A Guide To May 2026 Photography Festivals & Exhibitions

Bieler Fototage, Photo London, Hard Copy New York by Aaron Stern at ICP, Fotofestival Lenzburg, (H) by Daniel Martínez at Standard/Deluxe, Sur FotoLibros, and Art Photo Bcn, are among the photography events to visit next month.

Bieler Fototage 2026

Biel/Bienne, Switzerland / 9 May - 31 May

The new edition of Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography centers on the theme of vulnerability, reimagining it as a shared social and political condition rather than a weakness. Through four thematic axes – feminism and body politics, affective ecologies, migration narratives, and reparative artistic gestures – the festival showcases works that transcend documentation to foster care, resistance, and visual justice. By bringing together a diverse group of international artists, collectives, and activists, the program transforms exhibition venues into critical spaces for dialogue. Ultimately, the event invites audiences to explore the sensory and critical potential of photography, presenting images as powerful tools for connection, memory, and the reconfiguration of our shared reality.

Among the exhibiting artists are Annette Boutellier, Dominique Bartels, Hemauer / Keller, Lester Kielstein, Sabine Hess and Nicolas Polli, The Archive of Public Protests, Dominic Nahr, Michel François, Angela Marzullo, Khashayar Javanmardi, Aude Mayer, Lunax, Rafal Milach, Daniel Rihs, Klaus Petrus, and more.

Find out more on their website.

Photo London 2026

London, United Kingdom / 13 May - 17 May

The 11th edition of Photo London marks a significant moment with its relocation to the historic Olympia in Kensington. This move, supported by an expanded footprint within the Heatherwick Studio-led redevelopment, allows the fair to reimagine its offerings through new curated sections. Highlights include Source, which focuses on under-represented artists of significant cultural value, and the introduction of a dedicated art film screening room. The new edition maintains a strong international presence, alongside a focused spotlight on South Asian, Central European, and Latin American voices.

The fair also continues its commitment to emerging and unrepresented talent through the Discovery and Positions sections, the latter of which provides a platform for artists without traditional gallery representation. Beyond the main exhibition, the program includes a publishers' market and an extensive Talks Programme featuring industry leaders such as Alfredo Jaar and Jill Furmanovsky.

For more details, go to Photo London's website.

Hard Copy New York by Aaron Stern at ICP

New York, United States / 29 January - 4 May

Hard Copy New York is an expanded iteration of Aaron Stern’s ongoing project celebrating the contemporary use and enduring appeal of the photocopied image. Curated by David Campany and Stern, the exhibition brings together renowned photographers from different generations working in abstraction, documentary, art, and fashion photography. Each has been invited to have examples of their work reinterpreted as photocopies, reasserting photography’s unique ability to offer a democratic and tangible experience. Featured artists include Daniel Arnold, David Black, John Divola, Zoë Ghertner, Takashi Homma, Jerry Hsu, Shaniqwa Jarvis, Ari Marcopoulos, Ryan McGinley, Asako Narahashi, Thomas Ruff, Collier Schorr, Stephen Shore, Gray Sorrenti, and Andre D. Wagner.

Moving between intimate and epic scales with subjects ranging from the diaristic to the photojournalistic, via landscapes, portraits, and still life, Hard Copy New York revitalizes a collective engagement with analog technologies and methods of image production.

Fotofestival Lenzburg 2026

Lenzburg, Switzerland / 9 May - 7 June

The biennial Fotofestival Lenzburg transforms the Swiss town into an open-air gallery, integrating contemporary photography into the fabric of daily life. The 7th edition, themed Forever Happy, explores the multi-faceted nature of happiness – ranging from fleeting personal moments to the complexities of societal pressure and cultural marketing. By utilizing unexpected public spaces in both Lenzburg and Aarau, the festival creates an immersive environment that challenges traditional perceptions of joy and encourages critical dialogue between artists and the public.

The program features solo and group exhibitions, along with interactive workshops, portfolio reviews, and photobook corners in local cafés. This approach moves photography beyond museum walls, fostering meaningful exchanges about visual culture and the human experience.

Check the festival's website for more information.

Above The River And Under The Sky by Maciej Markowicz at Inn Situ

Innsbruck, Austria / 15 April - 18 July

To commemorate the bicentennial of photography, Inn Situ presents the work of Maciej Markowicz, who utilizes a mobile camera obscura to bridge ancient optical principles with contemporary practice. By transforming a boat and a van into functional darkrooms, Markowicz captures large-format, directly exposed color negatives on chromogenic paper. Each resulting piece is a unique, unreproducible work that blends the boundaries between photography, painting, and performance, emphasizing the physical and temporal nature of light.

In conjunction with his exploration of the region, the artist created works involving Alpine rivers such as the Inn, Lech, or the Alpine Rhine, photographed in Tyrol and Vorarlberg from bridges, which usually remain invisible, since the movement of the camera blurs everything nearby. The series of landscape photographs is supplemented with portraits taken by the artist in public spaces in Innsbruck.

Read more on Photoforum Inn Situ's website.

(H) by Daniel Martínez at Standard/Deluxe

Lausanne, Switzerland / 1 May - 24 May

Hydrogen was the first element to emerge after the Big Bang. It is the simplest and lightest of all chemical elements, yet it accounts for 90% of all atoms in the universe. It also composes the water molecule, covering nearly three-quarters of the Earth’s surface and about the same proportion of the human body. In a sense, hydrogen forms the basis of life. However, it’s also used to create the most destructive weapon ever made: the hydrogen bomb, in which a thermonuclear fusion process similar to that of the Sun is recreated, unleashing a destructive force far greater than that of atomic bombs.

