As we look ahead to 2021 and what lies beyond it, here is a list of 10 upcoming photography festivals that we hope we can attend.
>>Arles 2021
When: 5 July-26 September, 2021 (Opening Week: 5-11 July)
Location: Arles, France
About the Festival: Every summer since 1970, over the course of more than forty exhibitions at various of the city’s exceptional heritage sites, the Rencontres d’Arles has been a major influence in disseminating the best of world photography and playing the role of a springboard for photographic and contemporary creative talents. In 2019, the festival welcomed more than 145 000 visitors.
>> The International Festival of Photojournalism
When: 29 August-27 September, 2021
Location: Perpignan, France
About the Festival: The International Festival of Photojournalism is organized on the initiative of the association “Visa pour l’Image – Perpignan”. Each year, a selection of the best stories from around the world is shown in Perpignan.
>> Budapest Photo Festival
When: 27 March-21 May, 2021
Location: Budapest, Hungary
About Tte Festival: The Budapest Photo Festival is an annual city-wide exhibition series that represents the contemporary and classical values of the photography by the presence of the Hungarian and international art scene. The aim of the Festival is to create Budapest to be the „City of Photography”.
The festival has two highlighted exhibitions as a frame: the opening international show and a Hungarian contemporary overview. The emphasis – next to the two highlighted exhibitions – is on the presentation of the international contemporary scene.
>> FOTOBOOKFESTIVAL KASSEL
When: 2-6 June, 2021
Location: Kassel, Germany
About the Festival: The important annual forum in the world of photography books.
The Fotobookfestival Kassel is a charitable foundation that has been engaged with the artistic medium of the photobook and has presented it in all its facets, since 2008, in a festival program of international standing. The annual festival shows works by renowned artists and promotes established and emerging talents, publishers, designers, printers, curators and booksellers on an international platform.
>> PHotoESPAÑA
When: TBC
Location: Madrid, Spain
About the Festival: Every summer, the Spanish capital hosts one of the world’s greatest international festivals of photography and visual arts. Showcasing the latest in art photography and the recent works of some of the world’s most renowned artists, it comprises exhibitions held in top museums, exhibition halls and art galleries across the city in addition to a host of activities around a theme that changes each year.
>> Athens Photo Festival 2021
When: TBC
Location: Athens, Greece
About the Festival: Athens Photo Festival is the leading international festival of photography and visual culture in Southeastern Europe, and one of the five oldest of its kind in the world.
The Festival brings together emerging and established artists and photographers from around the world with the aim to reflect the diversity of photography and visual culture today.
Through its expanded programming and the year-round activities, Athens Photo Festival is committed to providing critical context where the impact of the ever-changing visual culture can be raised and discussed.
>> Photo London 2021
When: 13-16 May, 2021
Location: London, UK
About the Festival: Based in the grand surroundings of Somerset House, Photo London brings together many of the world’s leading galleries and dealers, as well as providing a platform for emerging galleries and artists pushing the boundary of the medium.
>> Paris Photo 2021
When: 11-14 November, 2021
Location: Paris, France
About The Festival: Paris Photo is the largest international art fair dedicated to the photographic medium and is held each November at the historic Grand Palais in Paris. Since 1997, the Fair’s mission is to promote and nurture photographic creation and the galleries, publishers and artists at its source.
>> Circulation(s) 11th Edition
When: 6 March-2 May, 2021
Where: Paris, France
About The Festival: Circulation(s) is the festival dedicated to emerging photography in Europe. Each year, at the Centquatre-Paris and satellite sites in France and abroad, it reveals the vitality of young creation and speaks for the diversity of photographic expressions through unique exhibitions and events. A stepping stone for artists, a prospective and innovative laboratory of contemporary creativity, Circulation(s) is a must-attend photography event and a trend revelator.
>> FOTO WIEN
When: 9-27 March, 2022
Location: Vienna, Austria
About the Festival: The festival makes the wide range of photography in Vienna visible and offers a great opportunity to get to know the medium of photography in its entire spectrum. Digitalisation and social media have changed the way we deal with photography, but also its reception, and have given it a new perception.
The programme partners are dedicated to the different forms of photography, from artistic photography to documentary, reportage and fashion photography. The museums, galleries, off spaces and many other locations show photographic works from the photographers’ laboratories.
