What you Missed at Monomania, the First Black and White Photofest in the Philippines

Article by Aimee Julia Pua / Photos by Phyl Pangilinan

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Erin Noir, founder of the independent publishing house MONO, hosted MONOMANIA: A Black and White Photofest last September 23-24, and there was a lot you missed out on if you didn’t go. It was the first photography festival in the Philippines (and even in Asia) that was dedicated to black and white photographers and enthusiasts. The event featured more than 300 local and international artists who shared their perspectives through grayscale images.

Here are some of MONØMANIA’s highlights that you may have missed:

MONOlogues: A series of talks

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The event featured talks for MONOLOGUES on conceptual photography (Christian Tablazon, eductor), photojournalism (Edwin C. Tuyay and Sonny Yabao, photojournalists), cinematography (Neil Daza, filmmaker) and many more. The talks were incredibly informative (but definitely not boring), and featured some critically acclaimed artists and photographers.

MONOwall: An exhibit

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Photographers were allowed to submit their black and white photographs for the MONØWALL some time before the event, and Erin herself curated the photos which were gorgeously displayed along the walls of the Vetro, Greenbelt, during the festival. It was an impressive collection of 100 black & white A3 print images (sponsored by Fujifilm Philippines), featuring 100 different photographers for the “Prints not dead!” exhibit.

MONOlibrary: A showcase of books and magazines

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Twenty-four artists from around the world had their black and white photography books and magazines physically featured at MONOMANIA’s mini MONOlibrary, including the works of Erin herself, and guests had a great time learning about photography and photographers as they browsed through the collection.

4. MONOportraits: Getting portraits taken in b&w film

 

The event attendees were given the chance to be photographed in classic black and white films by Erin, along with photographers Teo Esguerra, Kenji Mercado, Mikki Luistro and Kiko Núñez!

More exciting things!

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MONOreviews: Fourteen lucky photographers were given the chance to submit their monochrome portfolios to be critiqued by eight local experts!

MONOscreen: A series of black & white photo essays and stories were showcased and given a live scoring by WSK 2017. The photography collectives and individuals included in the line-up were the  Cavite Active Photogroup (CAP), Filipino Street Photographers, Focus Bulacan, Japan Street Lens, Tala Photo Collective, plus solo artists Jamèl Van de Pas and Tim Heubeck.

MONOpress: A show of new releases of photo magazines curated and produced by Erin were talked about.

MONOmail: In collaboration with Post.ph, limited edition black & white postcards by selected photographers were launched at the event.

MONOreels: The event also presented black & white moving images/pictures!

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ERIN NOIR

Website: https://www.erinn0ir.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinn0ir

Instagram: @erinn0ir

MONOMANIA

MONO: facebook.com/pg/korewamonodesu

MONOMANIA: erinn0ir.com/monomania2017