The making of PAPA

"PAPA - participating artists' press agency - is an international, curated network of artist-correspondents, initiated and led by Lino Hellings. PAPA is nomadic, it doesn't have a fixed office but works from temporary offices in cities all over the world. Projects can be self-initiated or commissioned by third parties. PAPA is an instrument for world mapping, gently fixing even the most stubborn pieces into meaningful patterns. PAPA's street level observations inspire a broad audience and inform specialist arenas as art, city development, politics and the news industry. PAPA's working method is based on 'reading the street'. The correspondents go out with a camera and picture 'what catches the eye' with a clear question in the head and on appropriate locations. Subsequently, the photographers 'read the pictures out loud' by adding texts to the pictures. During a project or commission new images and texts are posted on the shared photo blog of PAPA every day. The Making of PAPA combines a DIY manual, an introduction to the cities in which PAPA has operated so far, visual essays by a mix of photographers and a text on the bottom-up creation of PAPA and its first adventures"--Publisher's website.