One festival, two openings for our 25th anniversary. Fotofestiwal starts this Thursday!
More than thirty exhibitions by acclaimed artists from Poland and abroad, alongside dozens of accompanying events—from concerts and film screenings to family-friendly projects—will once again transform Łódź into one of Europe’s most important photography destinations. Beginning this Thursday, the city will host the anniversary 25th edition of Fotofestiwal. The opening weekend program will feature exhibition openings, live music, and two festival hubs.
The 25th anniversary edition of the International Festival of Photography in Łódź will begin on June 18 and run for ten days. This year’s program revolves around the themes of Art. Engagement. Community.
“It has become a tradition that June means being in Łódź—to experience the most compelling developments in contemporary photography and to enjoy the unique atmosphere of an event built on collective effort and a sense of community,” says Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź. “The people of Łódź are proud of Fotofestiwal, and I congratulate its organizers for continuing to develop its potential with the city’s support.”
“The strength of our festival lies in passion, love for art, and teamwork,” adds Krzysztof Candrowicz from Fotofestiwal’s programming collective. “The international community that has grown around the festival continues to expand and inspire new generations. We also owe this to Łódź itself—its remarkable creative energy and the spaces that constantly impress our visitors.”
As Candrowicz notes, one of Fotofestiwal’s long-standing traditions is the City Program, created in collaboration with local partners and presented across numerous venues throughout Łódź. Complementing the festival’s main program, this year’s City Program will include as many as twelve exhibitions hosted in historic palaces, tenement houses, and municipal galleries.
A STRONG START
Tradition dictates that Fotofestiwal’s first evening begins at Art_Inkubator. At 7:00 PM, visitors will be able to explore exhibitions from the Main Program, Open Program, and Heritage Lens projects. Together, they address some of today’s most pressing issues—from the crisis of democracy and climate catastrophe, to the impact of artificial intelligence on imagery, and humanity’s complex relationship with the animal world.
Shortly afterwards, the winners of the Photographic Publication of the Year 2026 competition will be announced at Art_Inkubator.
Next door, at 8:00 PM in the Fusion Machine Hall, Helena Majewska’s exhibition Better “Magua” Than Pain will open. Later, at 10:00 PM, the historic Scheibler Power Station in Fuzja will provide the backdrop for Listening All Night To The Rain, a multimedia spectacle by Sir John Akomfrah, accompanied by a live performance by Hania Rani. The event is a birthday gift to Fotofestiwal and its audience from the project’s patron, PKO Bank Polski.
Meanwhile, visitors who choose to stay at the Festival Centre on Tymienieckiego Street can dance into the night to DJ sets by Agnieszka Obszańska, be1s, and no.decorum.
It is also worth remembering that before the official opening, on Thursday at 5:30 PM, visitors can stop by the Herbst Palace Museum, a branch of the Museum of Art in Łódź, to see the exhibition The School of Seeing. The City.
A SECOND OPENING NIGHT
On the festival’s second day, after visiting the Hilary Majewski Tenement House for Sasha Velichko’s exhibition Called to the Carpet (5:00 PM), and the Bałucka Gallery of the Municipal Art Gallery in Łódź for Karolina Gembara’s A Winter of Mind (6:00 PM), festival life will move to the Alfred Biedermann Palace and its gardens, home to this year’s Main Festival Centre.
This is where the festival’s second opening night will take place.
Beginning at 7:00 PM, audiences will be able to experience the premiere presentation by Alisa Martynova COSMOGONIE, a new chapter of Marcin Sudziński’s long-term project in the form of the installation Black Light: Strokes of Time, and the multimedia exhibition Andrzej Różycki: Film and Ethnosophy.
In the palace attic—a space normally closed to the public—Augustin Rebetez will create his own eclectic and rebellious universe through an immersive exhibition of films, frenetic animations, photographs, objects, and drawings. The Swiss artist will also lead special late-night tours beginning at 10:00 PM.
At the heart of the Festival Centre will be a tent surrounded by deckchairs in the palace garden, serving as a stage for musical guests. At 8:00 PM, Ane, Maria Kępisty and Marzena Lamch-Łoniewska will perform, bringing their signature blend of original sounds, high-quality production, and accessible dance music.
Later in the evening, Kitty Kat, Pincoya, Linapary, and Pixelle Panthère will take over, delivering open-air club vibes, dance music, and visual performances.
A WEEKEND OF ENCOUNTERS
Saturday morning will be filled with curator-led tours, workshops, talks, and walks—an excellent warm-up for the day’s highlight.
At 7:00 PM, the Art Propaganda Centre of the Municipal Art Gallery in Łódź will host the opening of American Cycles, the first exhibition in Poland dedicated to the powerful black-and-white documentary photography of renowned American photojournalist Philip Montgomery. The exhibition will feature portraits and celebrated photo essays published in magazines such as The New York Times Magazine and The New Yorker, alongside previously unseen and recent works by the artist.
Also on Saturday, at 4:00 PM in Schiller Passage, visitors can see Luke Stephenson’s large-format photography exhibition An Incomplete Dictionary of Show Birds, presented with the support of Fotofestiwal’s main sponsor, Wedel.
As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Fotofestiwal invites everyone to continue the birthday festivities. This time, the soundtrack will be provided at Willa by Susobrino, Lua Preta, DJ Narciso, and Frank Drammer.
After several intense days, Sunday will offer a slower pace. The festival will once again host meetings and discussions, and at 6:00 PM audiences are invited to the Main Festival Centre for a screening of short films by students of the Łódź Film School.
SEE YOU SOON!
