Last Wednesday in Amsterdam, started the first edition of UNSEEN Photo Fair. Born of the meeting of Foam, the Vandejong agency and Platform A, the UNSEEN Photo Fair is directed by Marloes Krijnen, Pjotr de Jong and Roderick van der Lee.
Dedicated to contemporary photography, the Dutch fair wants to be a springboard for young talents. According to Marloes Krijnen, “Photography shows tend to show the work of bigger names, as galleries have to make sure they make a return on their investment. What’s missing is a platform for new photographers.”
For this first edition, UNSEEN Photo Fair feature more than 50 galleries. From Paris to Dubai, via Tokyo, the program is international.
“You have to come up with something different. Unseen is different because we are focussing on up-and-coming artists. In creating Unseen we’re not comparing ourselves with other fairs, we’re doing our own thing. There will be a moment of truth though, when we’ll find out if there is a place for a model such as Unseen.“, add Piotr de Jong.
Finally, UNSEEN bets also on its accessibility, specially for young collectors, where every gallery exposes works under €1000.
“We wanted to create an environment where the work could speak for itself, but where people would know that every print is available for less than €1000. We have made a distinction between the main fair, which features more expensive works, and the Unseen Collection, with more affordable works, where the print run might be higher and the size of prints smaller.” says Roderick van der Lee.
Juliette Deschodt
UNSEEN Photo Fair
September 19 – 23, 2012
Amsterdam’s Westergasfabriek
Amsterdam
The Netherlands