Un/Stable: Lands, Anxieties, Dreams is the theme for Photoworks Festival 2026 considers how identity, place, memory, community and the environment are interconnected, asking what it means to live through uncertainty while imagining or creating hopeful futures. The festival addresses issues including climate change, belonging, resilience and social change and is Directed by Louise Fedotov-Clements, with the Photoworks team and partners across the city and beyond.

Exhibitions presented in various locations across Brighton & Hove, from 2 October to 1 November, encourage us to question assumptions, embrace multiple perspectives and think critically about the relationships between people, histories, landscapes and technology. Featuring artworks created by a range of artists – young people, emerging and established practitioners, each exploring subjects that include ecosystems, global and personal archives, forest restoration, ecological and social renewal, including interconnections between human and non-human worlds.

Exhibitions and events taking place throughout October, see each listing for opening times, offer a wide range of activity from conferences, portfolio reviews, talks, tours, workshops and film screenings.

This year our annual publication titled Cosmophotologies, edited by Photoworks Annual Editor Diane Smyth, explores the festival theme through the enquiry into what kinds of worlds photography makes possible. The essays and artists invite us to think about photography as a cosmological practice, one that explores relationships between time, history, ecology and place. Drawing inspiration from Yuk Hui’s concept of cosmotechnics, the Annual proposes that technologies are never culturally neutral. They embody values, assumptions and ways of knowing, while simultaneously shaping them

This publication and festival are part of that continuing conversation. For the past 30 years, Photoworks has evolved into a platform for sustained critical inquiry around photography’s histories, politics and futures. Each edition extends an ongoing conversation. This continuity matters, at a time when public discourse is increasingly accelerated and fragmented, publishing remains an act of care, a commitment to research, critical thinking and the long life of ideas and a place where diverse positions intersect. As Photoworks enters its fourth decade, this feels more important than ever. In unstable times, photography can help us understand, question and reimagine the conditions we inhabit. It can offer moments of connection, resistance and possibility. It reminds us that no single way of seeing or understanding is inevitable. That openness to imagine otherwise may be photography’s most important contribution at a moment when so much else feels uncertain.

Supported by Arts Council England

When planning your visit to Photoworks Festival also see to the exhibitions and programmes presented by our friends at Photo Fringe running throughout October.

Volunteer at the Photoworks Festival

We’re looking for volunteers to join us for the Photoworks Festival and help bring our exhibitions and events to life. Photoworks has been fortunate to work with many talented volunteers over the years, whose enthusiasm and support have been invaluable. Whether you’re looking to gain experience in the arts, meet new people, or be part of a leading photography festival, we’d love to hear from you.

Volunteer opportunities are available across a range of festival activities – email volunteer@photoworks.org.uk to register your interest.

Photoworks Friends 

Photoworks Friends will receive free or discounted entry to all Photoworks Festival exhibitions and events. By becoming a Friend, you’ll support emerging photographers and creative opportunities for young people, while enjoying a range of exclusive benefits including our Annual publication, invitations to special events, discounts in our shop, and more.