In response to last year’s festival, the Globe and Mail called photography “an art form undergoing a revolution.” While we are definitely in the midst of conceptual and technological advancement, this isn’t exactly right—photography has been revolutionary since its invention, and it is still revolutionary today. In this year’s festival we explore the current state of the image revolution. We also look back to the foundations of photography to investigate their contemporary impact. Our exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art and 32 feature exhibitions focuse on conflict, history, revolution and change. Public installations transform urban spaces and embed photography into the social networks of the city. We’re proud to present the work of over 1,000 artists in the festival this year.

We are very grateful for the continued support of Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co., our premiere sponsor and Scotiabank for its support of our exhibition at MOCCA and the Scotiabank Scholarship. Sincere thanks to Toronto Tourism and our new partner, BlackBerry.

Our appreciation goes out to everyone involved in CONTACT 2009 including exhibition venues, education and exhibition partners, our funders, sponsors and advertisers, CONTACT’s Board of Directors, staff and volunteers and especially the participating artists and photographers.