Coming Full Circle: Growing an Online Photography Community
The most important things are passion and enthusiasm
I am not one to stand still. I love a good experiment, defying the odds and searching for solutions to share photography on an international level.
Fueled by passion and curiosity, I am rethinking our relationship around the current and the future of photography. With the ever-evolving digital landscape, it’s becoming increasingly important to think about what lies beyond the horizon and explore a broader vision.
It’s Time to Shake Things Up
My aim is to connect photographers with book lovers, editors, publishers and curators of all shapes and sizes. I always encourage discovery, collaboration and new opportunities — sharing knowledge, developing mutual understanding and promoting cultural exchange.
Publishing has been the core of my work for the past seven years. I am currently rebranding the UNLESS YOU WILL website (which is now 7 years old) to create a more interactive viewing experience. My aim is to bring content to life and filter out the noise of the conventional. I believe in simplicity — and as always — that less is more.
To continue to grow the UNLESS YOU WILL community and create more meaningful exchanges, I will share photography projects and interviews through the digital medium, hopefully alongside real gatherings, talks and workshops.
The Dream
Years ago I had a question: Why is it so difficult to find inspiring photography presented in a clean aesthetic on the Internet?
I found myself brainstorming that question and in 2009 I designed and launched UNLESS YOU WILL. The magazine centered around my love for photography, typography and minimal design. This sensibility connected with many people all around the world and what began as an experiment and outlet for my passion quickly grew into much more. The magazine found its audience among artists, curators, galleries, institutions, publishers and collectors.
It started with a simple idea: Create a well-designed magazine and share the work of outstanding photographers — with a nonexistent budget. Something that I wanted myself.
Over the next 5 years, I presented over 135 local and international artists through the magazine.
Risk and Growth
Fast forward to 2014 when I decided to follow my passion, made the jump and dreamed up a festival. In 2015, I presented the first photographic festival in Melbourne to great acclaim. Over the course of ten days Photobook Melbourne presented 11 exhibitions, 2 awards, 5 book collections from around the world, a two day book fair, various panel discussions and artist talks, 6 artist studio visits and 2 international workshops. (All of this with the smallest budget.)
In 2016, I transformed my City of Melbourne Arts residency into a small gallery and presented exhibitions by Awoiska van der Molen, Kate Robertson and Magdalena Switek, as well as showcasing different photobooks from around the world.
The Next Chapter
I might have not been able to attract funding for Photobook Melbourne, but I have not lost my enthusiasm and passion for photography. Instead, I have gained a whole new kind of freedom and feeling of excitement for a new kind of adventure.
The skills I acquired from running Photobook Melbourne will be used to relaunch UNLESS YOU WILL with a view to making it sustainable.
The beauty of working independently, is that I am more interested in the involvement of people and ideas, than in rules and acquittals. I believe in social interaction instead of bureaucracy.
More dreaming and less grant writing. More playing and less playing it safe. More time to feed the imagination, experiment and make it up. More with less.
UNLESS YOU WILL has always been about my passion for books, design, collaboration and sharing the work of great photographers. Relaunching allows me to dedicate myself to the many questions I have regarding the future of photography and books in this time of digital expansion.
I am also aiming to initiate a conference in February 2017 to further champion great photographers around the world. Currently I am of course still chasing sponsorship … but as @BenjaminPHardy said, ‘The future only exists as an endless amount of distant possibilities’.
I am excited by the possibilities to explore new interactions and share fresh content in a digital sphere. It is what gets me up early in the morning, what keeps me inspired and happy.
Until we launch — feel free to rummage through the archives, send whiskey, books or love-letters.
Waving from the porch,
Heidi
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