Image: Antonio Pagano, Chk Chk Chk at Convergence

The London based Italian photographer Antonio Pagano works across an eclectic range of genres - taking in portraiture, live music and events, and theatrical and performance documentation.

Glenn Max, Artistic Director and founder of the Convergence festival has been working with Antonio for over ten years. Here, Glenn introduces this years festival (9 March - 4 April 2018) and the resident photographer.

Year after year I have to come up with original things to say about Convergence - and luckily there’s usually a lot to say. But, damn! This shit has been going on for five years. I'm tired. I gotta look at contracts and riders and keep people on my team feeling loved. It’s past midnight. The rest of the city is going to sleep. My brain hurts.

This here is what I said on the press release, just in case you missed it: “In our 5th year, with the support of our partners, we have delivered a line-up that places the deeply personal artistic visionary within the crucible of collaborative work.

In a world increasingly divisive, where polarised thinking creates yawning gaps that threaten our sense of unity, collaborative art forms and creative processes have an added value in that they teach us to think and react empathetically. The musical language we share opens doors for us to see and understand each other. We learn best when we work collaboratively. Stronger together.”

It would be typical for me to say this is our ‘best line-up yet’ - but look at it! It probably IS our best:  
- John Cale collaborates with the London Contemporary Orchestra in his first career-spanning concert marking his 76th birthday.
- Ben Frost and Visionist return with two distinct sets of a/v collaborations with Marcel Weber and Pedro Maier respectively for powerful visual presentations.  
- Simian Mobile Disco, trail-blaze new musical terrain in a stunning new collaboration with the Deep Throat Choir with support from Fatima Al Qadiri presenting her much-lauded project about the Fires of Kuwait.
- local hero, Kamal Williams make his first major debut as a solo artist merging jazz and hiphop experimentalism.
- the elusive Charlotte Gainsbourg returns with her most compelling album yet.
- The long-running Non-Classical bring musicians and machines together in a night of great experimentalism that aims to transform classical music culture.

But now its time to shut up about ‘Convergence: London's leading festival of MUSIC + TECHNOLOGY + ART’ and I'm going to let the photographer do the talking. Antonio Pagano is one of London's finest and I was lucky enough to meet him and enjoy his company for about 10 years now. Concert photography is only one of his many talents and areas of interest - like most good Londoners’ he's a schizophrenic polymath multi-tasker with a panoramic skill-set. But check out these mad images and happy memories from Convergences’ past.

Antonio Pagano
antoniopaganophotography.com

Convergence
Music + Art + Technology
9 March - 4 April 2018
convergence-london.com
#ConvergenceLDN


Image: Antonio Pagano, dance performance at Convergence


Image: Manuel Vason, Dan Deacon at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Lamb at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Noga Erez at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Radioloand at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Scanner and Leafcutter John at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Tricky at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Tyondai Braxton at Convergence


Image: Antonio Pagano, Yves Tumor at Convergence