisitions by private collectors and institutions. Emilia van Lynden, Unseen’s Artistic Director said, “Unseen Amsterdam is delighted to have welcomed more artists than ever before; artists who believe in the necessity of taking a risk by introducing their latest work for the first time to the market. We are honoured that they feel Unseen is the platform to do so. The sense of anticipation for new works and developments within photography is reflected in the enthusiasm of participants and public alike. Ever reaching new audiences, we are thrilled to be developing new initiatives throughout the year in close collaboration with all those who make the medium of photography so diverse, enthusing and inspiring.” Unseen Amsterdam 2018 dates: 21 – 23 September Unseen Fair Now in its sixth year, the Fair element of Unseen Amsterdam captured the ever-increasing appetite for photography with 53 galleries from around the world presenting work by over 140 artists; 95 out of the 142 artists have works on show that have never been on the open market before. Participating galleries celebrated both the interest from local and international collectors and new buyers, enthused by the plethora of artworks available and the innovative accessible formats in which they were displayed. Nera Lerner, Director, Danziger Gallery, said “ We’ve had a very good week and met a lot of new clients including private collectors and public institutions from around Europe as well as many of the corporate sponsors from Unseen. We are very happy with our experience at Unseen and love Amsterdam.”

Mirko Mayer, Director, Mirko Mayer Gallery, said "I have been going to Unseen Amsterdam's fair for six years now, and this was by far the best edition yet. I have sold out. There is nothing left. I only sold to new collectors: to museums and private collectors from England, the Netherlands and Germany. Unseen has a fantastic fair and it is worth it to go every year: it is still unique. All my guests who come to Unseen Amsterdam for the first time, come back every year because they love it." David Doesburg, Director, Stigter Van Doesburg, said: “It has been fabulous. We sold pieces to private collectors and also to international museums. We know almost everyone in the art world but here we’ve met a lot of new collectors which is great.” W.M. Hunt, Collector, said “Unseen is a dream. The scale is human - you never feel overwhelmed by art or people. Visitors feel privileged to be introduced to the thoughtful selection of fresh talent. The space is perfect, and the support programming: the Book Market, CO-OP, and the Living Room all make for a great weekend in Amsterdam.” Unseen CO-OP Introduced for the first time this year, the ground-breaking marketplace dedicated to artists’ collectives gained tremendous interest from corporate and institutional collectors and photography enthusiasts alike. Focusing on directly engaging artists with their audiences, CO-OP highlighted how the art industry can welcome alternative approaches to commerce. Alistair Hicks, Writer, Curator and member of the Unseen Advisory Committee, said “The co-operative spirit of Unseen, the constant drive to find a new way, found its embodiment this year in CO-OP with its groups of artists who worked together to make art. Whether they came from Nepal, Colombia or Belgium they demonstrated that art is well and truly out and removed from its old limited garret - it is everywhere.” Photo Pleasure Palace Photo Pleasure Palace was one of the leading exhibitions at Unseen Amsterdam 2017 curated by Erik Kessels and Thomas Mailaender. Both artists created an unconventional and engaging photography fun fair including attractions such as Photo Fortune Teller, Smash Gallery, Giant Peephole, Toilet Obscura, and Jump Trump amongst others. TALENT DEVELOPMENT Unseen has worked with a series of key partners to support the development of artists and encourage the growth and strength of practitioners and the art market. Through a series of partner initiatives including the ING Unseen Talent Award, the Meijburg Art Commission, The Grolsch Unseen Residency, the Outset | Unseen Exhibition Fund and the Unseen Dummy Award, Unseen encourages and facilitates the emergence of young artists on the world stage.

Sean Farran, Unseen’s Business Director, said “Unseen Amsterdam 2017 welcomed artists, collectives, galleries, institutions, publishers, and visitors from around the world for a four day celebration of the very latest in contemporary photography. Not only does this show the

