A native of Bilbao, she studied political science in London before becoming head of the Sunday Times magazine’s photo service. There, she began to practice her concept of the accessibility of images before becoming a curator and independent consultant. Succeeding Christian Caujolle, she has just piloted for her third and final year, the thirteenth edition of GetxoPhoto in the Spanish Basque Country, which runs until September 29, 2019.
A stranger in her own country, Monica Allende likes to explore new lands, new narratives, within the limits of the resources offered to her but not limited by her spirit; as an urgency to experience something. Even before her arrival as the artistic directer of Getxophoto, the identity of the festival was to inhabit the public space, to be outside is its DNA. The search for new spaces, this idea of reinterpreting the festival, not just the concept, not just the themes but also the setting, is her creed.
Already in post at the Sunday Times magazine, but especially after leaving, she has always refused a narrow narrative vision. With a total respect for photojournalism, she no longer recognises herself in this combination of aesthetics, rule of work and a methodology. Then while thinking about her job, she strives to be attentive to multidisciplinary visual writing. The goal is to work with artists, photographers, photoreporters or whatever they are called. They are creators first and foremost.
Different platforms interest the art director, words, internet, books. These are the vehicles that will carry the stories to tell. She is not a purist. It is very important to understand that her work is defined by narratives that reflect ideas of social justice, human questioning and their interactions. To work around specific and concrete ideas. The idea, the theme is the point of departure, and then it must be entrusted to an artist who will come to establish an interesting dialogue, in line with this theme.
“I choose a theme for its relevance to the exhibition space, and for the echo it will find with the people. I like the idea of an inclusive theme, which concerns all citizens, and can touch them. For example, for Getxophoto I asked myself a simple question: where are we going? and I realized that we were in a period of great changes. From this starting point, I tried to deepen my thought, again and again.”
For her, photography offers the opportunity to engage in a dialogue, a conversation that serves as a trigger and that involves society, the public, that trigger a discussion, an analysis, a questioning.
Passionate about political science, she can not consider the world and human relations without going through the prism of politics. After finishing her studies in London, she decided to put her knowledge into publishing as picture editor, always preferring accessibility to images. It was before the digital age. Facilitating access is her idea of democracy. If the world is complex, the path to understanding it must be translated into the simplest and most democratic form possible for the dialogue to continue.
” I am impatient. I like to think regularly about new processes, and the rigor of teaching is not for me. I am still thinking of the next step. Teaching is based on solid foundations, and these foundations are built looking back. Some people do that very well, but I prefer to say “think differently”.
After her third and final contribution to the Getxo Festival , Monica Allende will fly to Sweden to the Landskrona Photography Festival, again as Artistic Advisor. There will be a moment of dialogue with the team and as it is a biennale, they will prepare together the edition of September 2020. Several other projects are underway, which she will share with us when the time comes.
Text and portrait by Jean-Jacques Ader.
Getxo photo from 4 to 29 September 2019, in the Spanish Basque Country.
Detailed program and information: https://www.getxophoto.com/en/
Landskrona foto, Sweden, Biennial from 4 to 20 September 2020.
