Katarina Radović

Katarina Radović: The Performative Anthropologist

Katarina Radović is selected for her unique ability to blend documentary photography with a sharp, performative, and often witty anthropological lens. Her work investigates the "theatre of the everyday", focusing on social rituals, gender roles, and the construction of identity within specific cultural frameworks.

• Why she fits Futures: Radović’s practice is essential for the platform because it critiques contemporary social structures through a sense of irony and deep empathy. Whether exploring the kitsch of wedding rituals or the performative nature of the "selfie" culture, her work invites viewers to question the authenticity of the roles we play in society. Her established yet evolving voice provides a bridge between traditional social commentary and contemporary conceptual practice.

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Vera Hadzhiyska: The Guardian of Memory

Vera Hadzhiyska is a multidisciplinary photographer whose work is deeply rooted in research, archival intervention, and the politics of identity. Her projects, most notably those dealing with the "Names Process" in Bulgaria and the forced displacement of minority groups, demonstrate a profound commitment to uncovering silenced histories.

• Why she fits Futures: Hadzhiyska represents the "research-as-art" movement that is vital to the future of photography. Her ability to weave personal family narratives with broader geopolitical traumas makes her work both deeply moving and politically urgent. By selecting Vera, the project highlights the importance of photography as a tool for reconciliation, historical preservation, and the exploration of "belonging" in a post-migration Europe.

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Alexis Cismas: The Poetic Documentarian

Alexis Cismas is chosen for her sensitive, tactile, and highly psychological approach to the image. His work moves away from the grand narrative to focus on the "micro-moments", the fragility of human connection, the emotional residue of domestic spaces, and the quiet tension between presence and absence.

• Why she fits Futures: Alexis brings a cinematic and lyrical quality to the selection. Her projects display a sophisticated understanding of light, texture, and the "unspoken" aspects of photography. She represents a generation of artists who use the camera not just to see the world, but to feel it. Her inclusion ensures the project encompasses the interior, psychological landscapes that define the contemporary human experience.

The synergy between these three artists creates a powerful narrative arc for the Futures Photography project. From Radović’s extroverted social critiques and Hadzhiyska’s archival depth to Cismas’s introverted psychological portraits, this selection offers a comprehensive look at the state of contemporary photography: an art form that is simultaneously a witness to history, a mirror to society, and a map of the human soul.

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The members atof the jury:

Andrei Budescu, photographer and university professor, former dean of UAD (University of Art and Design), Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Panagiotis Papoutsis, photographer and former artistic director of Ioannina Photo Festival, Greece

Dorel Găină, photographer and university professor, former dean of UAD (University of Art and Design), Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sebastian Vaida, photographer and artistic director of Photo Romania Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania