Heinz Cibulka died on August 14, 2026, in Ladendorf, surrounded by his family. Born in Vienna in 1943, the artist developed a distinctive photographic language beginning in the 1970s, characterized by the combination of several individual images into what are known as “Bildgedicht” (visual poems). His intensive engagement with Viennese Actionism—whose performances he documented—gave rise to a multifaceted body of work that encompasses not only photography but also performances, material images, and literary works. In addition, Cibulka founded the association FLUSS—Lower Austria Initiative for Photography and Media Art. His work has been exhibited internationally and has received numerous awards, including the Austrian Prize for Photography.

The Volkskundemuseum (Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art) in Vienna is making more than 23,000 digitized objects from its collection available online. The latest expansion includes 3,954 records of photographs, textiles, historical documents, and materials related to the Velvet Revolution of 1989. These records allow users to view the objects from different perspectives. A glossary provides context for problematic historical terms. Additionally, an interactive transcription tool invites users to collaborate on making handwritten archival documents legible.

An independent jury of experts unanimously selected Leitner for this honor in recognition of his outstanding artistic achievements. His diverse body of work spans various genres, combining travel, observations of everyday life, and self-reflection with a consistent archival practice. Awarded since 1991, the State Prize is endowed with EUR 25,000 and is the Republic of Austria’s highest honor for achievements in artistic photography. The award ceremony will take place in fall 2026.

The two-day festival, which will take place on September 4 and 5, 2026, invites visitors to engage in a dialogue about the role of artificial intelligence in art, culture, and society. The festival will feature keynote speeches, talks, workshops, and guided tours that explore questions about the museum of the future, digital education, and responsible AI. Guests will include Hito Steyerl, Constanze Kurz, Björn Ommer, and Ijoma Mangold, among others. The outcomes of the event will be incorporated into the museum’s future educational programs.

The Photographische Sammlung (Photography Collection) of the SK Stiftung Kultur in Cologne has appointed Bolin as its new director. She will succeed Gabriele Conrath-Scholl, who has led the collection for nearly 20 years. Bolin's work focuses on the history, theory, and outreach of photographic practices, and she plans to further develop these areas by applying a contemporary perspective to visual cultures. In addition to providing scholarly and curatorial leadership, Bolin's responsibilities will include expanding the digital infrastructure, systematically digitizing the collection, and ensuring its long-term accessibility for researchers and the public.

Fritz Simak will receive the 2026 Lower Austria Recognition Award in the category “Media Art – Artistic Photography.” The Recognition Prizes will go to Matthias Klos and Lisa Rastl. Through these cultural awards, which are presented annually by independent expert juries, the state honors outstanding artistic achievements in a total of eight categories. The award is one of Austria’s most long-standing cultural prizes and has been presented since 1960. The awards ceremony will take place on October 22, 2026, at the Festspielhaus St. Pölten.

Preliminary insolvency proceedings were opened against the Göttingen-based publishing house Steidl Verlag following a petition filed by creditors over unpaid social security contributions. According to publisher Gerhard Steidl, the arrears have since been settled, and the proceedings have been closed. At the same time, the publishing house is in talks with potential investors to secure its long-term future. Founded in 1969, Steidl Verlag is one of Germany’s most internationally renowned publishing houses. It is particularly known for its publications featuring prominent authors, artists, and photographers.

The German Society for Photography (DGPh) in Cologne is fundamentally revamping its “Otto-Steinert-Prize.” The long-standing award will be merged with the former “DGPh 4WARD | Emerging Photographer Award“ and will be open to international applicants for the first time in 2027. In addition to the open application process, curated nominations will be considered. Furthermore, the jury will consist of international members. Through these changes, the DGPh is broadening its support to encompass international networking, curatorial contexts, and visibility of photographic perspectives. The first call for entries in this new format is scheduled for November 2027.

Austrian photographer Otto Hainzl was honored with the 2026 LUMA Rencontres Dummy Book Award at the Rencontres d'Arles. The award was given for his book project Europastrasse (2025). Presented since 2015, the award supports the publication of innovative photobook dummies with a production budget of EUR 25,000. From more than 250 submissions from 40 countries, the jury selected ten projects for the festival program. Piedemonte (2025) by Gabriel Corredor Aristizábal received a special mention.

South African photographer Sabelo Mlangeni (b. 1980, Driefontein) has been awarded the 2026 James Barnor Prize. This year's edition focused on Southern Africa and was open to artistic practices from Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini. Mlangeni’s black-and-white photographs explore community, intimacy, and the everyday lives of his subjects. George Mahashe (b. 1982, Bolobedu) received a special mention for his research at the intersection of photography, archives, museums, and indigenous knowledge.

