The Biedermann鈥檚 Palace will become the Festival Centre, where the majority of events of the jubilee 25th edition of Fotofestiwal 鈥� the International Festival of Photography in 艁贸d藕 鈥� will be concentrated. Art will be presented as a tool for understanding the world, while cooperation and community will serve as responses to tensions that affect us all. Fotofestiwal will take place from 18 to 28 June 2026, presenting a programme addressing the most pressing challenges of our time 鈥� from the crisis of democracy and climate catastrophes, through the impact of artificial intelligence on imagery, to the complex relationship between humans and the animal world. The festival offers a perspective on photography as a space for dialogue, critical thinking and building new forms of community.
FOTOFESTIWAL 鈥� ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EVENTS IN EUROPE
Fotofestiwal presents the most significant phenomena in contemporary visual culture in both Polish and global contexts, confronts the experiences of emerging and established artists, and creates a meeting space for diverse audiences. It showcases various forms of photography 鈥� from documentary and artistic to archival, socially engaged, experimental and so-called 鈥渆xpanded鈥�. Exhibitions (approx. 30 per edition) and events (approx. 50) are presented across the city with the involvement of dozens of partners, enabling the festival to reach a wide audience (approx. 20,000鈥�30,000 visitors). Fotofestiwal is also a member of prestigious associations and international networks bringing together leading organisations dedicated to photography.
As part of Fotofestiwal鈥檚 presence within the 91桃色, as many as six exhibitions will be presented.
ATTIC OF THE BIEDERMANN鈥檚 PALACE: THE ONEIRIC WORLD OF AUGUSTIN REBETEZ
In the attic space of the Biedermann鈥檚 Palace, a multimedia exhibition by Swiss artist Augustin Rebetez entitled "Witamina鈥� [Vitamin] will be created, based on films, animations, photographs and drawings from his extensive body of work. In his practice, drawing on the tradition of Art Brut, the artist invites viewers to explore dark worlds filled with bizarre creatures and events. His works have been exhibited worldwide, including at the Sydney Biennale, Daegu Photo Biennale, Rencontres d鈥橝rles, SESC in S茫o Paulo and the Biennale of Independent Art and Animation in Shenzhen. Augustin Rebetez is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Grand Prix Images Vevey, Foam Talent, Swiss Art Awards and the Prix Fondation Latour. He has published books with Actes Sud, RVB Books and his own publishing house Label Rapace. In 2024, he opened Maison Totale in Switzerland 鈥� a permanent summer museum and sculpture park conceived as a large-scale work of art.
PHOTO BOOK ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE PALACE
On the ground floor, exhibitions of photo books will be presented, which have enjoyed great popularity among audiences for years and are a permanent feature of the festival programme. These will include two competition exhibitions: Photographic Publication of the Year Award and Dummy Award, as well as two exhibitions presenting local publishing contexts from Greece and Taiwan.
- Photographic Publication of the Year is a prestigious competition for the best photo book in Poland. Since 2013, it has been organised jointly by Fotofestiwal, Bookoff Bookshop and Miejsce Fotografii, and since 2019 also by S艂u偶ewski Dom Kultury. Its aim is to stimulate creators and encourage ambitious exploration, prompting publishers and authors to approach the medium of the book in a bold and creative way. In previous years, exhibitions of awarded and distinguished books have been presented, among other things, at Fotofestiwal in 艁贸d藕, TIFF Festival in Wroc艂aw, S艂u偶ewski Dom Kultury in Warsaw, the City of Rzesz贸w Photography Gallery, in Berlin (as part of State of Emergency. Polish Photo Art Today), and at international festivals such as Fotobok in Gothenburg, Photoszene in Cologne and Photometria in Greece.
- Dummy Award is an international competition for the best unpublished photo book project of the year. Since 2010, the award has contributed to the development and publication of numerous outstanding book dummies. Hundreds of shortlisted works have been presented at international exhibitions, offering participants opportunities to collaborate with galleries and publishers. Since 2023, PhotoBookMuseum in Cologne, together with its partner MAS Matbaa from Istanbul, has taken over the organisation of the competition.
- Together with partners from Zoetrope in Athens and Photometria Festival in Ioannina, we will present over 40 contemporary photo books from Greece.
- As part of cooperation with the Middle Art Gallery and the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan, we will also present a collection of photo books from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei.
