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Bristol Photo Festival

Bristol Photo Festival is an international biennial of contemporary photography. OPENING WEEK: 14-18 October 2026

30/10/2026

'One of Many: An Alternative History of Photography'

Histories are shaped as much by what they exclude as by what they include. The history of photography is not singular but multiple.

This project, now open at for Bristol Photo Festival, seeks to foreground those omissions and propose alternative viewpoints.

Through a cross-cultural dialogue between France and the United Kingdom, we bring together perspectives from leading curators, scholars, and institutions to explore how photographic histories are constructed and how they might be reimagined.

Invited selectors: Mark Sealy (Autograph), Taous Dahmani (The Photographers’ Gallery), Christine Eyene (Independent Curator), Sergio Valenzuela Escobedo (ENSP Arles) and Annabel Lacour (Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac).

Free entry, open Thursday to Sunday, 12-6pm
📍 The Welcome Building, Avon Street, BS2 0QF

Images: 'One of Many: An Alternative History of Photography' at The Welcome Building. Photography © Tom Ham, 2026

Untitled, (detail) Rashid Mahdi, 1923 - 2008 c1955 Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris

Atelier de photographie sur le toit de l’école polytechnique du Dar ol-Fonoun, Téhéran (detail) Mirza Ahmad Akkasbashi (actif dans les années 1860-1890) 1858-1896 Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, Paris

30/10/2026

Own a print by Aaron Schuman and help secure the future of Bristol Photo Festival

In Amherst, Massachusetts, the local newspaper’s police reports offer a window into the peculiarities of small-town life. In one, a woman reports a man on her balcony, before acknowledging it might just have been a dream. In another, a man sees a suspicious orange glow on the horizon, which turns out to be the sun rising.

To create the project ‘Slant’, Aaron Schuman used these reports as a roadmap, setting out to explore the town of his youth. His offbeat images capture the supposed comfort of suburbia, coupled with a sense of underlying disquiet.

We're delighted to offer a print from the series as part of our crowdfunding campaign. Own a work by Aaron Schuman while helping us secure the future of Bristol Photo Festival.

Explore the prints and support our campaign via the link in bio

29/10/2026

Dark tales, underground discoveries and a trip to the crypt…

Looking for something different this Halloween weekend? Bristol Photo Festival has a darker side. Discover three extraordinary photography exhibitions in some of the city's most atmospheric spaces.

🕯️ 'No Pasarán' at Redcliffe Caves
Venture into the tunnels for an exhibition exploring the legacy of the Spanish Civil War. Through photography, archival research and personal histories, Natasha Christia, Julián Barón and Anna Jornet uncover the ways the past continues to shape the present.

🦇 'Dark Tales' at
Discover the uncanny side of everyday Britain. Spanning more than 80 years of documentary photography, this exhibition explores the Gothic imagination through unsettling domestic scenes, shadowy landscapes and the strange within the familiar. Curated by .blease.

⚰️ 'Darkroom' at
Descend into the Anglican Chapel Crypt, where Michel Campeau's photographs reveal the disappearing world of analogue darkrooms. A reflection on photography, memory and the traces we leave behind. The exhibition is produced by .

BPF exhibitions are free entry; donations warmly received.

📍 Plan your Halloween weekend and explore the full Festival programme via the link in bio.

Images:
1. Spencer Place. Leeds, 1979. © Peter Mitchell, featuring in 'Dark Tales' at Martin Parr Foundation
2 & 3. Installation views: 'No Pasarán' at Redcliffe Caves featuring works by Natasha Christia, Julián Barón, and Anna Jornet. Photograph by Tom Ham for Bristol Photo Festival 2026
4. Michel Campeau 'Darkroom' (2005-2006) at Arnos Vale Cemetery: Anglican Chapel Crypt
5. Colonization from The History Lesson, Self as Image (Remodelling Photo History). Jo Spence and Terry Dennett. © Jo Spence Memorial Archive, The Image Centre. Featuring in 'Dark Tales' at Martin Parr Foundation
6. Jordi the Lounge Lizzard - The Howard Hotel, London 1999_2000. © Chris Shaw. Featuring in 'Dark Tales' at Martin Parr Foundation

28/10/2026

What can a photograph tell us about histories that refuse to disappear?

This Saturday, join us for a special opportunity to hear from Spanish photographer Julián Barón (), whose work features in 'No Pasarán', currently on show in the extraordinary setting of Redcliffe Caves.

Marking 90 years since the start of the Spanish Civil War, 'No Pasarán' brings together three artists and researchers exploring memory, resistance and the ways history continues to shape the present.

Barón's work examines how we remember and represent conflict, from contemporary reenactments of the Civil War to the fading drawings and inscriptions left by Republican militia members on the walls of an abandoned barracks.

Join us for a guided tour of Bristol Photo Festival (2–4pm), followed by a conversation between Julián Barón and Festival Director Alejandro Acín (4.30pm), exploring his work and photographic publications.

📅 Saturday 31 October
📍 Guided Festival tour: 2–4pm, starting at Arnolfini, BS1 4QA
📍 Artist talk: 4.30–5.30pm, Welcome Building, BS2 0PS
🎟️ Book the tour and artist talk via Headfirst. Link in bio.

