The Athens Photo Festival, Greece's premier international photography event, has opened its doors at the Benaki Museum on Pireos Street, presenting works by 70 artists and collectives from 30 countries across 3,000 square meters. This year's edition, running until 26 July, is dedicated to the memory of Stavros Moresopoulos, the festival's founder and longtime driving force.
Artistic Director Manolis Moresopoulos emphasizes that the festival deliberately avoids a single overarching theme. Instead, it invites visitors to wander through the exhibitions and observe how photographs coexist and enter into dialogue with one another. "We are interested in the role photography is asked to play in today's social reality," Moresopoulos explains. "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?"
The main exhibition, organized by the Hellenic Centre of Photography, tackles pressing contemporary issues such as displacement, armed conflict, climate change, memory, identity, and self-determination. Artists from across Europe and beyond—including Hicham Benohoud, Carmen Winant, Laura Pannack, and Jinyong Lian—present photographic works, interactive installations, screenings, archival material, and art publications that reflect the restless nature of the medium.
A Festival Beyond the Museum Walls
In parallel with the main programme, the festival runs a dedicated Young Greek Photographers Programme, curated by Marilia Fotopoulou, showcasing 14 emerging artists under 35 selected from 400 proposals. The Book Program, curated by Sylvia Sachini, treats the photobook as an autonomous artistic form, featuring exhibitions, talks, and two awards focused on independent and hybrid editorial ventures.
The Satellite Program extends the festival into Athens' urban fabric through collaborations with independent venues, foundations, and cultural institutions. This network of exhibitions and activities creates a broader dialogue between the festival and the city, a model that resonates with similar initiatives across Europe, such as Portugal's NOS Alive Festival, which recently expanded into literary programming.
Moresopoulos notes that photography's inherent connection to technology makes it a constantly shifting medium. "Photography is by nature a restless medium," he says. "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."
The festival's public programme includes screenings, educational activities, talks, guided tours, and parallel events designed to foster dialogue and public participation. Throughout the year, dedicated platforms continue to promote emerging artists, photographic publishing, and artistic research, expanding the festival's impact beyond its summer run.
As Athens continues to establish itself as a cultural hub in Southern Europe, the Athens Photo Festival offers a vital space for critical engagement with visual culture. For those interested in how photography intersects with politics and society, the exhibition at the Benaki Museum provides a rich, polyphonic experience that resists easy categorization.
