BRUSSELS.- Every two years BOZAR EXPO along with 35 partner institutions organises the Summer of Photography , an international biennial for photography and related media.

Curators, photographers and specialists in related disciplines share their views in a varied exhibition programme and a diverse fringe programme featuring film, literature and a symposium (17.06). As a result the Summer of Photography creates a lively platform for connoisseurs, aficionados and a wider audience that is interested in photography in various locations throughout Brussels . By joining forces with artistic partners this biennial increases the international reputation of the Belgian photography world.

The beating heart and hub of the 2014 Summer of Photography 2014 is the exhibition WOMAN. The Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s. Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND, Vienna . The exhibition showcases 450 works by 29 female photographers, the cream of the crop of feminist avant- garde art. The partners will organise various solo exhibitions, inspired by the main group exhibition and featuring the work of talented young and more established photographers. The result is a photography trail in Brussels, which provides a qualified and contemporary insight into the theme of gender relations. The work of over 85 photographers will be shown during the 2014 Summer of Photography. In their photos they question the existing role patterns and contribute to a constantly changing society.

The collaboration with social-cultural partners such as the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men and VZW Rosa moreover ensures that the voice of these artists is integrated in a broader social debate.

Gender relations
The main theme of the Summer of Photography 2014 is that of “ gender relations ”. This term refers to the prevailing expectations in terms of attitude, behaviour and activities of men and women . For quite some time the traditional gender roles in our society were defined by people’s biological gender. Since the struggle of the suffragettes in the nineteenth century and the emergence of feminism in the late Sixties society has undergone a major revolution. Women have succeeded in extending the scope of the feminist debate from legal and political rights to include sexuality, family and work with powerful campaigns and slogans that appeal to the imagination such as “My mind, my body, my choice”.

Even today provocative actions by activist movements make the world news, such as the Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot or the international FEMEN movement. New topics are constantly being added to the gender debate : the way in which women are portrayed on the Internet, the rights of lesbian women to have children, women’s rights in other cultures, the glass ceilings, the debate about veils... The various exhibitions of the Summer of Photography showcase the perspective of the curators and the artists on these contemporary issues as well as focussing on a bigger picture of emancipation and human rights.

Main exhibition: WOMAN. The Feminist Avant-Garde of the 1970s. Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND, Vienna
The exhibition WOMAN. The Feminist Avant- Garde of the 1970s. Works from the SAMMLUNG VERBUND, Vienna sheds light on the voice of female artists in the feminist debate. The history of art shows that the image of the woman has mainly been determined by men. This iconography, handed down over the centuries, was first radically deconstructed by the feminist avant-garde of the 1970s. For the first time in the history of art women now created their own image. They studied their bodies and defined the female identity in a provocative, radical, poetic and ironic manner using new forms of expression such as photography, performances and video art.

For the exhibition, curator Gabriele Schor has gathered together around 450 photographs by 29 photographers, each presenting their vision of gender roles in our society. The exhibition portrays the culmination of the feminist movement with works by Cindy Sherman, Lili Dujourie, Renate Bertlmann, VALIE EXPORT, Birgit Jürgenssen and Francesca Woodman/

BOZAR relates the story of feminism in art, both geographically and over time, with Where we’re at! Other voices on gender . The exhibitions brings together works by 15 women photographers and video artists of African, Caribbean and Pacific cultural background, reflecting on the image of the black woman from the 1980s to the present day.