Subjective Art Festival

Six floors at Lume Studios in Tribeca, New York City, housed the Subjective Art Festival in September 2024. The assignment for Subjective was full production coverage across three days. Jenya photographed and filmed the festival, covering the Broadway storefront, the art fair in the daylight lofts, educational panels and evening performances. The projection and LED walls changed brightness from one second to the next, so exposure followed the work on display. Shorter exposures held faces and gestures while keeping the ambient color of the rooms. The photographs also had to show the scale of the six floor takeover while keeping the artwork readable. Subjective received a finished gallery and recap film, moving from the Broadway frontage through the art, visitors and performances.

Coverage began on the street, with the marquee announcing the festival above the Lume storefront, then moved inside before each room filled. Jenya photographed the immersive studio when the projections could still be seen as a designed space, the loft fair in daylight, and the panel stage while the seating was still clean. Once the festival opened, he worked between those floors and the evening performances, watching for frames where a visitor, a screen, and the architecture lined up. Projection and LED walls change brightness from one second to the next, so exposure followed the work rather than flattening it. Shorter exposures held faces and gestures while keeping enough ambient color to show how the rooms actually felt.