In November is has been ten years since the USVA photogallery was founded, the first and -during most of those years- only photogallery in the North of the Netherlands. Ten years, that's worth a party, isn't it?

But a good cause is not a good reason.

Luckily: who seeks, shall find. And one does not need to search for long. Because a lot is happening in photography in the North. Quality is being provided by photojournalists, advertising photographers, art photographers, 'autonomous' photographers and all-those-other photographers. Photobooks are being published: at least eight this year alone! More and more exhibitions are being organized, and not only at the USVA Photogallery. And not to forget: the Province of Groningen since recent -after an idea of the USVA gallery- hands out her own documentary photography assignment under the title 'Post-Middendorp assignment'.

This quality, and diversity, stimulated the birthday kid to call November 'photography month'. Under the title Noorderlicht ('Northern Lights') more than 40 (!) exhibitions are presented by -how could it be otherwise- mainly Northern photographers. A special part of the festival is the Photoweek, a series of lectures, workshops, films and photocafes about photography. Coincidentily (well...) the celebrating gallery is not the only one presenting photography in a big way this month: the Centre for the Visual Arts (CBK) presents the result of the photography assignment 'Groningen Inside', the new Centre for Architecture (CAS) presents the result of the assignment 'City in Space', digital photography can be seen at the Second International Symposium on Electronic Art, organized by SCAN. Not a bad party, this Noorderlicht.

(foreword to the festival newspaper 'Noorderlicht 1990')