China Photographers Association invites Thomas Kellner for Symposium in Lishui
Thomas Kellner at Symposium in Lishui
Lishui, China. Thomas Kellner was invited by the China Photographers Association to attend the 6th International Photography Symposium in Lishui, Zhejiang Province. Under the motto “Integrating and Sharing – the Crossover Development and International Communication of Photography Art,” 23 expert curators and photographers gathered for a two-day exchange of ideas parallel to the Lishui Photo Festival 2025.
1847 exhibitions at the Lishui Photography Festival
Thomas Kellner took the opportunity to view the 1847 exhibitions with a total of over 18,000 images. These included the retrospective of German photo artist Thomas Ruff at the new Cultural Photo Center, which featured Kellner's cover image of Dancing Walls in its opening exhibition in October 2024.
Those who do not regularly follow Thomas Ruff's work were surprised by his tireless creativity in photographic images and long camera-less images of many pictures. On display were early pictures from his student days, houses, stars, nights, cassini, ma.r.s., nudes, substratum, jpeg, press++, tableaux chinois, photograms, flowers, negatives, untitled#, zycles, d.o.p.e., experiences lumineuses.
Meeting at the Lishui Museum of Photography
Thirteen years after Kellner's solo exhibition at the Lishui Museum of Photography, the museum and festival curator Fu Weixie, his assistant Isabella Wang, and Thomas Kellner were finally able to meet in person.
Photography Museum of Lishui, China
Photography Museum of Lishui is the first professional museum of China that was fully invested and built by the government. Opened on November 18th, 2007. Its completion was listed as the top 10 events of China’s photography in 2007.
Photography Museum of Lishui owns a total construction area of 3,000 square meters, contains extraordinary works of famous photographers from Lishui, and other places both at home and abroad, books and reference materials, photographic historical data, and aged cameras and photos. It launches special photographic exhibitions, showing outstanding works of different types here and from other places; also enables the development history of China’s photography from the viewpoint of China’s Photography history and Lishui photography culture and shows us the results of Lishui photography in the past years. Our museum was rewarded Best Social Participation for Museums of Zhejiang Province in 2012. At Photography Museum of Lishui, we created important brand activities both from China and aboard. And providing a good photographic academic platform for the public and expanding the popularity and influence of Lishui in photography; hold forums, lectures, photographic social gathering, readers communications meetings, etc. Our Museum is playing an active role in spreading photographic culture and inheriting photographic history.
Lishui Photography Festival: China’s Living Laboratory of Image, Culture, and Community
Nestled in the misty mountains of Zhejiang Province, the Lishui Photography Festival has grown from a regional cultural event into one of China’s most influential platforms for contemporary photographic practice. First launched in 2004, the festival—formally known as the Lishui International Photography Culture Festival—now stands as a major meeting point for photographers, curators, scholars, and collectors from across China and abroad. In the Chinese photography world, Lishui is more than a festival; it is a living laboratory for new ideas, a space where tradition meets experimentation.
Unlike the major festivals in Beijing or Shanghai, Lishui’s identity is deeply shaped by its environment. The small mountain city, celebrated for its rivers, forests, and ancient villages, provides a natural backdrop that encourages visitors to slow down and reconnect with the origins of image-making. This connection to landscape is not accidental. Much of the festival’s programming—exhibitions, workshops, academic forums, and portfolio reviews—echoes the city’s longstanding relationship with nature and cultural heritage.
The festival’s curatorial vision is notable for its inclusiveness. Lishui is known for giving space to both established masters and emerging photographers, reflecting the Chinese belief that continuity and renewal must coexist. Young talents from art academies exhibit alongside veteran photographers who shaped the visual identity of reform-era China. This intergenerational dialogue, combined with the participation of international guests, makes the festival a dynamic crossroads of aesthetic and social perspectives.
One of Lishui’s distinguishing contributions is its emphasis on community engagement. Exhibitions are spread throughout the city—in public squares, old factories, cultural centers, and even small village halls—allowing photography to become part of daily life. For local residents, the festival is not a distant cultural spectacle but an invitation to participate in the broader transformations of Chinese society through the lens of art.
In recent years, Lishui has invested heavily in international collaboration. Partnerships with European photo festivals, Asian photography institutions, and global networks have strengthened its role on the world stage. Yet the festival remains unmistakably rooted in its Chinese context. Its programming continues to address themes central to contemporary China: urbanisation, rural revitalisation, ecological protection, and cultural memory.
