Lenzburg Fotofestival 2024

We live in troubled times. The center is breaking apart. What remains is: Either. Or. Things have gotten alarmingly out of hand. Not only in the world in general, but also in our own personal environment. We long for a stable center, but the forces of life are pulling us in all sorts of directions. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes ruptures can also offer a welcome opportunity for renewal, as long as things can be put back together again afterwards – preferably in a more meaningful, new and better way. Making the world whole again. Such a process is usually referred to as synthesis. At least that is the term that seems most appropriate for our considerations.

We understand synthesis as a process in which something is improved by combining several elements. The resulting whole is greater than its individual parts – not because the individual parts are not or not equally important, but because they fundamentally are. However, achieving this is a constant balancing act between all the different interests, forces and components.

In this respect, we can also see a photo festival as the result of many hands and minds working together. It is something that arises from different ideas and through joint implementation. Above all, however, a festival is the coming together of many photographic positions. And it creates space for a lively exchange.