Free Photobooks

A spread from the new free book, “Hotel El Morjane.” Photography by Petra Paulina Kohl and text by Maike Mia Höhne.

Democratic Books is a very cool non-profit project by DesignWork, a design firm in Cologne, Germany. The idea is simple: create top-quality photobooks that people can download free (as PDF files). The files are designed so you can print them on both sides of sheets of paper, and then fold the pages together to create beautiful, permanent, printed books.

Martin Parr and Gerry Badger have concluded that photobooks (en masse) contain the real “secret history” of photography. And this project seems like a win-win-win. Talented photographers get their work distributed worldwide, in a timely and cost-free manner (although without any immediate monetary compensation). The design firm gets to show off their creative chops and good ethics. And photo lovers get access to fine, current works of art — for free.

The DesignWork group says this:

“When we first started in June 2004, we wanted to publish good photography and give photographers the possibility to get their work published. Our aim is to bring the books to the people. By e-mail we reach around 3000 people in the world with our newsletter. We are widely linked in the internet. There are more than 1000 downloads per week.

“Over long-term we want to become the biggest open library for e-photo-books in the internet as well as a database of free information and research into contemporary photography.

“Why do we call it democratic?

“In our opinion democracy is basic human right, and we support the freedom of free information for everybody. We don’t care about the age, colour, nationality or education of our users and photographers. Books are the best way to bring Information to the people. We want to show how photographers see the world. Photography is the most powerful way to confront humans with all kinds of reality. As intermediaries, we connect the people.”

Check out the website and the books: www.democraticbooks.org/.

International Women's Day in Cork, Ireland

Photo by Wendie Young

Sirius Arts Centre, in Cork Ireland, presents “A Woman’s Place” a group exhibition by women artists in celebration of International Women’s Day 2006. The exhibition features the work of photographers: Lucia Nimcová (as featured in this latest issue of Lens Culture) and Silvia Saparova from Bratislava Slovakia, Arja Hyytiainen a Swiss photographer based in Paris, Irish photographer Wendie Young and Italian sound artist, Simona Barbera. The exhibition runs through Sunday March 26.

A Woman’s Place celebrates the work of these 5 emerging international contemporary artists. The images and sound installation that make up this exhibition reflect evocative and exciting new perspectives on A Woman’s Place; in society, within specific environments, through travel and exposure to different cultures, the works range from illustrative documents to atmospheric reactions to place.

Opening the exhibition on March 2 at 7 p.m., will be Rhonda Wilson, Creative Director of Rhubarb-Rhubarb - International Festival of the Image in Birmingham. Rhonda was recently awarded an MBE by the Queen for her services to photography and international trade and is an important figure in the development of contemporary image making internationally.

For more information, see the website: www.iol.ie/~cobharts/.