Jon Levy is the Director of Foto8, the London-based photography publishing company responsible for 8 Magazine and Foto8.com. The founder of HOST Gallery, Levy has forged alliances with photographers and editors and engaged an ever-growing audience for photojournalism. The work of Foto8 online, in print, and on display, has brought about its own forum of discussion that explores the realm of photography that exists at the intersection of art and journalism. 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of Foto8.
 
 
NYPH: How does your work at Foto8 influence Home For Good, your exhibition for the New York Photo Festival?
 
Jon Levy: Work at Foto8 influences me completely. What I do in New York is the logical continuation of what I do at Foto8. Our show is, like Foto8, a group effort. We are a collaborative bunch at Foto8 and we look to work with photographers in this way. Therefore the work in New York has been thought up and brought together for this exhibition very much in a Foto8 kind of way: It works partly as a collection of magazine articles, as they might appear in 8 Magazine, in part it is an interactive show, like Foto8.com, and it is partially a classic print exhibition, like the shows we hang in the gallery at Foto8 in London.
 
NYPH: What was your inspiration for Home For Good and what do you hope to accomplish with this show?
 
JL: The Foto8 editors and I thought that we should represent how pictures are used, seen, and transmitted and so this is the direction of the photojournalism and documentary photography that we have chosen. Having a central idea that home can be the starting point AND the ending point for photography—the place you make and also receive photography—seemed like a good way of thinking about and using the venue we had been given. I want us to work in a way that is in keeping with our experiences in the magazine, website, and gallery but I also want this opportunity to bring us together to create something that works all around, as an experience of photography in a particular setting. The show also serves to remind the viewer that we are not re-inventing the wheel. We don’t need to. Photojournalism is ever changing, and many means can be used to explore this idea of home.
For New York we have hoped to use different styles of photography and approaches to storytelling: creative narratives that employ fiction to construct stories (David Gray); photo-album pictures (Lorraine Grupe); photography used on postage stamps (Chris Killip); stills used in film (Tim Hetherington); large format landscapes (Simon Roberts); autobiographical colour reportage (Seba Kurtis); a picture story project (Venetia Dearden); and a newly commissioned portrait story (Louie Palu). The statement we want to make is that photojournalism and documentary photography are multi-facetted; they have been and always will be. The many styles and subjects we see today constantly surprise and excite us. Our show hopes to bring that home in its own way.
 

NYPH: What do you hope viewers will take away after seeing the show?
 
JL: Firstly that it works: that people are intrigued and engaged, and want to know and see more. There are many subjects covered in the photography in our show that relate to all viewers, such as thoughts of war, the economy, immigration, identity, and the culture we live in. I want people to feel photography is something you can do yourself and share; that it is accessible. Our focus is on storytelling, and on bringing many stories together to give them each a voice whilst also making a new voice out of the combination. Shows and festivals like this are a vital to this process of discovering new sides to photography and enjoying the old.
 

NYPH: What do you think will be the impact of the New York Photo Festival on the photography world?
 
JL: For the four days in May when NYPH sparks into life, it will become a wonderful world of photography in and of itself. Of course, the photography world is vast, and there is so much more to see. Luckily there are 361 days left for that. If NYPH continues to embrace a wide range of interests and curators, then it will play an important part in this greater world. I do believe, however, that while pushing the photographic boundaries is an important aim of the festival curators, perhaps it is necessary to pay equal attention to making our so-called “world” of photography as accessible as possible to an ever greater public.
 

NYPH: This is a chance for you to showcase what you perceive to be the future of photography. What is the significance of this opportunity, and what is the significance of hosting the festival in New York City?
 
JL: New York as a venue is important to me for personal reasons that date back to when I lived, worked, and hung out in that part of Brooklyn. I often spent time with a particular friend in DUMBO who was a photographer and artist. I made most of my own photography in New York, for the wire services and picture agencies and I was part of that particular “photography world.” They were wonderful times with great people. It’s amazing to be showing there now, 10 years later, for me personally, and also for the rest of us at Foto8. I hope that our show does your hospitality justice, and that it pays tribute to my good friend Nader and the New York that gave me my first break in photography.