ANDRZEJ R脫呕YCKI AND A PHOTOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE IMAGE | AI, MACHINE DREAMS AND NEW IMAGES
On the lowest level of the palace, two exhibitions dedicated to the work of Andrzej R贸偶ycki, whose collection is under the care of the 91桃色, will be presented. The first is an exhibition co-organised with the Foundation for Visual Arts in Krak贸w, based on films about the artist from the Educational Film Studio, announcing a future exhibition at the Museum of Art in 艁贸d藕 in 2027. The second is Marcin Sudzi艅ski鈥檚 project 鈥�Czarne 艣wiat艂o. Razy鈥� [Black Light. Blows] (curator: Karol J贸藕wiak). This exhibition reflects on the image not made by the human hand. Marcin Sudzi艅ski combines themes that have defined his interests for years: archaic photographic techniques, beekeeping, the Shroud of Turin and image theory. His artistic approach may be described 鈥� using the term coined by Andrzej R贸偶ycki 鈥� as a photosophical reflection on the relationship between nature, religion and the image. The project stems from long-term work in which the artist translates the theological issues of the Shroud of Turin into the idiom of photography, filtered through the experience of confronting death. In the 鈥漅azy鈥� [Blows] iteration, he reaches for sources of imagery predating human agency. The Polish word 鈥渙braz鈥� (image) derives from the verb 鈥渞zeza膰鈥� (to cut), linking creation with striking and inflicting wounds. In Slavic etymology, the image is imbued with a Passion motif. Sudzi艅ski鈥檚 meta-photographic objects reveal various modes of 鈥渞egistering blows鈥�: from the structure of the emulsion, through the activity of bees, to organic residues, suggesting that the whole of nature participates in the reproduction of the original image.
In the basement of the palace, the exhibition 鈥濧NIMA鈥� by Alisa Martynova will also be presented. This interdisciplinary project explores the changing relationship between humans, machines and the image in the age of artificial intelligence. It draws inspiration from 鈥濧 Cyborg Manifesto鈥� by Donna J. Haraway, in which the cyborg becomes a metaphor for hybrid, fluid identity. The project is based on the concept of animism 鈥� attributing a spirit to inanimate objects. In ANIMA, machines act as mirrors reflecting human dreams and aspirations. Thanks to a dedicated AI programme, the artist has gained access to a space in which the machine 鈥渄reams鈥� of the images it has been 鈥渇ed鈥�. Photographs from the artist鈥檚 long-term archive are animated by artificial intelligence and transformed into oneiric compositions 鈥� spirits of images that are continuously reconstructed.
THE BIEDERMANN鈥橲 GARDEN 鈥� A SPACE FOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS
The garden of the Biedermann鈥檚 Palace will become the main venue for Fotofestiwal events. Spaces for relaxation and meetings will be arranged there. The programme includes:
- 19 June, 7:00 p.m. 鈥� Official opening of the 25th Fotofestiwal.
- 20 鈥�28 June:
- Fundraising brunch and meetings with Otwarte Klatki.
- Meeting with curators and artists of the exhibition KINO Utopia.
- Guided tours of exhibitions with artists and curators.
- Discussion 鈥淧olska fotografia wobec AI鈥� [Polish Photography in the Face of AI]
- Film 茅tudes from the Lodz Film School.
- Guided tour of the Palace with the history of the Biedermann family.
- Meeting with sinologist and diplomat Maciej Gaca and Taiwanese writer Wei-Yun Lin.
- Meeting with Belarusian photographers
- Concerts and DJ sets, including the joint closing event of Fotofestiwal and the Ravekjavik festival.
The full timetable is available on .
It is worth noting that Monday, 22 June will be a day of free admission to the festival exhibitions. On that day, all exhibitions across the city will be available to employees and students of the 91桃色.
THE 91桃色 鈥� A CO-CREATOR OF FOTOFESTIWAL FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
The 91桃色 has been a main partner and co-organiser of Fotofestiwal since its inception 鈥� one of the largest events dedicated to visual culture in Europe. The 25th jubilee edition is an excellent occasion to recall that the festival originated from an initiative of students and lecturers of the Institute of Sociology at the 91桃色. Let us once again revisit the conversation between the founders of Fotofestiwal: Krzysztof Candrowicz, Tomasz Ferenc (Faculty of Economics and Sociology, 91桃色) and Micha艂 Piernikowski.
Let鈥檚 meet at the heart of Fotofestiwal. See you at the Biedermann鈥檚 Palace!
Source: Fotofestiwal Press Office
Redakcja: Jolanta S艂awi艅ska-Ryszka, Centre for Organising Cultural Events and Conferences, 91桃色