In addition to Tang Ying and Eric Leleu, another major showcase we have lined up for the Shanghai Photographer Night next Wed (13 April), is a collection from the photographers of Zaijietou.com.
Zaijietou (在街头）or literally “on the street” is a street photography blog that is home to over 60 street photographers from all over China, largely concentrated in Shanghai. (Shanghai is ranked as one of the best cities for street photography in China)
I’ve written before about how and why street photography as a style and genre is not as widely popular as compared to major cities like New York and London. Which makes Zaijietou.com such an outstanding local endeavor.
A coterie of unique perspectives and insights, Zaijietou is administered by Liu Miao (刘淼), an avid street photographer and an occasional author of novels who also has his own blog.
Today, Liu Miao shares with us a little about Zaijietou.Next week, we’ll have a look at some of the photographers who are participating in the Shanghai Photographer Night.
Q: How did Zaijietou.com come about?
LM: I started Zaijietou.com because there was no such platform for street photographers in China. Images are in an age of mass production, and an artist’s responsibility should be not only about making good works but also make themselves known to the public. Zaijietou.com aims to be such a platform for photographers to showcase their works.
在此之前，国内还没有一个以街头摄影为主题的平台，而在一个影像大批量生产的时代，作为一个艺术家，不仅仅要做出好的作品，还有责任让更多人知道。在街头正是这样一个供摄影师展示的平台。
Q: What makes Zaijietou.com so unique in a platform for showcasing street photography in China?
LM: First, Zaijietou is an open platform where members from all over China (and even the world) have their own unique and diversified styles. This is the essence of Zaijietou. Zaijietou is also a social platform because it uses social media sites like Twitter, Douban (Chinese platform similar to Myspace), and Sina Weibo (China’s answer to twitter) to promote. We take all these measures to make the sit) known to more people.
首先，在街头是一个开放的平台，开放使得它拥有来自全国各地的摄影师，甚至是海外的摄影师，因而它有一个多样化且独特的风格，这也是在街头的精髓。
其次，在街头采用了多种多样的社会化工具，包括twitter，豆瓣以及新浪微博等，从而使它变得越来越为更多人所知。
