Pour Féliciter!

The Belarusian Association of Photographers, in collaboration with the Zair Azgur Memorial Museum, presents a jubilee exhibition marking 40 years of the PF movement, held within the framework of the Archive of Light Festival, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of photography in 2026.

The PF movement in Belarus emerged as a respectful dialogue with the European Pour Féliciter tradition, yet soon developed into an independent artistic phenomenon. Over time, the PF card has evolved from a festive gesture into a compact artistic statement – one in which photography, graphic language, and design converge within a small yet conceptually rich format.

The works presented in this exhibition demonstrate that PF culture is not a relic of the past but a living, evolving practice. Today, it reflects a shift toward greater authorship, conceptual depth, and personal expression. In an era shaped by instant and ephemeral digital communication, the PF card reasserts the value of the tangible object. It is not merely a greeting, but a deliberate act: a physical trace of emotion, intention, and visual thinking, created with care and received with attention.

The modest scale of the PF card offers artists – photographers, graphic designers, and visual authors – a unique field for experimentation. Within this constrained format, they explore composition, typography, materiality, and hybrid techniques, transforming the postcard into a visual signature of its time. Photography here operates not only as an image, but as a medium for reflection, memory, and cultural continuity.

The exhibition brings together contemporary authorial works alongside selected pieces from the recent PF-26 competition, organized by the Belarusian Association of Photographers. Together, they form a visual chronicle of four decades, revealing how a small-format tradition has continuously adapted to changing artistic, social, and technological contexts – while preserving its essential human dimension.

Cover: © Oleg Zhilin