A few days have passed since the fifth edition of GU.PHO. Festival came to a close, and we feel the need to try to better understand the wave of emotions and reflections these days have generated.

A festival, as we imagine and create it, is certainly made of exhibitions, but above all, it is a place where things happen. A little like certain artistic practices in which the artist does nothing more than set a process in motion, which then develops autonomously through the relationships, encounters, and exchanges it generates.

This year’s theme was ethics, and it brought together artists who, in their own practices, deal with complex questions daily. By sharing their experiences, they nourished reflections and debates that spread through the rooms of the castle and among those present — and that we hope will continue to resonate far beyond the festival and beyond Guiglia.

Through talks, exhibitions, encounters, books, informal conversations, drinks, meals, and breakfasts, On Ethics stimulated critical thinking, raised questions, and planted a seed that we hope will continue to grow in the years to come.

For us, today, many of the questions that emerged over these days feel vital. Reality is often shaped by images and by the imaginaries they help produce. And those imaginaries, more often than not, end up becoming reality. When they repeat stereotypes, simplifications, or partial narratives, they can deeply affect the way we perceive a place, a context, and, consequently, the people who inhabit it.

It is therefore the responsibility of all of us — both those who work with images and those who look at them — to question, deconstruct, and interrogate what we see. An image is not harmless, nor is it neutral: it is something fragile, whose meaning can change profoundly depending on the context, the words that accompany it, and the gazes that move through it.

It is on days like these that we manage to glimpse a small glimmer of hope. Photography holds an extraordinary power: that of acting as a relational device, sometimes capable of crossing the invisible barriers that continue to separate people in increasingly divided contemporary societies.

A relationship that is established not only between those who photograph and those who are photographed, or between those who find these images in a flea market or online and the people represented in them, but also between those who look at them and who, through them, meet one another — sometimes recognising echoes of their own life experiences, even when the image was made thousands of kilometres away or hundreds of years before.

It is through photography, the medium we feel closest to, that we question the issues we care about most, try to understand the world we inhabit, and, in our own small way, fight for what we believe in.

GU.PHO. is the emblem of an event made possible only thanks to the contribution of so many people who, for many different reasons, choose to give their time, energy, and enthusiasm to the creation of this special festival.

This year in particular, we feel it is important to sincerely thank the artists, speakers, professionals and all the old and new collaborators who so extraordinarily enriched and expanded the theme of the festival; the Municipality of Guiglia, which believed in this project even before it was born and continues, year after year, to renew its trust in us; Fondazione di Vignola and all the sponsors — Cav. Emilio Giovetti Srl, Banca Mediolanum, Coimepa Servizi, Sideius Srl, Ebla Soc. Coop., Studio Borghi Giordano & Partners — whose essential contribution made the festival possible; the hospitality venues — Locanda Sbrigati, Albergo Ristorante Belvedere, Albergo Ristorante La Lanterna — who welcome and continue to take such good care of our guests; and the local producers — Caseificio di Rosola, Altoforno – Impasti Agresti, Salumificio Salusti, Forno Lambertini Danilo, Azienda Agricola Casa Romana di Venturi — whose products enriched the convivial spirit of the event.

A special thank you goes to our families and to our friends, who supported us throughout these intense and demanding months in every possible way: with a word, a hug, a pasta, a car ride, by lending us what was needed, or by building spectacular structures.

And finally, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all the volunteers who chose to give us their time, enriching the festival with their skills and their smiles.

Many questions emerged over these days, and we hope they will accompany both our thoughts and yours in the months to come. In the end, the meaning of a festival like GU.PHO. lies not so much in the answers, but in the ability to keep asking ourselves questions.

We will meet again with new questions at the sixth edition.