Daniel Martínez's exhibition, (H), explores the paradoxical condition of a life-giving yet brutal particle. An omnipresent but ethereal, polarised but unifying element. Pointing out broader scenarios of connectedness as an act of resistance against today’s socio-environmental fragmentation.

Find out more on Standard/Deluxe's website.

Sur FotoLibros 2026

Buenos Aires, Argentina / 28 May - 31 May

Sur FotoLibros is a four-day international gathering in Buenos Aires dedicated to the photobook as a primary medium for creative experimentation and visual thought. Organized by the Fundación Alfonso y Luz Castillo - ArtexArte in collaboration with FOLA and Laura Carbonell (Punto de Fuga Bogotá), the event aims to be a hub for photographers, publishers, and curators to engage in professional exchange.

The event offers a comprehensive program including publisher showcases and book presentations, talks, workshops, screenings, exhibitions, and panel discussions featuring local and international experts.

Full details on their IG account.

Mixedness Is My Mythology by Farren van Wyk at Fotomuseum Den Haag

The Hague, Netherlands / 4 April - 23 August

South-African Dutch photographer Farren van Wyk examines the intricate historical ties between South Africa and the Netherlands, focusing on the legacies of colonialism, migration, and apartheid. Born in the final year of apartheid and raised in the Netherlands, Van Wyk utilizes the traditional visual language of black-and-white photography to navigate her "coloured" classification and mixed identity.

By stripping away literal color, she redefines the term "person of color" and develops a personal iconography that serves as both a reclamation of her family’s heritage and a celebratory ode to the complexities of mixed identity.

For more details, go to Fotomuseum Den Haag's website.

Black Bricolage by Johny Pitts at MEP

Paris, France / 10 April - 24 May

Black Bricolage brings together photographs, notebooks, and documents that bear witness to Black experiences in Europe and beyond, between 2004 and 2024. Johny Pitts illuminates Afro-European and Afro-diaspora realities that are often made invisible or poorly represented. His approach refuses both nostalgia and stereotype, but rather favours the ordinary: informal conversations, cafés, community centres, daily commutes, and living spaces.

His work is built through proximity, listening, and exchange, in the company of workers, activists, musicians, educators, students, and researchers alike. Pitts’s hauntological gaze connects each city he visits to its colonial past, its history, and its present. This is not a bird’s-eye view, but a collection of fragments, patiently assembled through encounter.

Find out more on their website.

Art Photo Bcn 2026

Barcelona, Spain / 8 May - 10 May

The 13th edition of Art Photo Bcn will take place at the Disseny Hub Barcelona, bringing together artists, galleries, collectors, and photography professionals. The festival distinguishes itself by fostering experimentation and the fusion of photography with conceptual art, creating a space where the medium’s role in contemporary culture is both celebrated and pushed forward.

A central feature of the festival is the Photobook Market, a space dedicated to photographic publishing and limited-edition projects. This curated platform brings together publishers and authors to showcase emerging trends and innovative editorial voices. Through a series of integrated activities and dialogues, the market encourages direct interaction between creators and the public, emphasizing the creative process behind the photobook as a fundamental pillar of contemporary photography.

Check their website for more information.

Les Boutographies 2026

Montpellier, France / 9 May - 31 May

Les Boutographies is a three-week photography festival in Montpellier that showcases a diverse selection of European talent at the Pavillon Populaire. The event features a main official program alongside Parallèle curated exhibitions and various off-site events at local cultural venues. To enhance public engagement, the festival integrates walking and cycling tours into its programming, creating a city-wide experience that fosters partnerships and professional development for photographers across the region.

Among the exhibited artists in the 2026 edition are Alessandro Silverj, Anouchka Renaud-Eck, Hannes Jung, Alexandre Bagdassarian, Cristóbal Ascencio, Marie Lukasiewicz, Pascal Sgro, Ana María Arevalo Gosén, Anne Mocaër, Arthur Marcier, Carolina Arantes, Elena Bulet, Eliot Nasrallah, Julien Fumard, Julius Schreiner, Lionel Jusseret, Natalya Saprunova, and Sofiya Loriashvili.

Also open this month:

Dolce Far Niente at Foundry Seoul / Seoul, South Korea / 21 March - 9 May

Drawing inspiration from the Italian notion of “the sweetness of doing nothing,” Dolce Far Niente brings together eleven artists from diverse cultural backgrounds working across a wide range of media, inviting visitors to slow down and reconsider their relationship with time, presence, and purpose. Curated in cooperation with Irina Stark, the exhibition is a reminder that there is profound meaning in stillness – and that doing nothing can, in fact, be everything.

The Phair 2026 / Turin, Italy / 22 May - 24 May

By providing equal exhibition spaces to leading contemporary galleries, The Phair fosters an organic viewer experience focused on photographic and video-based media. This format is complemented by a three-day program of talks, bringing together artists, collectors, and professionals to analyze the evolving role of the image within artistic, institutional, and commercial landscapes.

Community. Photography and Belonging at Kunstpalast / Turin, Italy / 11 February - 25 May

The exhibition explores the complex role of photography in defining, documenting, and challenging the concept of community. Combining works from the Kunstpalast collection with international loans, Community. Photography and Belonging examines how the medium can both foster a sense of belonging and draw social boundaries across political, familial, and social groups. Through a mix of artistic and applied perspectives, the exhibition invites active public participation, allowing visitors to contribute their own images of community to a dialogue supported by a multi-disciplinary catalog.