CULTURE - The Festival is a cultural event and experience for many people. Photography is a cultural activity that captures the vast diversity of Auckland and its vibrant personality. The Festival aims to present photographic images that reflect the rich cultural landscape of New Zealand's largest city. IDENTITY - The Festival strives to strengthen our sense of Auckland identity. Photography is a master storyteller. Photographs have the ability to support, provoke, challenge, affirm, educate and speak directly to a community about their unique identity. Telling the stories of communities and their people establishes and builds identities. PARTICIPATION - The Auckland Festival of Photography embraces photographers of every kind. The festival offers established, professional, as well as emerging, student, hobby and first-time photographers the opportunity to actively participate. ART - The Festival celebrates artistic excellence in photography by programming exhibitions and events featuring many of New Zealand's most revered photographers. These exhibitions provide larger audiences access to the very finest of photographic art.

Patron

Festival Patron 2008 - Gil Hanly

"I am honoured to be the patron of this amazing Auckland Festival of Photography. I applaud the choice of the Festival's focus on culture, identity, participation and artistic excellence.

With recent developments in technology, photography as a medium has become accessible to the masses. Most people have access to a camera now even if only on a cell phone, thereby contributing to the expansion of this Festival across some forty-three venues.

At this 2008 Festival, some of the many ways that people have chosen to display, comment, or document the world around us are in evidence. You the visitor can judge the effectiveness of those efforts in recording our distinctive culture, society and art."