Zmâla, A Curious Eye, is an independent bilingual French-English review, published yearly; it is dedicated to contemporary photography and the production of photographers’ collectives from France and throughout the world, and offers them a space in which to share their vision of the world.
Zmâla, A Curious Eye is already over three years old. Three years and three issues committed to resistance – standing up for the print editions of magazines and reviews, for independent photography, for a different vision of the world. Issue #4 is currently in preparation; and to ensure its publication, to safeguard the survival of the photographic image, the review needs your support!
Zmâla explores the world through the eyes of photographers who have come together to form their own groupings, as collectives, in order to preserve their liberty and independence. Zmâla is a once-yearly bilingual publication (in French and English) – a cross between a review and a book (176 colour pages) – and is sold through bookshops. It publishes contrasting types of photographic writing (reportages, documentaries, staged photographs, photojournalism, plastic interventions…) reflecting the principal trends in contemporary photography, and is echoed by its website: www.zmala.net.
Zmâla, A Curious Eye has an original editorial line giving pride of place to the image and in-depth treatment of subjects, while attaching due importance to textual content that sheds light on the various photographers’ approaches, in particular in special reports (webdocumentaries, the Internet revolution, the return of Street Photography…).
After three issues, Zmâla needs your help so it can continue to offer photographers’ collectives the space and visibility they deserve! Thank you for supporting issue #4: we need to keep looking at the world with a curious eye, and with your help we will!
Zmâla, A Curious Eye was founded in 2009. Its origins are linked to the Visa pour l’Image festival in Perpignan: in 2003, Visa’s director, Jean-François Leroy, decided to welcome photographers’ collectives to the festival and set aside a space for them in the Perpignan Convention Centre. To make themselves known, these groupings joined forces at the initiative of the Lyon-based photographers’ collective item, and put together a directory which was distributed free of charge to festival guests. This directory, jointly financed by the collectives appearing in it, developed into a review showcasing photographers’ portfolios, and took the name Collectif.
Five issues were brought out, coordinated as from 2006 by the Argos collective. In the course of 2008, Nicolas Pruvost, a graphic designer, and Céline Pévrier, a project manager, who both collaborated with Argos, decided to reshape and revitalize the review, giving it a stronger editorial line. In September, Éric Karsenty, Isabelle Tirant and Carole Coen joined them to form an association called Photographie et compagnie, and a new review was launched with the name Zmâla. The first issue was published to coincide with Visa pour l’Image, in September 2009.
The following year, its name was changed to Zmâla, A Curious Eye. Because the number of photographers’ collectives in the world are ever-increasing, because their reportages are ever more richly documented and thought-provoking, because their gaze on contemporary society is ever more questioning. Alongside the traditional launches in Perpignan and Paris, parallel events were held in Brussels, Lyons and Montpellier. The team has expanded and now includes eight members: Nicolas Pruvost, Céline Pévrier, Éric Karsenty, Carole Coen, Fabiola Salle-Ang, Raphaële Kipen, Fabien Vernois and Céline Beck. Zmâla, which is distributed by the Belles Lettres network, will be waiting for you on the shelves in bookshops, and like the buzz about it, awareness of Zmâla has increased at home and abroad. Coinciding with issue #3, which appeared in September 2011, the Zoom Photo Festival in Chicoutimi, Quebec, staged an exhibition of photographs from Zmâla, A Curious Eye – the first of its kind!
All the previous issues have been funded by the showcased photographers’ collectives, who covered the printing costs by each pre-purchasing about thirty copies. But now, in order to free the participant groupings from this pressure and give itself more editorial leeway, the production team is changing the way issue the review is funded. As well as actively canvassing for sponsors, which is a long-term undertaking, we have decided to appeal to you. By contributing towards the cost of publishing Zmâla #4, you will be helping us to pursue the adventure.