27/10/2026

Across eighteen landscapes around the world, photographers encounter places where multiple timelines coexist: histories embedded in the land, environmental transformations unfolding in the present, and futures that remain to be imagined.

'HEAT' – now open at the Welcome Building for – brings together projects developed through Magnum Foundation’s 2023–25 Photography Expanded Fellowship, which supported photographers exploring new ways of telling stories about the climate crisis and the inextricable relationship between communities and land.

Visit the exhibition until 15 November, and discover works by:

Andrea Hernández Briceño (Venezuela), Farhana Satu (Bangladesh), Fatma Fahmy (Egypt), Florence Goupil (Peru), Gayatri Ganju (India), Giya Makondo-Wills (United Kingdom / South Africa), Hashem Shakeri (Iran), José Luis Arroyo-Robles (Mexico), Kunga Tashi Lepcha (India), Luis Antonio Rojas (Mexico), Luján Agusti (Argentina), Mahmoud Khattab (Egypt), María Valqui (Peru), Miora Rajaonary (Madagascar), Ofoe Amegavie (Ghana), River Claure (Bolivia), seth cardinal dodginghorse (Tsuut’ina Nation), and Zumrad Mirzalieva (Uzbekistan).

Free entry, open Thursday to Sunday, 12-6pm
The Welcome Building, Avon Street, BS2 0QF

Images: Photograph by Zumrad Mirzalieva; Installation photograph © Tom Ham ; Photograph by Hashem Shakeri

In partnership with Magnum Foundation and with thanks to support from Permajet, Bristol BID

27/10/2026

Photo Kegham was the first commercial photography studio in Gaza.

The studio documented Palestinian daily life despite the often violent upheaval that was taking place during this time, most notably marked by the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Much of the archive of Photo Kegham has been tragically lost. However, three boxes of photographs remain, now in the possession of Kegham Djeghalian Jr, the grandson of the studio’s original founder, Kegham Djeghalian Sr.

Don't miss the exhibition 'Photo Kegham' by Kegham Djeghalian Jr. at the until 15 Nov 2026

Free entry, open Thursday to Sunday, 12-6pm
The Welcome Building, Avon Street, BS2 0QF
Photography © Tom Ham, 2026

26/10/2026

Own a beautiful print by Rinko Kawauchi and help support the future of Bristol Photo Festival.

This photograph is one of a selection of prints available to purchase through our crowdfunding campaign, featuring work by one of the Festival's exhibiting artists.

For many years, Rinko Kawauchi has photographed the cherry blossom trees around her neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tokyo. Caught between full bloom and the first signs of fading, the blossoms invite us to pay attention to the fleeting moments around us. At the centre of the photograph is a Mejiro bird, whose song announces the arrival of spring.

Just a few months ago, we weren't sure if Bristol Photo Festival 2026 would go ahead. With public funding for culture increasingly precarious, particularly for small independent organisations, your support is more important than ever.

Treat yourself to a photographic print, or gift one to someone special this Christmas, and help us to secure the Festival's future.

🔗 Explore the prints and support our crowdfunder via the link in our bio.

Image: Print by Rinko Kawauchi, Untitled (2021)

26/10/2026

There's a lot to discover at Bristol Photo Festival. Luckily, we know our way around.

Book a guided walking tour and enjoy Bristol Photo Festival with the people who know it best – from the Festival team, to the artists and curators behind the exhibitions.

Coming up this half-term:

📍 Thursday 29 October, 10am–12.30pm
Bring the family! Join our family-friendly tour, designed for parents, carers and children of any age. A different way to spend a half-term morning exploring photography across the city.

📍 Saturday 31 October, 2–4.30pm
Join artist Julián Barón, whose work features in No Pasarán at Redcliffe Caves, for a special walking tour, including an introduction to his practice.

More tour dates for your diary:

Saturday 7 November, 2–4.30pm – with curator Taous Dahmani

Thursday 12 November, 10am–12.30pm – Bring Your Baby tour

Saturday 14 November, 2–4.30pm – with curator Christine Eyene

Whether you're curious about the stories behind the photography, or simply fancy exploring the Festival in good company, there's a tour for you.

🎟️ Places are limited – book your tour via the link in our bio.

Festival exhibition photography © Tom Ham, 2026

24/10/2026

For twenty years, Holly Lynton has explored the intersections of faith, history, labour, and landscape within rural communities in the United States.

Through evocative imagery and profound human connection, her ongoing project 'Beyond the Bounds' (2019-present) explores the universal threads of faith – religious and secular – to unveil the intricate interplay between history, ritual, and the spaces where people seek solace.

Lynton's exhibition 'Beyond the Bounds' is now open at as part of Bristol Photo Festival 2026.

Open Monday to Saturday, 8am–6pm and Sunday 11:30am–3pm, until 15 Nov 2026.

Photography © Tom Ham, 2026

26/01/2026

Bristol folks: is talking this Wednesday at a brilliant local venue! 📸

His talks are always special for their warmth and depth of knowledge.

See pic for Booking details.

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