media release
9 April 2008

Auckland Festival of Photography launches 5th annual programme
The Auckland Festival of Photography programme launches on 9 April and is available on http://www.photographyfestival.org.nz/programme/index.cfm 
The 5th annual Festival runs from 30 May to 22 June 2008 and includes hundreds of photographers and artists’ work to see at 43 participating galleries and venues presenting over 52 exhibitions and events in June.
Some Festival highlights include;  
•	The first such event in New Zealand, Manukau Light Night will herald the start of the 5th Festival by projecting work by ten of New Zealand’s foremost contemporary photographers onto Manukau City’s Civic Centre and Kotuku House viewable from Manukau Square.  “Manukau Light Night” will be a combined programme with images of Manukau taken by photographers from the region, including Manukau School of Visual Arts students, as well as a preview of photography in the Festival 2008 exhibitions. Manukau Light Night will begin at 7pm on Friday 30 May and run until 9.30pm. 
•	A central city billboard competition run by the Auckland Festival of Photography 2008 seeks to capture downtown Auckland's varied experiences, with the theme BIG smiles little moments. The winning image will be on show in the CBD from June 1st. Entries can be submitted now through the new Auckland Photo Blog (www.photographyfestival.org.nz/photo-blog). The public will be able to vote on all entries submitted to the ‘BIG smiles, little moments” theme for a “People’s Choice’ online vote until 3rd May. Competition details and the Auckland Photo Blog can be found on the festival’s official website: www.photographyfestival.org.nz/ 
•	Olympus Auckland Photo Day, a 24 hour event, takes place on 7 June 2008. Any photographer can submit photographs to this iconic “day in the life” of Auckland competition. The North Shore City Council’s Art’s Regional Services Trust has recently granted support to both the Auckland Photo Blog digital facility and Auckland Photo Day events.  “These facilities and events provide an important community archive taken by the people of the region and we hope to develop a people’s archive. It is a significant endorsement of the work the Festival does and acknowledges the Festival as a worthy regional asset" says Festival Director Julia Durkin.

International and local exhibitions in the 2008 programme with accompanying images within the media CD;

•	Ey! Iran: Contemporary Iranian Photography at Lopdell House, Titirangi presents the work of 17 artists working in photo media based both in Iran and as expatriates. A Gold Coast City Art Gallery Travelling Exhibition. 13 June – 3 August
•	Megan Jenkinson at Two Rooms, Arch Hill presents a new body of photographic work inspired by the Antarctic Artist’s Fellowship which Jenkinson completed in late 2005. 15 May – 28 June
•	Michel Birot’s 'instantanés' at the Auckland Town Hall, his third exhibition presented exclusively by Creative Exposure, Auckland City Council and Photo4 Paris, captures the passion of rugby seen through Birot's emotive black and white photography. 28 May – 27 June

Festival TV, is a new series of profiles on exhibitions and photographers in the 08 Festival. It will be broadcast on Triangle TV from May 24  to June 8 on Sat and Sunday at 6.55pm. As a new initiative by the Festival, it will celebrate photography across the region and promote it on television. Julia Durkin, Festival Director says “This is a first for any festival in New Zealand and shows the synergy between exhibition photography as art and television as a primarily photographic medium"

Further information contact:
Suzanne McNamara Suzanne@conv.co.nz or 021 933 331 / 8159755
Creative Exposure Festival 2008 is supported by key sponsors- Manukau City Council, Waitakere City Council, North Shore City Council, Gravity "Official Coffee Sponsor", Heart of the City, Metro, Olympus, Auckland City Council, New Zealand Post, Triangle TV, Westfield Manukau City. Funding support from Lion Foundation, NZCT, NZ Internet Services, NZJEP, Creative Communities North Shore, Creative Communities Waitakere, Creative Communities Auckland City, Auckland City Council, COGS, South Auckland Charitable Trust and significant support from The ASB Community Trust.