Public space (Arbeidersamfunnets Plass) | 20-29 August  
While previous iterations of Fotobokfestival Oslo hosted display containers, the Arbeidersamfunnets plass this year includes a temporary installation set up in dialogue with Viel Bjerkeset Andersen’s already existing sculptures, Towards North (Mot nord), the square’s original 2009 renovation plan, and current status of the place. Books are 'displayed' and 'presented' as audio recordings accessible through QR codes. Visual elements appear on existing elements of the space. Artists presented in this part are Jordi Barreras (ALREADY BUT NOT YET, Punctum 2020) and Adrian Bugge, (Y. Bygget som forsvant / The building that disappeared,  Uten Tittel 2021). The books can be found in public libraries in specially designed FFO2021 book studios (see info below for details) and in Fotogalleriet (between 20-22 August).

Fotogalleriet | 20-22 August | Opening hours 12-20
Fotogalleriet hosts a temporary installation, ‘Representation and Beyond’, which focuses on investigating the historical and current status of broadly defined portraiture (including self-portraiture). Apart from works that fit a more classical understanding of this particular genre, the installation also includes photographs that avoid a literal understanding of portraiture in favor of abstract - or simply different – representational forms connected to various personal or ethical issues (intimacy, politics, etc.). In this context, the portrait becomes a mirror of various visual languages and approaches underlined by one main rule: respect for the photographed subject and understanding of his/her situation and the given context. In ‘Representation and Beyond’ you will find books (or/and projects) by Dawoud Bey, Christian Belgaux, Magnus Cederlund, Andrea Gjestvang, Mads Greve, Rebecca Jafari, Sofie Amalie Klougart, Lin Shiauyu, Linda Zhengová. Fotogalleriet also hosts book launches/artist talks and shortlisted photobook dummies from the Inaugural Hong Kong Photobook Festival (Clean Hong Kong Action by Siu Wai-hang, The Man Who Attends to the Times by Yim Sui-fong, The Dayspring of Eternity by Lau Chi-chung).

Fotogalleriet hosts the following artist talks and book launches:
20 August 17.00-19.00 |  Rebecca Jafari on Det du (ikke) ser 
22 August 17.00-19.00 |  Tonje Bøe Birkeland, The Characters, The Buthan Trilogy, Bergen Kjøtt Publishing/Gyldenpris Kunsthall (2021).

Deichman Bjørvika, Grünerløkka, Torshov
From August 19 – September 5, all of the festival books are exhibited at Deichman Bjørvika on the 4th floor in an arranged book studio accompanied by a temporary installation. Afterwards, the festival book studio will move to other local library branches (7-19 September DEICHMAN GRÜNERLØKKA; 21-4 October DEICHMAN TORSHOV) and the festival's photobooks will be donated to the public library. The FFO2021 theme ‘Photography and Words’ (or more photography and literature) focuses on these unique publications in which text and photography are in dialogue. This theme includes books of such artists and/or writers as: Tonje Bøe Birkeland, Tomas Espedal, Katinka Goldberg, Jiri Havran, Anaïs Horn, Xenia Nikolskaya, Marina Vitaglione, Line Ørnes Søndergaard, Yohan Shanmugaratnam, John Erik Riley.  

The Seminar: Photography and Words: Narratives, Stories, Representations
(Deichman Bjørvika, 23 August, 15.30-18.30)
The festival's seminar ‘Photography and Words’ brings together academics, theoreticians, artists, and writers to comment on the books included in the festival. The seminar mainly focuses on unique publications in which text and photography are in dialogue. These books treat the photographic image not just as a purely informative or aesthetic supplement, but rather as a meaningful component of the book’s narrative. While the primary focus of the seminar is this particular relation between photography and literature, it is not limited to this theme. The seminar is composed of three panels: the first panel, 'Representation and Beyond', is devoted to contemporary critical contexts (especially decolonizations and issues of race); the second panel, 'Photography and Words', investigates the aforementioned relations between photography and literature, and the third panel comments on 'Public Space'. The seminar’s speaker include inter alia: Deborah Willis, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Tomas Espedal, Viel Bjerkeset Andersen, Siv Hofsvang.

