FOTOSPORT 2022

As we had hoped at end of the presentation of the previous edition of Fotosport in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has fortunately begun to seem like it was just a bad dream that caused suffering and so many deaths. The dreadful disease now finally seems to have become a thing of the past.

In 2020 we celebrated Fotosport’s 50th anniversary, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the celebration to be a more restrained event. The grand opening for the event was a small affair. However, as the venue for the exhibition, the Mas Iglesias Image Center of Reus (CIMIR) became a COVID-19 vaccination center for a few months, nearly 6,000 people passed through the center and were able to see the Fotosport works of art that formed part of the exhibition which remained in place until spring 2022.

In a certain manner, we have lost two years of our lives while many have unfortunately lost their lives. Now is the time to bring our lives back to normal and get back on track out where our lives had become stuck or nearly frozen in time. Here at Fotosport, although we never stopped our work with photography and sports, we are returning to normal with Fotosport 2022, the XXVII International Biennial of Sports Photography.

For the last 52 years we have faithfully maintained the tradition of our biennial event with photographic artists. As we often say, photographers are the ones who use their camera lenses to capture that precise moment during live sports action or the immediate surroundings. Without the photographers and their vision, Fotosport would not exist and it would never have reached the level of recognition and quality that we have achieved over the years.

Our jury is another aspect that is of the utmost importance to us. The pandemic required us to give our decisions virtually. However, in this year’s event, we have returned to total normalcy with a jury present in person who can work better, discussing and debating with each other during the award decisions. Being there in person also helps encourage new friendships and allows for everyone involved to exchange ideas and experiences. In short, this event is a highly-enriching interaction that forges personal bonds.

In terms of figures, in this year’s event we have received 1,285 photos from 101 photographers from 29 countries around the world. We would like to express our sincerest appreciation to the photographers who have entrusted their work to us.

We hope to be present once again in 2024 for a new edition of Fotosport.

Josep M Casanoves Dolcet, AFIAP, EsFIAP
Chairman of Fotosport
Director of the FIAP Exhibition Center in Reus at the CIMIR
Club Natació Reus Ploms