Focus Festival 2025

The picturesque town of José Ignacio in Uruguay will be transformed into a vibrant open-air gallery, where photography will be the protagonist in every corner, occupying public and private spaces.

Overview

Borrowing the name of Jacques Tati's 1967 film Playtime, this second edition of the Focus José Ignacio International Photography Festival explores the concept of Playtime and the various ways in which the photographic medium can illuminate, facilitate and participate in the multiple possible definitions of play. From role-playing and introspection, to theatricalization, irony, leisure, politics or fantasy, photography becomes a playful tool for storytelling, proposing a philosophical dimension that delves into the human capacity to play with reality through images.

Photography, more than any other medium, confronts us with a paradox: if in the photographic click time is suspended, the playful act, understood as a free and expressive creation, turns that frozen instant into a powerful means to narrate what words often fail to articulate. In this way, the photographic game can become not only a tool for creation, but also an engine to explore the complexities of the real and the imaginary.

Directed by Nicolás Janowski, the second edition of the Focus Festival, Jose Ignacio International Photography Festival will be an invitation to participate in an inexhaustible game, where each image opens us to a new world, where each look is a story to discover, and where each captured moment is a door to the infinite.

Produced by FOLA and Arte x Arte, with the support of Silver Cloud - Mirabaud, the entire proposal is completely free and open to the public. The official inauguration will take place at the traditional Galería de las Misiones, where two exhibitions of great impact will be presented: an exhibition of the celebrated Spanish author Chema Madoz and a tribute to the iconic Argentine photographer Sara Facio. In addition, the new space Las Musas will showcase the work of renowned Brazilian artist Eustaquio Neves. The central square of José Ignacio will host urban installations by four outstanding artists: Irina Werning and Esteban Pastorino (Argentina) together with Alejandra González Soca and Roberto Fernández Ibáñez (Uruguay), who will bring their unique visions to this public space. The beach will also be the stage for exhibitions and activities, with an installation by Guillermo Franco (Argentina) and a proposal by Grupo EnFoco (Argentina/Uruguay), as well as workshops led by Federico Ruiz Santesteban (Uruguay) and a curated exhibition of photobooks, carefully selected by Francisco Medail.

This year, the Museo Itinerante will surprise with a project of contemporary Colombian photography under the curatorship of Laura Sofía Mejía, which will include works by Natalia Ortiz Mantilla, Georgina Montoya, Ana María Lagos and Ana Vallejo. Finally, the José Ignacio Lighthouse will join the festival experience with an installation by Fernando Montiel Klint (Mexico), offering an iconic space to enjoy his work in dialogue with the landscape.

With a program encompassing diverse perspectives and geographies, this festival invites all attendees to discover the power of photography in unexpected and unique spaces.