This is a special year for our Intercontinental Circuit, as we celebrate its tenth anniversary. In 2016, we embarked on this modest adventure of uniting five countries across two continents in a shared photographic project. For the past ten years, Andorra, Catalonia, Cuba, Panama, and the Dominican Republic have combined our efforts and our approach to understanding photography, all in service to our participants.

Last year, we spoke of a decline in participation, primarily due to the significant growth of salons and circuits patronized by FIAP, which required photographers to choose carefully which salon or circuit they wished to enter. For this reason, we emphasized that we were committed to providing fair and respectful treatment to the photographic artists who entrusted us with their works.

It appears that, in some way, we have succeeded, for after several years of declining participation, this year we have seen a substantial recovery. We have received 3,572 works from 316 artists, originating from 47 countries around the world. We are therefore grateful to the photographers who have once again placed their trust in us.

We mentioned earlier our tenth anniversary, and it seems an opportune moment to take stock of what these ten years have meant in numerical terms. Across all editions of the Intercontinental Circuit, we have received a total of 45,736 works from 4,025 participants, hailing from 79 countries worldwide.

These are undoubtedly significant figures of which we are proud, and they indicate that our Circuit still has a long future ahead.

Sometimes, to move forward, one must pause briefly, reflect on where we have come from and what we have achieved, and then draw fresh breath and continue with the satisfaction of knowing that good work has been done.

I always like to emphasize that it is the jury that lends prestige and value to a salon or circuit. A competent jury is the measure of work well done, evaluating the entries with expertise and ultimately determining which are deserving of awards. It is true that in the five salons that comprise our Circuit, the winners are not identical in each one, yet they are certainly close. In other words, although the awards do not always go to the same authors, the majority do occupy prominent positions in each of the five salons.

Returning to our ten-year history and the figures, we must not forget that 50 judgements have been rendered, involving 150 jurors who have carried out their duties scrupulously. We must also express our gratitude to these individuals for their indispensable contribution.

Now, then, after this brief review of our ten-year history, as we said, we take a breath and are already looking forward to our next Intercontinental Circuit. We shall meet again there in the autumn of 2026.

Josep M Casanoves Dolcet, AFIAP, ESFIAP
Chairman of the Intercontinental Circuit
Director of the FIAP Exhibition Centre at the CIMIR