International photography festivals and fairs provide opportunities to discover lots of new artists and their work. They are also a great places to make connections with people in the photographic community, both personally and professionally. Many of these events offer workshops, lectures, and artist talks along with the exhibitions. Even if you cannot attend in person, their websites have a wide variety of inspiring material. The short descriptions below are taken from the organizations’ respective websites. Click the links for further information — happy exploring!
March
FORMAT Festival — March 16 – July 30
Derby, UK
FORMAT is the UK’s leading international contemporary festival of photography and related media. It organizes a year round programme of international commissions, open calls, residencies, conferences and collaborations in the UK and internationally and welcomes over 100,000 visitors from all over the world to its biennale. Learn more.
April
Capture —April 1–30
Vancouver, Canada
Capture’s vision is to connect Vancouver to the world through lens-based art, and act as a platform to expand visual literacy. The Festival aims to connect communities to incite meaningful dialogue between artists, curators, audiences, organizations and institutions. Learn more.
Circulation(s) —April 6 - June 2
Paris, France
The singularity of Circulation(s) is to bring together the general public as well as professionals around a multiform adventurous and innovative program that questions the boundaries between photography and contemporary art. This year’s selection is punctuated by an unprecedented fluidity and an ever-stronger predilection for experimentation. Learn more.
Kyotographie — April 13 - May 12
Kyoto, Japan
KYOTOGRAPHIE, held in the spring in the ancient city of Kyoto, is one of the few truly international artistic events taking place in Japan. Valuable collections of photography and works by internationally renowned artists are exhibited in elegant, historic buildings as well as modern architectural spaces. Learn more.
The Photography Show, AIPAD — April 25 - 28
New York, USA
The 43rd edition of The Photography Show will feature a carefully curated selection of contemporary, modern, and historic photography. Leading galleries will exhibit at the fair, and attendees will have the opportunity to experience an extraordinary range of styles, genres, and techniques from both emerging and established photographers. Learn more.
Fotografia Europea — April 26 - June 9
Reggio Emilia, Italy
Fotografia Europea 2024 attempts to capture nature by exploring how concealment and discovery are interconnected. The rich and diverse photographic series brought together for this edition engage with this sense of double or co-existence as a part of all life on earth. Learn more.
May
Contact Photo Festival — May 1-31
Toronto, Canada
Showcasing exceptional projects by Canadian and international photographers and lens-based artists, CONTACT’s Core Program critically and creatively frames the social, cultural, and political events of our times. Exhibitions produced in collaboration with major museums, leading galleries, and artist-run centers are presented throughout Greater Toronto. Learn more.
LES BOUTOGRAPHIES — May 4-26
Montpellier, France
Les Boutographies is complemented by exhibitions curated by the Parallèle section, and by off-site events hosted by a number of cultural venues involved in photography and contemporary art in and around Montpellier. Walking and cycling tours add to the pleasure of visiting exhibitions in an area that changes every year. Learn more.
Photo London — May 16-19
London, UK
Photo London brings the finest international photography to the British capital every year. Along with a selection of the world’s leading photography dealers and galleries, Photo London’s Discovery section is dedicated to the most exciting emerging galleries and artists. Learn more.
June
New York, NY, USA
Collaborating with hundreds of artists and programming partners to curate and present over 80 outdoor exhibitions, Photoville Festival addresses a wide range of issues giving visitors a unique experience of thought-provoking and exceptional photography from across the globe. Learn more.
Belfast Photo Festival — June 1 - 30
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Capturing wide appeal through popular culture, accessible themes and unexpected encounters with engaging photography, Belfast Photo festival aims to instill and inspire public enjoyment, participation, positive social and environmental impact by utilizing the most accessible of artistic mediums and bringing it to both established and new audiences. Learn more.
Getxophoto — June 6-30
Getxo, Spain
Getxophoto is a festival focused on the photographic image that has been held in the Getxo-Basque region since 2007. It is an initiative in continuous search of being more participative, committed and sustainable. This year the theme is Play. Learn more.