Jana Johanna Haeckel will serve as artistic director of the fourth edition of the düsseldorf photo+ photography biennial and will also curate the main exhibition, which will take place for the first time at the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf. A Doctor of Art History, she has been curating international photography exhibitions for over 14 years. Under the working title “Disobedient Bodies: Bodies of Resistance in Photography,” the biennial will explore the human body at the intersection of control and emancipation. The aim is to foster a dialogue between historical and contemporary perspectives, thereby placing greater emphasis on the historical context of photography.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of photography, C/O Berlin will host an all-day event at the Amerika Haus on August 22, during “World Photography Day” week. The event will explore the historical development of the medium, from early visual records to current smartphone- and AI-driven imaging practices. The focus will be on the social significance of photography and how it has transformed in the digital age. The program includes a keynote address by Kate Crawford, an internationally renowned AI researcher and author. There will also be panels and discussions featuring Florian Ebner, Annekathrin Kohout, Steffen Siegel, Michelle Henning, Ryan S. Jeffery, Susanne Kriemann, Armin Linke, and others. The program will also include a workshop led by Bruce Eesly. The event will conclude with an open-air film program featuring works by Bruce Eesley, Ryan S. Jeffery, and Daphné Nan Le Sergent in the Amerika Haus courtyard.

With “Wachau Routes,” the Landesgalerie Niederösterreich presents an intervention that emerged from the research project “Wachau Routes: Perspectives on Art-Based Research.” The multi-year project, a collaboration between the University of Art and Design Linz and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, was led by artists Iris Andraschek and Hubert Lobnig, along with researchers Daniela Lehner and Roland Tusch. The project focuses on investigating how rail lines, roads, and bike and hiking trails shape the perception and development of the Wachau region. The intervention will be on view from June 13, 2026, through January 10, 2027, as part of the collection presentation “On the Road. A Journey into the Collection.”

Christine Frisinghelli, curator and co-founder of Camera Austria, has won the Photographic Society of Japan's 2026 Cultural Advancement Award. The award recognises her long-standing contribution to raising the international profile of Japanese photography. As early as the 1970s, she introduced contemporary Japanese photographers to Europe. In 1980, she founded the magazine Camera Austria International with Manfred Willmann and Seiichi Furuya, serving as its editor-in-chief until 2010. The award is presented annually on Japan’s Photography Day to honour outstanding contributions to the promotion of Japanese photographic culture, both domestically and internationally.

The British artist David Hockney has died at the age of 88. As well as being a painter, he also had a lasting impact on the development of photography. He gained international recognition in the 1980s with his photographic collages, known as the Joiners. Composed of numerous Polaroid and 35 mm photographs, these collages challenged the conventions of photographic perspective, approaching vision as a temporal and spatial process. Hockney continued to engage intensively with new imaging technologies later in life. His photographic work remains an important reference point for questions of perception, spatial representation and the limits of the medium.

Duane Michals passed away on June 9, 2026, at the age of 94, as confirmed by the DC Moore Gallery in New York. Michals is considered one of the most influential innovators in 20th-century photography. He became known in the 1960s for his staged image sequences, multiple exposures, and handwritten texts, with which he expanded the boundaries of the documentary image. His work focused less on depicting reality and more on questions of memory, dreams, identity, and perception. Over decades, he developed a distinctive visual language that combined photography with elements from literature, film, collage, and drawing, influencing generations of artists.

C/O Berlin announced the winners of the 2026 C/O Berlin Talent Award. In the “Artist” category, Amin Yousefi was honored for his project Defensive Readiness. Revised Version. This work will be presented in a solo exhibition at the Amerika Haus from February to June, 2027. Maxi Wallenhorst won the prize in the “Writer” category. She will write an essay on the project, reflecting on its social and political dimensions within the context of this year's theme “Body Politics.” The essay and an artist talk will be published in a monographic publication by C/O Berlin. Other artists on the shortlist include Nicolás Bernal, Debora Brune, Bimal Fabbri, and Ashley McLean.

The internationally acclaimed photographer Elfie Semotan (born 1941 in Wels, Austria) passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. Semotan, whose career began in front of the camera, collaborated for decades with designer Helmut Lang and first gained widespread recognition for her distinctive work in fashion and advertising photography. Her oeuvre, which also encompasses still lifes, landscapes, nudes, portraits, and conceptual works, has been presented in numerous solo exhibitions, including at WestLicht (Vienna), Kunsthalle Krems, C/O Berlin, KUNST HAUS WIEN, and Francisco Carolinum (Linz), and has received multiple awards. Through her marriages to Kurt Kocherscheidt (1943–1992) and Martin Kippenberger (1953–1997), Semotan remained closely connected to an artistic milieu throughout her life, an environment that profoundly shaped her work and outlook.

