One could make the case that photography is the world’s most ubiquitous art form. It has a low barrier for entry into the medium, and everyone can appreciate the thousand words that each photo communicates.
Photography enthusiasts will have plenty of chances over the next three weeks to engage with a wide variety of prints, developments and camera types during the Flash Photographic Festival, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025. 56 unique venues across the province will showcase different artists ranging from beginners and seasoned veterans.
Manitoba’s largest such festival began as an idea on Queen Street in Toronto, where festival organizer Leif Norman would take in the annual CONTACT Photography Festival. “I was moving back to Winnipeg, and I was just thinking, ‘Well, why doesn’t Winnipeg something awesome like this?’”
An avid photographer in his own right, Norman started the Flash Photographic Festival out of his apartment and wallet. “The uptake was incredible,” he recollected in an interview on Morning Light. “It was like I opened the door.”
After that initial opening, the door was flung wide open by the same democratic nature that drives participation in photography. A key to the early days of the festival that still plays a vital role today are the BYOV’s (“Bring Your Own Venues”), which allowed photography to be displayed in non-traditional venues alongside galleries.
When the public health lockdowns shut down events across the artistic spectrum in 2020 (that year’s Flash Photographic Festival included), Norman took the chance to level up the festival, registering as a non-profit and appointing a board of directors. This has allowed the festival to expand to the point where, this year, they have gone beyond the Perimeter Highway to communities like Morden, Pinawa and Flin Flon, among others.
The festival’s growth has meant more involvement on Norman’s part to play a quasi-curatorial role, guided by the stipulations laid out in support received from arts funding bodies. These have led to special featured shows, of which there are four in this year’s festival: Divergence and Connection at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery; Brenda Stuart’s Botanical Engagements at 226 Main; Crossed Perspectives at La Maison des artistes visuels francophones; and Junxions at the Urban Shaman Contemporary Indigenous Gallery.
Looking ahead at the next ten years, the thing that really excites Norman are the inroads the festival is making in the rural regions. “The fact we’ve got Lac du Bonnet and St. Andrews and Killarney… I just want to keep encouraging that. I want to keep doing that for the future and, you know, more workshops like pinhole photography, workshops, and I love alternative processes.”
He smiles, clearly excited by the future. “Did you know you can develop black-and-white film with coffee?”
The Flash Photographic Festival runs until April 27. A full list of venues and descriptions can be found at the festival’s website.