Public space (Arbeidersamfunnets Plass) | 20-29 August  
While previous iterations of Fotobokfestival Oslo hosted display containers, the Arbeidersamfunnets plass this year includes a temporary installation set up in dialogue with Viel Bjerkeset Andersen’s already existing sculptures, Towards North (Mot nord), the square’s original 2009 renovation plan, and current status of the place. Books are 'displayed' and 'presented' as audio recordings accessible through QR codes. Visual elements appear on existing elements of the space. Artists presented in this part are Jordi Barreras (ALREADY BUT NOT YET, Punctum 2020) and Adrian Bugge, (Y. Bygget som forsvant / The building that disappeared,  Uten Tittel 2021). The books can be found in public libraries in specially designed FFO2021 book studios (see info below for details) and in Fotogalleriet (between 20-22 August).

Fotogalleriet | 20-22 August | Opening hours 12-20
Fotogalleriet hosts a temporary installation, ‘Representation and Beyond’, which focuses on investigating the historical and current status of broadly defined portraiture (including self-portraiture). Apart from works that fit a more classical understanding of this particular genre, the installation also includes photographs that avoid a literal understanding of portraiture in favor of abstract - or simply different – representational forms connected to various personal or ethical issues (intimacy, politics, etc.). In this context, the portrait becomes a mirror of various visual languages and approaches underlined by one main rule: respect for the photographed subject and understanding of his/her situation and the given context. In ‘Representation and Beyond’ you will find books (or/and projects) by Dawoud Bey, Christian Belgaux, Magnus Cederlund, Andrea Gjestvang, Mads Greve, Rebecca Jafari, Sofie Amalie Klougart, Lin Shiauyu, Linda Zhengová. Fotogalleriet also hosts book launches/artist talks and shortlisted photobook dummies from the Inaugural Hong Kong Photobook Festival (Clean Hong Kong Action by Siu Wai-hang, The Man Who Attends to the Times by Yim Sui-fong, The Dayspring of Eternity by Lau Chi-chung).

Fotogalleriet hosts the following artist talks and book launches:
20 August 17.00-19.00 |  Rebecca Jafari on Det du (ikke) ser 
22 August 17.00-19.00 |  Tonje Bøe Birkeland, The Characters, The Buthan Trilogy, Bergen Kjøtt Publishing/Gyldenpris Kunsthall (2021).

Deichman Bjørvika, Grünerløkka, Torshov
From August 19 – September 5, all of the festival books are exhibited at Deichman Bjørvika on the 4th floor in an arranged book studio accompanied by a temporary installation. Afterwards, the festival book studio will move to other local library branches (7-19 September DEICHMAN GRÜNERLØKKA; 21-4 October DEICHMAN TORSHOV) and the festival's photobooks will be donated to the public library. The FFO2021 theme ‘Photography and Words’ (or more photography and literature) focuses on these unique publications in which text and photography are in dialogue. This theme includes books of such artists and/or writers as: Tonje Bøe Birkeland, Tomas Espedal, Katinka Goldberg, Jiri Havran, Anaïs Horn, Xenia Nikolskaya, Marina Vitaglione, Line Ørnes Søndergaard, Yohan Shanmugaratnam, John Erik Riley.  

The Seminar: Photography and Words: Narratives, Stories, Representations
(Deichman Bjørvika, 23 August, 15.30-18.30)
The festival's seminar ‘Photography and Words’ brings together academics, theoreticians, artists, and writers to comment on the books included in the festival. The seminar mainly focuses on unique publications in which text and photography are in dialogue. These books treat the photographic image not just as a purely informative or aesthetic supplement, but rather as a meaningful component of the book’s narrative. While the primary focus of the seminar is this particular relation between photography and literature, it is not limited to this theme. The seminar is composed of three panels: the first panel, 'Representation and Beyond', is devoted to contemporary critical contexts (especially decolonizations and issues of race); the second panel, 'Photography and Words', investigates the aforementioned relations between photography and literature, and the third panel comments on 'Public Space'. The seminar’s speaker include inter alia: Deborah Willis, Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Tomas Espedal, Viel Bjerkeset Andersen, Siv Hofsvang.