The main focus of the IV Fórum Latino-Americano de Fotografia de São Paulo is themed Photography as a Thought - or when it expands its own borders leaving behind its merely instrumental nature to reach an autonomous level that generates knowledge. This perspective gives rise to the question: is it possible that the so-called photographic act – or, even more, the photographic image – exists, persists or circulates as it happens with a concept or an idea?

This edition also proposes bringing the photographer to light not only as a critical observer of the world around him, but also as the one who sparks off the crisis of his own environment and questions the legacy of the traditional photographic practice fundamentals.

Alongside the forum, the program features the Arquivo Ex Machina – Identidade e Confliito na América Latina [Ex Machina Archive – Identity and Conflict in Latin America] exhibition, which brings together authors seeking to rescue photo archives left forgotten inside drawers, photo albums and basements to resignify them,thus attributing them new and unexpected meanings.

Cultural basis, critical thinking, political and poetic positioning, screenplay and editing – the IV Fórum Latino-Americano de Fotografia de São Paulo proposes speeches and works that push the boundaries of photography and promote further reflection on this subject to go far beyond its borders.

Iatã Cannabrava and Fredi Casco