Photo Brussels 2026

PhotoBrussels Festival celebrates its 10th edition in 2026 with 52 exhibitions across the city, showcasing diverse contemporary photography and uniting Belgian and international artists in a month-long program.

Overview

PhotoBrussels Festival is a major annual celebration of contemporary photography in Brussels, bringing together a wide range of galleries, art centers, museums, home-galleries and public venues to showcase photography as a living and evolving medium. The 2026 edition marks the festival’s 10th anniversary, featuring 52 exhibitions across the city and over 100 artists — roughly half from Belgium — exploring photography’s rich and diverse languages. The festival aims to reflect both Belgian and international perspectives, presenting contemporary photographic works that speak to our times and engage a broad and curious public.

This year's program includes not only exhibitions but also a launch weekend (“PhotoBrussels Days”) from 22 to 25 January, with an outdoor inauguration on the city’s Place du Châtelain, evening vernissages across participating venues, and a variety of portfolio reviews, artist talks, screenings and public events. Over the month the festival offers guided tours by municipality, public events at many partner venues, and a special program for galleries and collectors scheduled for mid-February to avoid overlap with major art fairs. The festival’s venues are spread throughout Brussels, allowing visitors to combine exploration of the city with discovery of contemporary photography.

Among the highlighted exhibitions, Studio Baxton presents a solo show by Dolorès Marat, known for her atmospheric, twilight-toned imagery. Hangar hosts the central festival exhibition, including Lee Shulman / The Anonymous Project with an immersive 1950s-inspired installation, and a group show titled Family Stories featuring artists such as Cristóbal Ascencio, Lee Daesung, Sanne De Wilde, Alma Haser, Francesca Hummler, and Danilo Zocatelli Cesco.

Other participating galleries include Modesti Perdriolle Gallery, Box Galerie, Galerie Eric Mouchet, La Forest Divonne, and many more, each presenting distinct photographic voices. These exhibitions reveal the broad thematic and stylistic range of the festival — personal narratives, social and cultural commentary, staged imagery, and experimental processes.

About PhotoBrussels Festival

Founded in 2016 at the initiative of Hangar and coordinated since 2022 by a committee including several galleries and art centers, PhotoBrussels Festival was born from the conviction that photography deserves a central place in Belgium’s contemporary cultural landscape. Over the years it has grown into a key event on the European photography scene, contributing to the creation of a genuine photographic ecosystem in Brussels. The festival offers a platform for emerging as well as established artists, fosters international exchange, and engages the public with socially relevant, bold and diverse photographic projects. Through its varied exhibitions, collaborations with institutions, galleries and art schools, and commitment to artistic creation and diversity, PhotoBrussels continues to place Brussels among the most vibrant capitals for contemporary image-making.