For visitors from abroad, the Lishui Photography Festival offers an authentic immersion into China’s rapidly evolving visual culture. For Chinese photographers, it remains a vital platform—ambitious, open, and deeply connected to the social fabric of the country. In Lishui, photography becomes more than an art form; it becomes a conversation about who we are and how we choose to see the world.
CPA Symposium
The open symposium was intended as an exchange on the international language of the image.
Integrating and Sharing—the Crossover Development and International Communication of Photography Art.
"Integrating" explores the crossover development of photography, breaking down the barriers with other art forms, melting the imaging technology boundaries, and enriching the connotation and extension of photography art. "Sharing" explores that under the new communication ecosystem, the international exchange and communication of photography art is getting more open and diverse, allowing people of all countries to enjoy the fruits of the photography development and enhancing the mutual learning and understanding.
The topic of artificial intelligence in particular was regularly brought up by various participants throughout the room. In Pingyao, Kellner had already noticed a certain shock among the young female photographers. Li Ge started the discussion with the thesis that AI is better than any photographer. Song Jing countered that AI is only an assisting tool. Cao Ting expanded on the statement: we are the coordinators of AI; AI always needs creative partners. Alain Sayag condemned all AI images seen so far as post-surrealism. Since the topic was photography, Nelson Ramirez described the artworks as follows: Art is always a document, but documentary photography is not necessarily art. Claudio Brufalo emphasized wholeheartedly and spoke for everyone when he said: Love photography, love life.
Thomas Ruff said in his lecture: AI is stupid. Creative people will always be able to use and serve AI, but AI cannot use us.
Organized by: International Liaison Department of China Photographers Association, International Exchange Committee of China Photographers Association, Publicity Department of the CPC Lishui Municipal Committee.
The Symposium's participants: Chen Jing, director of International Liaison Department of China Photographers Association, Li Ge, Vice President of China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, President of China Photographers Association, Song Jing, Vice President of China Photographers Association, Claudio Brufola, International Officer Manager of the Italian Association of Professional Photographers, Moritz Leisen , Advisory Board Member of Germany’s Professional Association of Freelance Photographers and Film Creators, Peng Bang, Council Member of China Photographers Association, General Secretary of Hong Kong Branch of China Photographers Association, Nelson Ramirez de Arellano, Director of the Havanna Biennial, Harish Chandra Shah, Chairman of Nepal China Cultural and Educational Council, Cao Ting, Dean and Professor, School of Visual Media and Communication, Beijing Film Academy, Guo Jingwen, Council Member of China Photographers Association, Vice Chairman of General Assembly of the Photographic Society of Macao, Valentina Lara, Visual Arts Lecturer of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Klaus J. A. Mellentin, Deputy Head of BFF Academy and Former President of BFF, Germany’s Professional Association of Freelance Photographers and Film Creators, Ernesto Milan, Member of the Union of Artists and Writers of Cuba, Alain Sayag, Honorary Curator, Centre Pompidou, France, Johann van der Walt, Former President of the Photographic Society of South Africa, Zhang Lianyou, Vice President of the Photographers Association of Former Diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shen Shuo, Program Director of China Photo Press, Chai Xuan, Director and Manager of Chinese Photography Magazine Co. Ltd., Gao Jia, Vice Dean and Associate Professor, Herzen International College of Arts, Shandong Normal University, Thomas Kellner, Künstler, freier Kurator, Mitglied der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Fotografie, Mitglie dim Bundesverband Bildender Künstler, ehemaliges Vorstandsmitglied des Freundeskreises am Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen, Lin, Zaisheng, Council Member of China Photographers Association, President of Photographers Exchange Association of Taiwan, Sunhil Sharma N´Bhattarai, Vice President of National Forum of Photojournalists, Kathmadu Nepal, Neda Reyhanisis, Artist and Curator, Director of Hatef Art Gallery Iran, Brian Smith, Professional Photographers of Canada B. C Region, Director and Liaison for Secondary education, Wang Xiaochuan, Council Member of China Photographers Association,, President of Zheijiang Photographers Association, Wang Chen, Vice President of China Photographers association, President of Entrepreneur Photography Association (Shenzhen)
CPA - China Photographers Association
The China Photographers Association: A Pillar of Visual Culture in Contemporary China
For more than seven decades, the China Photographers Association (CPA) has stood at the center of China’s photographic landscape, shaping how the country sees itself and how it is seen by the world. Founded in 1956 and operating under the umbrella of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the CPA is both a professional organization and a cultural institution—one that continues to play a defining role in the development of photographic practice across the nation.
