A Guide to July 2025 Photography Festivals & Exhibitions

Les Rencontres d'Arles, Cortona On The Move, Communautés. Projets 2005-2025 by Mohamed Bourouissa at MAST, As Far As You Can See by Erik Kessels at Commerce, and LanghePhotoFestival are among the photography events to visit next month.

Les Rencontres d'Arles 2025

Arles, France / 7 July - 5 October

Inspired by Édouard Glissant's philosophy of cultural intertwining, this 56th edition of the festival looks at photography as a polyphonic art form, serving as an instrument of resistance, testimony, and social transformation amidst contemporary global crises. Titled Disobedient Images, and spanning from Australia to Brazil, North America, and the Caribbean, the program of exhibitions champions diversity of cultures, genders, and origins, presented across various historic venues in the city, from ancient Roman buildings to industrial spaces. Among the exhibited artists are Nan Goldin, Brandon Gercara, Caroline Monnet, Diana Markosian, Keisha Scarville, Carole Newhouse and Carmen Winant, Claudia Andujar, Todd Hido, Laurence Kubski, Musuk Nolte, and others.

Beyond the exhibitions, Les Rencontres d'Arles also features a wide program of events and activities during the opening week, held from 7 to 13 July 2025. The festival brings photographers and curators to meet the public at evening projects, exhibition tours, debates, lectures, portfolio reviews, book signings, and workshops, making it a dynamic hub throughout the city day and night.

Discover the complete list of exhibited artists and events on their website.

Cortona On The Move 2025

Cortona, Italy / 17 July - 2 November

This year, the 15th anniversary edition of the festival, titled Come Together, will explore the complex theme of reconciliation in an increasingly polarized world. The festival aims to move beyond merely reflecting societal divisions to instead focus on the difficult yet crucial process of healing and finding common ground. Through a diverse program of portfolio reviews, talks, workshops, and exhibitions featuring international artists like Alfredo Jaar, Taysir Batniji, Pia-Paulina Guilmoth, Christopher Anderson and Marion Durand, Jan Banning, Patrick Waterhouse, Maria Abranches, Federico Vespignani, Maya Valencia, the festival will delve into the nature of wounds and the courage required to mend fractured relationships—socially, politically, and personally—emphasizing that true reconciliation begins with oneself. Come Together promises to be a raw yet beautiful exploration of the spaces between conflict and unity, offering a vision of a world where healing, however imperfect, is possible.

Learn more on their website.

Communautés. Projets 2005-2025 by Mohamed Bourouissa at MAST

Bologna, Italy / 23 May - 28 September

Curated by Francesco Zanot, the exhibition offers a wide path through Mohamed Bourouissa's two-decade artistic career, showcasing his profound investigation into the complex relationships between individuals and society. The exhibition features four significant series that highlight the artists' diverse approach and critical insights. Through a rich display of photographs, films, and objects crafted from industrial materials, Communautés not only traces Bourouissa's artistic evolution but also critically examines the transformation of photography in today's world.

The exhibition runs until 28 September. Learn more on their website.

As Far As You Can See by Erik Kessels at Commerce

Milan, Italy / 18 June - 16 July

With over two decades of experience, Erik Kessels' practice is known for its artistic, editorial, and photographic work, particularly in vernacular photography, visual appropriation, and storytelling through printed images. His exhibition and catalog, As Far as You Can See, curated by Commerce, offers a comprehensive exploration of his vision, encompassing the human, everyday, and absurd aspects of life, presented book by book. The first editorial off-set printed endeavor by Commerce focusing on bibliographic research and the editorial practices of contemporary visual artists, the project includes an original text by Francesco Zanot, which provides brief reflections on each book, forming a cohesive yet fragmented map of Kessels's practice.

Discover more on their website.

LanghePhotoFestival 2025

Neive, Italy / 6 July - 2 September

With this edition delving into Possibility, the festival takes place in Neive, Italy, one of the most representative villages of the Langhe, where the artistic and landscape heritage is integrated with the exhibition itinerary. Among historic buildings, cobbled alleys and unconventional spaces, the festival is configured as an opportunity for in-depth study and discovery of art photography in a context of great cultural value. Among the exhibited artists are Rinko Kawauchi, Cinzia Laliscia, Francesco Anselmi, Francesco Comello, Trent Davis Bailey, and Ciro Battiloro. Plus, the collective show LanghePhotoPrize 2025 presents the 17 finalist projects selected from the LanghePhotoPrize 2025 Open Call, promoted by the LAC Cultural Association.

Check the exhibition program on their website.

Garden Of Entanglement by Hiền Hoàng at Foam

Amsterdam, Netherlands / 6 June - 5 August

Hiền Hoàng's work is deeply shaped by interdisciplinary collaborations with scientists and technologists, which reveal the ambivalent role of technology as both a means to understand nature and a force that distances us from it. Spanning photography, sculpture, video, installation, and performance, the Vietnamese artist explores the intricate relationship between humans and nature, often highlighting technology's ambivalent role and the lasting impact of colonialism and migration through her diverse works.

What The Mountains Hold - European Eyes On Japan by Susanna Hofer and Aurora Haaland Stenersen at NŌUA

Bodø, Norway / 31 May - 20 July

In the duo exhibition What The Mountains Hold, Susanna Hofer and Aurora Stenersen explore themes of perception and transformation through photographic works inspired by their experiences in Nagano, Japan. Hofer's pieces feature self-made objects that playfully allude to art history, subtly challenging the purpose of photographed materials within an unfamiliar cultural context, informed by her interactions with local artists and traditional Japanese practices. Stenersen's work, conversely, quietly explores queer identity in rural areas, capturing the nuanced interplay of visibility and concealment with a soft, diffused light, ultimately portraying queerness as a resilient, everyday presence.

Discover more on their website.

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Also open this month:

Tools From My Chest by Frida Orupabo at Modern Art / Paris, France / 23 May - 5 July

Frida Orupabo transforms colonial photographs into powerful sculptures and collages, reanimating subjects with strength and resistance. Her work challenges the historical objectification of non-white individuals by creating new narratives from sourced historical and online images. Through her art, which includes large-scale sculptural collages and metal sculptures, Orupabo gives agency to her subjects, transforming them from objectified figures into animated individuals.

The Homeless Wanderer by Aïda Muluneh at Galleria Giampaolo Abbondio / Milan, Italy / 12 June - 31 July

Aïda Muluneh is known for revolutionizing the visual narrative of the African continent. Her work transforms the image into a political and spiritual act, using primary colors and geometric compositions to explore themes of migration, identity, and belonging, ultimately presenting a powerful and unique vision of contemporary Africa. The exhibition's title, The Homeless Wanderer, is inspired by a piece by Ethiopian pianist and composer Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, evoking a bittersweet echo that accompanies the viewer's gaze and serves as a silent yet powerful soundtrack to the diaspora.

Experimental Photo Festival 2025 / Barcelona, Spain / 23 July - 27 July

The festival returns to Barcelona to create, promote, and disseminate experimental photography in all its forms. A wide group of artists and photography lovers will meet with the aim of generating a common space to share, learn, and discuss experimental photography in its many facets: from the creation of cameras, lenses, and films to printing processes, intervention, and photobooks. The program includes activities such as conferences, discussion panels, project presentations, workshops, horizontal portfolio reviews, dinners, concerts, and solo and collective exhibitions.