Copenhagen Photo Festival — June 6-16
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen Photo Festival hosts exhibitions, talks, events, and social gatherings for all to experience. With the theme ‘Entanglement,’ the festival encourages artists, photographers and emerging talents to think creatively across time, space and relations on all the ways we are co-dependently connected. Learn more.
Athen Photos Festival — June 6 - July 28
Athens, Greece
Athens Photo Festival provides an environment that reflects and explores the impact of photography and visual culture on society. The Festival takes place in the months of June and July, showcasing the work of emerging and established artists and photographers from around the world. The Main Program is held at the Benaki Museum / Pireos 138. Learn more.
July
Rencontres d’Arles — July 1 - September 29
Arles, France
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 dissiminating the best of world photography and playing the role of a springboard for photographic and contemporary creative talents. Learn more.
Cortona on the Move — July 11 - November 3
Cortona, Italy
The international photography festival Cortona On The Move has been held since 2011 in the Tuscan town of Cortona, in the province of Arezzo. A protagonist of photographic production at the international level, the festival is a point of reference for photographers, curators, authors, critics, as well as the public. Learn more.
Fotodoks — July 13 - 16
Munich, Germany
FOTODOKS is an international festival for contemporary documentary photography that has established itself as the largest festival of its kind in Germany. A series of supporting events in a lively and personal atmosphere will offer lectures, artist talks and panel discussions with the exhibiting photographers, other experts and dialogue partners. Learn more.
September
Foto Tallin — September 6-8
Tallin, Estonia
Foto Tallinn is a biannual international photographic art fair that presents the latest contemporary photography selected by a professional jury and creates an opportunity for the art audience to see, buy, and collect fresh photographic art. Foto Tallinn offers a platform for collaboration and discussion, meetings with the art audience, and the presentation of their work to art enthusiasts. Curated tours, meetings with artists, lectures and seminars, book presentations, and much more will take place within the framework of the fair. Learn more.
Images Vevey — September 7-29
Vevey, Switzerland
Since 2008, the Biennale Images Vevey has become the most significant biennial exhibition of visual arts in Switzerland and an international authority for contemporary photography. Every two years, it brings artists, visitors and media from all over the world together around a unique concept: Whether indoors or outdoors, in parks or other public spaces, all the artists’ installations are custom-made and enhance the features of the Swiss Riviera. Learn more.
BredaPhoto Festival — September 13-November 3
Breda, NL
BredaPhoto exhibits visual stories that inspire, move, confront, raise new questions, and demonstrate that photography is the artistic medium at the heart of society. It is a photo exhibition where you get the chance to view the work of national and international top photographers at unique indoor and outdoor locations in Breda. For seven weeks, the city is a life-size canvas that gives the photos an extra dimension. Learn more.
Filter Photo —September 18-21
Chicago, USA
Filter Photo Festival is a multi-day celebration of photography that takes place every autumn in Chicago. Programming includes portfolio reviews, workshops, lectures, and artist talks in addition to exhibitions hosted at Filter Space gallery in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. Learn more.
Unseen Photo Fair —September 19-22
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Unseen is an art fair dedicated to the latest developments in contemporary photography. Contemporary photography offers unexpected perspectives and stems from different backgrounds. We see photographers making use of the medium in innovative, intelligent, inspiring and provocative ways. Learn more.
October
BA Photo — October 24-27
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pinta BAphoto, located in Buenos Aires, is the Latin America’s most important art show dedicated to photography. The show has managed to become a touchstone for Latin American photography and a space for dialogue between artists, curators, critics, specialized journalists and new collectors increasingly interested in this medium. Learn more.
November
Paris Photo — November 7-10
Paris, France
The 27th edition of Paris Photo marks the return of the fair to the historical Grand Palais, from November 7th to 10th, 2024. Alongside the Main, Book, Emergence and Digital sectors, Paris Photo reintroduces Prismes, featuring spectacular and large format projects that explore the uses of image. Learn more.
Cover image © Maurizio Cattelan, Courtesy of Belfast Photo Festival