The Association’s influence reaches far beyond Beijing, where its headquarters are located. Through a network of provincial and municipal branches, the CPA supports thousands of photographers—professionals, scholars, and serious amateurs—who together represent the diversity of China’s rapidly changing society. This decentralised yet coordinated system reflects a broader cultural principle in China: the belief that artistic practice thrives when individual creativity is aligned with collective purpose.
At the heart of the CPA’s mission is the promotion of photography as an art form rooted in social engagement. Historically, Chinese photography has been closely linked to documenting national progress, cultural identity, and everyday life. The CPA’s annual exhibitions, festivals, and competitions uphold this tradition while also encouraging innovation in documentary, landscape, portrait, and experimental photography. The organisation has been instrumental in elevating many of today’s leading Chinese photographers, providing early career visibility, professional training, and international exchange opportunities.
In recent years, the CPA has increasingly embraced global dialogue. China’s emerging role in the international art world has brought new expectations and responsibilities. Exhibitions organized in collaboration with institutions in Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia highlight a more open and outward-looking approach. Yet the Association remains grounded in its core principle: photography must speak to the realities of Chinese life. Whether addressing themes such as urbanisation, rural transformation, or cultural heritage, the CPA champions work that resonates with social authenticity.
For Western audiences, the CPA offers a window into the artistic, cultural, and political dynamics shaping contemporary China. For Chinese photographers, it remains a vital platform—one that nurtures talent, safeguards professional standards, and fosters critical conversation.
As China continues to evolve, the China Photographers Association stands as both a guardian of tradition and a catalyst for new photographic visions. Its role within China’s visual culture is not merely institutional but profoundly societal: enabling photography to remain a powerful medium of understanding, memory, and imagination.
Lishui’s New Photography Cultural Center: A Landmark in China’s Evolving Visual Landscape
When the city of Lishui inaugurated its new Photography Cultural Center, it did more than open a building—it announced a cultural ambition. For years, Lishui has been known within China as a city deeply connected to the medium of photography, hosting one of the country’s most respected festivals and nurturing a vibrant community of image-makers. With the new center, this mountainous city in Zhejiang Province positions itself firmly on the global photographic map.
The architecture itself signals Lishui’s vision. Rising gently from the foot of Wanxiang Mountain, the center blends into the landscape with a quiet confidence that reflects the city’s longstanding harmony between nature and culture. Its expansive circular atrium allows natural light to flood the interior, while the surrounding terraces and rooftop garden create rhythm between inside and outside—between the act of seeing and the environment that inspires it.
What makes the Lishui Photography Cultural Center remarkable is not only its scale—multiple floors of exhibition halls, conference rooms, educational spaces, and areas dedicated to creative industry—but its purpose. It is built as a site of convergence: where artists, educators, curators, researchers, and the public meet to discuss, explore, and challenge photographic practice. In China, such spaces are rare, and Lishui’s emphasis on openness sets a new benchmark for cultural infrastructure.
The center immediately assumed a central role during the recent FIAP World Photographers Conference, hosting exhibitions that ranged from historical retrospectives to contemporary ecological and documentary projects. Here, Chinese and international photographers stood side by side—a significant gesture in a time when global artistic exchange is becoming increasingly essential and increasingly complex. For visiting artists, including those from Europe and the United States, the center provided a nuanced window into China’s evolving visual culture.
For the readers of Thomas Kellner’s blog, there is a particularly resonant parallel: both Kellner and Lishui share a commitment to exploring the structure of visual perception. While Kellner’s deconstructed, contact-sheet-based works reveal the architecture of seeing, Lishui’s new cultural center seeks to reveal the architecture of photographic society—its networks, its educational foundations, its global connections, and its local roots.
Ultimately, the Photography Cultural Center is more than a venue. It is a cultural engine for the region, a symbol of China’s belief that photography is not only an art form but a way of understanding social transformation. In Lishui, photography becomes a public language—spoken across generations, across landscapes, and increasingly, across borders.
