Leica Street Photography gallery opens up at Poprzeczna
The photographers from the 13th Leica Street Photography exhibition will be showcased at the Poprzeczna Gallery in Miechów, Poland. I caught up with the founder of the gallery, Kuba Gołąb to talk about providing access to photography to those outside of the major cities.
Leica Street Photography at the Poprzeczna Gallery
I should note, I’m one of the photographers featured in the exhibition. I was fortunate enough to be part of a collection of 30 photographers that were originally exhibited in the Leica Street Photography gallery at the Leica Store in Krakow and the Leica Gallery in Vienna.
I had the pleasure of visiting the Leica Gallery in Vienna to see the exhibition first hand. To be in such a magical city and see my work in such a prestigious gallery was, well, a dream come true.
Leica Gallery, Vienna.
As someone from England who grew up outside of London, I know how difficult it can be to access art, especially photography galleries. So when I was asked if I would be happy to be a part of the same exhibition but in the Poprzeczna Gallery, I was quick to say yes. Miechów has a population just shy of 12,000 people and I love to see smaller cities outside of capitals offering art to the local people and beyond.
Curious to understand how the relationship with Leica began, I asked Gołąb to give me some back story. He told me, “[I was introduced} to Patryk Bułhak, a documentary photographer and author of the "Abandoned Daughters of The Tiger" project, which I also showed in the [Poprzeczna] gallery”.
He continues, “...Patryk Bułhak, who had contacts at Leica Store & Gallery Warszawa, suggested that maybe we could showcase the finalists of the 13th edition of the Leica Street Photo contest. And so it happened”.
Attracting people to the Leica Street Photography Exhibition
It can sometimes be difficult in smaller cities to attract demand for photography galleries. I asked Gołąb how his experience has been so far with running the gallery in Miechów. He explained, “We have been running the gallery for two years now…People in my town are beautifully surprised. And it's this surprise that drives me to action”.
“It's also interesting that Galeria Poprzeczna functions as a fine art print studio, as well as a place where you can simply print vacation photos or have a portrait taken. People come to get their passport photos done and suddenly find themselves walking through the gallery space, where they often end up staying longer. It's very intriguing.”
Why photography in smaller cities is important
It’s true that larger, capital cities are able to offer more art and accessibility to people compared to smaller towns and cities. This often leads to many people not being able to get into the arts. I asked Gołąb why he felt it was important to offer opportunities outside of the capital.
“It's not entirely true that Galeria Poprzeczna organizes exhibitions only for the small local community. We organize them for the world. And we want the world to come to us. Of course, the community of my town is very important. People from my town (Miechów) are wonderful, who create an amazing atmosphere, they can engage in conversations and as I mentioned earlier, some are beautifully surprised. This is the power of Poprzeczna: local people and a cozy atmosphere with awesome works on the walls.”
The 13th Leica Street Photography exhibition opens at Poprzeczna Gallery on May 11th and runs through to June 27th. Address: ul. Poprzeczna 3 32-200 Miechów, Poland.
For more details you can visit the Facebook page and Instagram page. You can connect with Kuba Gołąb via Facebook.
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