A double tap means more than just a “like” to 100 of Instagram’s insta-famous photographers — because each “like” fuels motivation to keep creating.
Those photographers will have their work featured at “One by One,” a three-day festival centered around a gallery of 100 photographs taken by 100 Instagram-famous photographers. The festival is co-hosted by Citygram Austin magazine and InstaDFW.
Each of the Instagram artists submitted three photos for Citygram to choose from, but won’t know which photo will be displayed until Friday night.
Over the course of three days, the festival will include previews of upcoming local restaurants, performances by local musicians, a BBQ, artist panels, a talk with Instagram’s community manager Jeffrey Gerson and “instameets.” During these “instameets,” photographers and their followers get together to go on photo excursions throughout the city.
Chris Perez, Citygram’s founding editor and chief digital officer, said the event gives photographers a chance to exhibit their work in a gallery while exposing audiences to the vast amount of high-quality work produced using Instagram.
“We want to bring the physical aspect to it at a large scale,” Perez said. “The photos people are doing are amazing, and people are impressed by them. It’ll be more amazing when you can see them in a gallery being treated like art.”
Perez said the goal of “One by One” is to further connect the Instagram community. He said the event sheds light on artists’ ability to be creative, and in turn, fuel their followers’ creativity.
“There are real people behind these photographs — people connecting and inspiring each other,” Perez said.
The photographs will be up for silent auction throughout the weekend. “One by One” planners will donate 50 percent of the auction’s proceeds to Girlstart, a program dedicated to promoting science and mathematics to young girls.
Chemistry freshman Michael Tatalovich, one of the festival’s artists, sticks to his iPhone when capturing his Instagram photos. He said he enjoys shooting “urbanscapes,” focusing on easily overlooked places and searching for fresh perspectives at more popular sites.
“[In my photos], I like a balance between impromptu and candid, yet defined,” Tatalovich said. “I like to strike that balance whether it’s the profile of a person or a building.”
Although Tatalovich has over 22,000 followers on Instagram, he said actually meeting the artists he follows — some of the “best Instagrammers in the world” — will be an exciting new opportunity.
“I think there’s a certain dynamic and roundness that you get from meeting someone in real life,” Tatalovich said. “Any social media is kind of a façade; it’s a little manufactured and polished. But when you meet someone in real life, you get to see how they work.”
Tatalovich said the advent of the cellphone camera resulted in an excess of “redundant” images on the internet, like selfies, but also allowed a broader range of artists to shed light on unseen perspectives.
“I don’t think that selfies are a bad thing; it’s a little bit one-dimensional,” Tatlovich said. “I’m looking for someone that is exploring whatever city they live in, finding new places and other people to take pictures of.”
After UT alumnus Matt Crump left his career in advertising, he devoted himself to developing his art through Instagram. He described his style as “candy-colored minimalist” and created the hashtag “#candyminimal,” so that he and his followers could share photos with similar aesthetics. One of Crump’s three submitted photographs will be on display.
Crump, whose Instagram has 65,600 followers, said he tries his best to respond to every comment his photos receive.
“Everything I do on Instagram — I’m thinking about my followers,” Crump said. “I’m thinking about genuine interactions with them.”
“One by One,” which takes place at Artpost in East Austin, opens with a party Friday at 7 p.m. Entry to the gallery will be free Saturday and Sunday.
