Mr. KATALOG
… really!??
Usually, newsletters from KATALOG focus on the continued success of the journal – such as 33 years in print, increased number of subscribers, great international scope and interesting collaborations, etc., …
This time, however, let me introduce you to Mr. KATALOG and my credentials:
Ever since my early teens I have been passionate about photography; initially as an amateur and semi-professional photographer, but later as a student of art history and a four-years stint as a gallery assistant in London selling photographic works of art by Irving Penn, William Klein, Robert Mapplethorpe and many others. These early years gave me many valuable international connections – and the rest is history:
“Jens Friis has a MA in History of Art with emphasis on photography. He is an independent curator and consultant, photo historian and avid book collector as well as publisher. From 2003-2016, he was curator in charge of the photographic collection at Museet for Fotokunst in Odense, Denmark as well as the artistic co-director of the photo festival FotoTriennale.dk initiated by same museum – both now regretfully defunct.
During this period he was also the editor for the bilingual KATALOG – Journal of Photography & Video initiated by said museum. In 2015 he personally took the helm of this internationally recognized journal, which is now independently published in its 33rd successful year with contributors, subscribers and readers all over the world. With an editorial “flexi-board”, KATALOG is also an international platform for projects such as Nordic Photo Festival Network, the Creative Europe partnership Parallel and most recently the international Fast Forward – Women in Photography launched at Paris Photo and Tate Modern in 2019. KATALOG has also worked with the festivals in Cardiff, Glasgow, Houston, Landskrona, Lisbon, et al.
As an author, he has written numerous articles for KATALOG, other journals and several introductions. He has contributed to anthologies e.g. Danish Photographic History (2004) and The History of European Photography 1970-2000 (2016).
Aiding the advancement of new talents, he has served on international nominating committees for awards such as Photo Lucida (Seattle), Kolga Tbilisi (Georgia), Voies Off (Arles), as well as on the advisory committee of the Spanish magazine EXIT.
Since his debut as a portfolio reviewer at the Houston FotoFest in 2004, he has participated in more than 70 festivals, fairs and seminars sharing his knowledge, advice and connections, but also gathering valuable material for exhibitions and future issues of the journal.”
Based on and growing through meetings at festivals and seminars, this international network is vital to the continued success of KATALOG. Thus you will find many of my museum and festival colleagues as writers of interesting articles as they are equally passionate about photographic art as well as helping budding artists to bloom. Please make sure to visit https://katalog-journal.com/index/ to peruse the list of artists and “flexi-board” authors.
KATALOG is also a distribution tool for important exhibitions that could do with a little extra exposure – as a subscriber you might have noticed the exhibition folders frequently added to your envelope.
As a non-profit venture the increased number of subscribers ensures that the journal is getting even better: better paper and printing, better binding and even packaging – all to the benefit of the readers.
With my motto – I encourage you too “to connect, share & enjoy”.
Warm regards,
Jens Friis
aka Mr. KATALOG
