Aria Shahrokhshahi On His Participation At Photo-Match During Łódź Fotofestiwal

Selected through the PhMuseum 2025 Photography Grant, the British-Iranian photographer reflects on the experience of public pitching and building meaningful connections within a collaborative festival setting.

For the second year in a row, the collaboration between PhMuseum and Łódź Fotofestiwal enables a grant recipient to travel to Poland and attend Photo-Match – a dynamic and democratic platform for portfolio reviews, based on live presentations and one-on-one exchanges with photography professionals. As the PhMuseum 2026 Photography Grant is now open for submissions, offering a new artist the chance to attend the event in Łódź, Poland, we caught up with Aria – selected in 2025 for his project Wet Ground – to get his insights on what this experience can support your development.

Hi Aria! After being selected by the Łódź Fotofestiwal team for Photo-Match through the PhMuseum Photography Grant last June, we’d love to hear about your time there. What was the experience like for you, and can you give us a sense of what the atmosphere was like?

Aria: I’ve been a huge fan of the PhMuseum sphere for such a long time. I think you’re doing such wonderful things within contemporary photography and highlight really fantastic work being made by young artists. Taking part in the Łódź Fotofestival was really fantastic all around as always. It’s amazing to show your work on an international scale and be able to reach new audiences, spark interesting conversations, as well as make wonderful new connections with other participants and people selected.

How did you feel presenting your work in front of a live audience and what difference Photo-Match format from other presentations?

Aria: I personally like the challenge of presenting work in a small timeframe, and to be honest, I feel the artist should be able to describe the project in a sentence or two anyway. I think it’s a good skill to have, so it was interesting for me, but that doesn’t take away from the traditional long form explanation of work, where you are able to really get into the details of the artist's experience. I enjoyed the format.

Since Photo-Match centers on informal live presentations and one-on-one sessions with industry experts, how did those interactions go for you? Were there any specific conversations or standout moments that really stuck with you?

Aria: All in all, I found the meetings useful. It’s great to have focused and one-on-one time with other professionals in the industry. It’s a great opportunity to get useful insight into some of the things that sometimes so many artists feel quite distant and hard to reach.

Have you had a chance to follow up on the connections you made during the matches, or perhaps spark any new opportunities through them?

Aria: I’ve already had one exhibition through the connections I've made at the festival, and I’m in conversations about a few more potentially, which is just fantastic.

Beyond the matches, you had the chance to spend time with other artists attending the event and experience the festival together, visiting exhibitions in the festival headquarters and across the city. How did this collective experience impact your perspective on the photography community?

Aria: Getting the chance to spend quality time with other contemporary photographers is something I really treasure. In the age of social media, as valuable as I think they are, it’s very easy for our connections to be all digital. It was wonderful to meet other like-minded individuals and young working artists, as well as discover lots of new, exciting works that are now in progress. With many of these people, I’ve stayed in contact and visited various other festivals and photo fairs. The team at Łódź specifically was absolutely fantastic, I really admire their dedication to contemporary photography.

What tips would you give to those interested in applying for the PhMuseum Photography Grant?

Aria: I think PhMuseum is one of the few institutions that I genuinely trust in the contemporary awards and grants' space. I would really suggest and encourage younger guys, who are financially able to participate, to take part in all of the grants and awards, as you are an incredibly well-connected organisation. You really have your pulse on the global stage of contemporary photography and stay committed to promoting the thing that I love the most! Thanks once again to Giuseppe and Rosa, and the whole PhMuseum and Łódź Fotofestiwal Team for such a wonderful experience.

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The PhMuseum Photography Grant has established itself as a leading prize in the industry over the last 13 years, renowned for recognising the importance of contemporary photography and for supporting emergent artists through cash prizes, exhibitions at international festivals, educational activities, and exposure on online media. For the second time this year, Krzysztof Candrowicz and Mafalda Ruão will invite an artist to join Photo-Match at Lodz Fotofestiwal 2026. Learn more and apply at phmuseum.com/g26. Early Bird Deadline: 29 January. Final Deadline: 19 February.

Lodz Fotofestiwal was established in 2001 as one of the first photography events in Poland. Since then, it has grown into one of the most relevant photographic festivals in Europe, but its core mission has not changed: presenting photography in its various ways (via exhibitions, films, slideshows, workshops etc.) but also talking about important social issues and introducing the unobvious beauty and unique history of our city to the audience.