Helsinki Photo Festival 2023

Helsinki Photo Festival pushes the boundaries for exploring photography and brings the artistic medium of photography back on the streets. Every year the festival presents works of emerging photographers selected through a theme-based open call for artists.

From August 4 – October 30, 2023 the event will attract visual media enthusiasts of all ages to photo exhibitions spread around Greater Helsinki. The festival is divided into 2 phases. The first phase consists of outdoor exhibitions starting August and the second phase kicks off late summer with pedagogical events and indoor exhibitions in September – October.  

We help artists to connect with audiences and experts in the field of photography and visual culture. We give artists access to an international network enabling them to find new ways to work, get published and exhibit abroad and in Finland. The main initiative is to increase the visibility of contemporary photography through events and learning activities to give participants the opportunity to develop their projects as well as their artistic independence.

Helsinki Photo Festival ry, is a non-profit association created to attract interest and disseminate information on photography and visual culture in Finland and abroad.

The association publishes Helsinki Photo News – a periodical photo journal. The first newspaper was released 2020 only as a digital edition. Since 2021, the magazine is published as well as an offset print. At the same year, the association added a limited edition print programme supporting emerging artist to their curriculum. All exhibited artists and their background info can be explored in our exhibition section. Earlier open call  themes were Love (2018), Anarchy (2019), Trust (2020), Fearless (2021), and Believe (2022). Also, in 2018, Helsinki Photo Festival organised an InsideOut group action raising attention to the discussion of Bilingual Finland. Read more on this project here.

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