The Athens Photo Festival is the largest international photography event in Greece. This year, 70 artists and artistic collectives from 30 countries are taking part in the main exhibition, which unfolds across 3,000 square metres, occupying all the spaces of the Benaki Museum on Pireos.
With a clear focus on contemporary photographic creation, the Festival takes a probing look at some of the key issues, challenges and complexities of our times, foregrounding social, political and intercultural concerns.
Photographic works, interactive installations, screenings, archival material and art publications offer a rich panorama of what preoccupies photographic practice today.
Manolis Moresopoulos is the Artistic Director of the Athens Photo Festival:
First of all, what interests us is that the visitor should wander through the exhibitions. There is no single overarching theme into which all the exhibitions and works presented are subsumed, nor are there separate thematic categories. In essence, we invite visitors to look at photography not only as a standalone work, but to see how it acquires meaning and how it coexists within the space: how one artist’s work enters into dialogue with that of other artists and how connections or ruptures between them arise.
We are also keen to raise multiple questions that go beyond what makes a good photograph. We are interested in the role photography is asked to play in today’s social reality. When does a photograph become an archive? When does it become testimony? When does it become fiction? When does it become a political act? When does it become a form of protest?
In reality, these are paths that intertwine, resurface and actively intersect throughout the visit. So, time and again, the route confronts us with issues whose themes the artists draw from today’s reality: questions of displacement, armed conflict, climate change, memory, identity and self-determination, and so on.
The main exhibition is complemented by an engaging public programme of screenings, educational activities, talks, guided tours and parallel events, fostering dialogue and public participation.
In parallel, the Festival develops dedicated platforms that operate both during the event and throughout the year, expanding its scope to the promotion of emerging artists, to photographic and publishing practice, to links with the urban fabric and to the development of artistic research:
Photography itself and the medium as such are constantly shifting. Let us not forget that photography is by nature a restless medium. It is inextricably linked to technology and is constantly called upon to absorb the changes technology brings. By extension, the same applies to the artists themselves, who sooner or later are invited to experiment and integrate new technologies into their practice.
In the same way, the Festival nurtures this conversation. We invite visitors to move through the exhibition without feeling the need to decode what each photograph means in isolation. What interests us is the coexistence of the works, and it is always fascinating – also through our dialogue with the audience – to see the points of identification each viewer seeks out and ultimately discovers for themselves, and the different questions that the various exhibitions raise.
The Athens Photo Festival is organised by the Hellenic Centre of Photography and hosted at the Benaki Museum on Pireos. It runs until 26 July.
This year’s edition is dedicated to the memory of Stavros Moresopoulos, founder and driving force of the festival for decades.
IN PARALLEL WITH THE MAIN PROGRAMME
Young Greek Photographers Programme
The exhibition “Young Greek Photographers”, curated by Marilia Fotopoulou, is presented in parallel with the Main Programme of the Athens Photo Festival 2026 at the Benaki Museum. The programme serves as a platform for showcasing, networking and developing the artistic practice of emerging creators up to the age of 35. This year’s exhibition features the work of 14 artists, selected from 400 proposals submitted through an open call.
The artists selected are: Αστεριάννα Αρβανίτη Αψωκάρδου, Δανάη Δανίκα, Καλλιόπη Δημητρακοπούλου, Μαριάνθη Ευθυμίου, Μανταλένα Γεωργάτου, Κωνσταντίνος Γκόνης, Νίκος Κουτούζος, Νίκος Μοτσιόπουλος & Λάμπρος Τυρλής, Αλεξάνδρα Παπούτση, Χρυσάνθη Πιπίνη, Βαλερί Ρουμελιώτη Οττάβυ, Ελισσάβετ Σίκαλου, Ιωάννα Σπέντζου
Book Program
The Book Program, curated by Sylvia Sachini, approaches the photobook as an autonomous form of artistic expression and storytelling. Through exhibitions, presentations, talks and two awards, it showcases contemporary photographic publishing, with an emphasis on independent art publications and hybrid editorial ventures.
Satellite Program
The Satellite Program, curated by Sylvia Sachini, extends the festival beyond the museum space through collaborations with independent venues, foundations and cultural institutions in the city. It creates a parallel network of exhibitions and activities, strengthening the festival’s ties with Athens’ contemporary cultural landscape.
Athens Photo Research Center The newly established Athens Photo Research Center is a platform for research, documentation and the production of knowledge in the field of photography and contemporary visual culture. Through residency programmes, educational activities and international collaborations, it seeks to connect artistic practice with research and interdisciplinary dialogue.
Artists in the Main Exhibition Programme
Sara Abbaspour | Verdiana Albano | Sama Alshaibi | Κατερίνα Αγγελοπούλου | Taysir Batniji | Hicham Benohoud | Olga Cafiero | Frida Lisa Carstensen Jersø | Γιώργος Γιατρομανωλάκης | Sean Cham | Sara De Brito Faustino | Colin Delfosse | Mathias Depardon | Antone Dolezal | Thana Faroq | Francesca Giaitzoglou Watkinson | Florence Goupil | Mohamed Hassan | Sadie Cook & Jo Pawlowska | Lisa Karnadi | Abhishek Khedekar | Viktor Koen | Elliott Kreyenberg | Laurence Kubski | Camille Lévêque | Morgan Levy | Jinyong Lian | Νίκος Μάρκου | Justin Maxon & Dr. H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams | Serhii Melnychenko | Randa Mirza | Δημήτρης Μυτάς | Alvin Ng | Musuk Nolte | Laura Pannack | Alana Perino | Maria Quigley | Hashem Shakeri | Arhant Shrestha | Bharat Sikka | Hristina Tasheva | Tanya Traboulsi | Varvara Uhlik | Eva Vei | Sasha Velichko | Joselito Verschaeve | Carmen Winant | Cemre Yeşil Gönenli | Tereza Zelenkova
Athens Photo Festival takes place at the Benaki Museum.