The inaugural New York Photo Festival, the brainchild of Daniel Power of powerHouse Books and Frank Evers of VII Photo Agency, will take place on May 14- 18, 2008, in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn's waterfront. Conceptualized, organized and financed in the traditions of international-level events, like Visa pour l'Image, NYPF plans an impressive array of art and cultural activities.

NYPF founders believe that photography "has been surprisingly uncelebrated, particularly in the United States." They view New York City as the most influential commercial and fine-art photography community, and the perfect place to host a large-scale event to celebrate contemporary art and talent.

There will be four separate exhibits that document the curators' vision of important new trends. Magnum's Martin Parr will explore photo series as a way of bringing order to chaos. The New York Times Magazine picture editor Kathy Ryan will examine the sculptural and painterly qualities of recent photography. Lesley Martin of the Aperture Foundation will focus on how artists are using the limitless supply of disseminated images to create their own. Tim Barber of tinyvices.com will present a spectrum of works from well-established to unknown photographers.

Getty Images and VII will present satellite shows to feature new, never-exhibited work of their photographers. Additional presenters will include the Archive of Modern Conflict, Museum of Contemporary Photography and The Tierney Fellowship for support of emerging photographers.

NYPF also introduces new awards. A new annual competition to launch during NYPF08, the New York Photo Awards will honor intellectually and aesthetically groundbreaking work. The Microsoft-sponsored contest will be accepting submissions through April 14. Still and multimedia works will be judged by separate juries. Members of both panels include internationally known photographers, publishing executives and photo editors, commercial directors, fine-art curators and gallery owners.

Attendees can expect numerous seminars, portfolio reviews, gallery exhibits, slide shows, book signings, workshops, live performances and events. NYPF08 expects to attract some 100,000 visitors, which is comparable to European and Canadian festivals attended by 100,000 to 1 million people each year.