strength of the photographic community, but also the relevance of photography in communicating on a level that transgresses all borders; conceptual, physical and political. We live in an age populated with visual imagery, yet through artistic interpretation of our surroundings and state we are helped to navigate and understand others’ perspectives as well as our own. Together with our stakeholders, and in working closely with our partners, Unseen continues to generate fresh and engaging content in accessible and informative ways. Without the support of these people, funds and companies, Unseen would not be the innovative platform for emerging artists that it is, and it is our honour to be able to work together with them to grow together at this year's event and beyond.” Grolsch Unseen Residency 2018 Unseen and Grolsch are delighted to announce the five selected nominees from a pool of 24 applicants for the second edition of the Grolsch Unseen Residency. The Grolsch Unseen Residency awards one winning artist a two-month scholarship in a European capital to create a body of work that reflects on the urban space in alternative and uncommon ways. During the 2018 residency the artist will be working closely with professional photographers and other leaders of the local creative industry to challenge understandings in unconventional ways. The five Grolsch Unseen Residency nominees are: Sofia Ayarzagoitia (1987, Mexico), Thomas Kuijpers (1985, The Netherlands), Jannemarein Renout (1969, the Netherlands), Yusuf Senvincli (1980, Turkey) and Daniel Shea (1985, The United States). The international jury that selected the nominees consisted of Tristan Lund (Photography Consultant, Collection Curator at The Incite Project), Shinji Otani (Photographer) and Salvatore Vitale (Photographer, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of YET Magazine). The jury report states: "This year's jury carefully considered the selected artists, discussing how each might benefit from the residency. The chemistry between each artist and a possible location was discussed at length, as the creative process and signature style of all the selected artists are quite different, grounded in a range of photographic methods and approaches.” ING Unseen Talent Award Several project funds and a prestigious award designed to foster the careers of emerging artists were presented during Unseen Amsterdam 2017. The ING Unseen Talent Award provides an international platform for emerging European photography talent to present their work on a global scale. Andrea Grützner (b. 1984, Germany) was chosen by a distinguished international jury as the winner of this year’s ING Unseen Talent Award Jury Prize, whilst Robin Lopvet (b. 1990, France) was the winner of the Public Prize. Astrid Wassenberg, Chief Curator ING Art Management, said “It is amazing that the works of the five finalists have received so much attention. This recognition will help kickstart the further development of these young talents.” The Meijburg Art Commission

The Meijburg Art Commission aims to discover talented artists who create multimedia work with a focus on photography. Pasi Orrensalo (b. 1969, Finland) was the 2017 recipient of the Meijburg Art Commission. He will receive a project fund to create site-specific work for the office of Meijburg & Co in Amstelveen. Wilbert Kannekens, Chairman of the Managing Board of Meijburg & Co, said “This year was the third edition of the Meijburg & Co Art Commission at Unseen. We are very pleased and proud to see that both Unseen and the Meijburg Art Commission are growing and developing every year. Our partnership with Unseen is very precious to us, it offers us and our guests a broader view on art and photography. The proposed work of this year’s winner Pasi Orrensalo will be a true contribution to our art collection. We are looking forward to working with him and can’t wait to reveal his work in our office.” Outset | Unseen Exhibition Fund The Outset | Unseen Exhibition Fund is a partnership between Unseen and Outset the Netherlands, providing a new institutional platform for emerging talent. Theo Simpson (b. 1986, UK) was selected to hold a solo exhibition at Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam at the beginning of 2018 by the 2017 Outset | Unseen Exhibition Fund curatorial committee which was comprised of Frederica Chiochetti (critical writer and founding director of Photocaptionist, London), Caroline von Courten (Ph.D. candidate in Photography Theory, Amsterdam) and Francesco Zanot (Chief Curator at CAMERA, Turin). Unseen Dummy Award The Unseen Dummy Award is a collaboration between Unseen, Lecturis and Wilco Art Books aimed at showcasing the work of exceptional artists and designers from around the world, and to give them a chance to realise and publish their photobook dummy. Malgorzata Stankiewic won the Unseen Dummy Award 2017; her book, Cry of an Echo, will be published by Lecturis and presented at Unseen Amsterdam in 2018.

UNSEEN AMSTERDAM 2018: 21-23 September www.unseenamsterdam.com

UNSEEN PRESS OFFICE PRESS For more information and imagery, please visit www.unseenamsterdam.com/press or contact the Unseen Press Office:

INTERNATIONAL PRESS CONTACT Juan Sanchez Sutton PR +44(0)2071833577 [email protected] suttonpr.com

BENELUX PRESS CONTACT Irene Bakker Unseen +31(0)629602101 [email protected] unseenamsterdam.com EDITOR’S NOTES ABOUT UNSEEN Unseen is the leading platform for contemporary photography. Exclusively focusing on what’s new in the photography world, the platform provides a channel for up-and-coming talent to showcase their work. Unseen brings together the international photography community to discuss and debate the directions in which the photographic medium is evolving. Unseen is a year-round platform, online and offline, with physical events throughout the year with the main event Unseen Amsterdam having returned for its sixth edition at the Westergasfabriek from the 22nd to the 24th of September 2017. Unseen Amsterdam aspires to provide novel and diverse approaches to engage with photography. The event does this through combining programme elements such as the Fair, CO-OP, the Book Market, the Living Room, The Exhibition, Onsite Projects and City Programme.