More than 120 entries were submitted for the fifth edition of the prize. The jury selected City Plaza, a project created by Frieder Bickhardt between 2016 and 2019 within a self-organised refugee collective in Athens. The project centers on portraits of the residents of a former hotel, which housed up to 450 people at times, taken with a large-format camera. The jury highlighted the project's photographic quality and substantive engagement with social issues. The winning project will be presented in spring 2027 at the Photographische Sammlung of the SK Stiftung Kultur. The August-Sander-Award has been awarded biennially since 2018 and is endowed with EUR 5,000.

At the AIPAD Photography Show, organized by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), the Danziger Gallery presented and offered for sale an AI-generated color version of the work Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. According to the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, there was no prior consultation, and no responsible author was named for the digital editing. The Trust stated that they were only informed after the fact and arranged for the work to be removed. The objection concerns the use of Ansel Adams’s name and well-known motif in a commercial context without permission. The statement clarifies that the criticism is not fundamentally directed against AI in photography but rather against the lack of consent and transparency in this specific case.

German artist Wolfgang Tillmans has been granted the Roswitha Haftmann Prize, which includes a monetary reward of CHF 150,000. The award recognizes his body of work spanning more than four decades, which incorporates social responsibility into photographic practice. The award ceremony will take place on September 17 at the Kunsthaus Zürich. Established in 2000 by the Roswitha Haftmann Foundation, the prize is one of the most prestigious European honors for contemporary art. Previous recipients include VALIE EXPORT, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Wall.

This year's Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize goes to Rene Matić. The award recognises their exhibition AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH which was shown at CCA Berlin in 2024/25. Through photographs, installations, and sound works, Matić explores questions of identity, belonging, class, and family. The exhibition, which features selected works by Matić and the three other finalists, is on display until June 7 at The Photographers' Gallery in London, and will be on display from September 3 to January 17, 2027 at The Cube in Eschborn. The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize is awarded annually in cooperation with The Photographers' Gallery and honours significant contributions to international contemporary photography. It is endowed with GPB 30,000.

Dance and performance artist Magdalena Forster has been awarded the H13 Lower Austria Prize for Performance 2026. From over 50 submissions, she impressed the jury with her project Cow Notes, which transforms sound, body, and material into a multi-layered experiential space. The work explores acoustic dialogues between human and non-human actors and will be presented for the first time on November 20, 2026, at Kunstraum Niederösterreich. An accompanying exhibition will be on view through November 28. This year, the prize is being awarded in cooperation with Künstlerhaus Bethanien, where Forster will also complete a residency.

Gerald Bast, a lawyer and the university's longtime rector, received the Grand Silver Cross of Honor for his services to the province. Veronika Kaup-Hasler, the city councilor for culture and science, presented the award on May 11, 2026, at the Vienna City Hall on behalf of Mayor Michael Ludwig. In his laudatory speech, Jürgen Gschiel highlighted Bast’s pivotal role in bridging research and artistic practice. Bast led the university for more than two decades, shaping it through international outreach and an interdisciplinary focus.

The outstanding media and performance artist, filmmaker, and influential voice in feminist theory, VALIE EXPORT, has passed away today at the age of 85. The highly acclaimed artist is considered one of the most important figures of the postwar era and has influenced generations of artists. Since 1968, EXPORT participated in countless international exhibitions, including documenta 6 (1977), documenta 12 (2007), the Moscow Biennale (2007, 2019), and the Venice Biennale, where in 1980 she represented Austria at the Austrian Pavilion alongside Maria Lassnig under commissioner Hans Hollein. In recent years, her work was presented in major solo exhibitions, among others at the Albertina in Vienna (2023). Alongside her artistic practice, she contributed to numerous international symposia and realized curatorial projects, including serving as commissioner of the Austrian Pavilion in Venice in 2009 (together with Silvia Eiblmayr). Since 2015, the dedicated VALIE EXPORT Center in Linz has been devoted to preserving and researching her archive.

The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) in Dublin announces the appointment of internationally renowned museum director, curator, artist, and author Séamus Kealy as its new director. Kealy, who will take up the position in July of this year, served as director of the Salzburger Kunstverein from 2014 to 2023 and brings a total of twenty years of experience as the head of various art institutions.

Timm Ulrichs, a German artist and former professor at the University of Fine Arts Münster, passed away on April 29, 2026, at the age of 86, according to a statement from the Kunstverein Hannover. Regarded as a pioneer of conceptual art, Ulrichs shaped the contemporary art scene for more than half a century with his provocative works. The Berlin-born artist worked with body, language, and action. He most recently lived in Hanover and Berlin.

Portuguese artist Ana de Almeida was announced as the winner of the 2026 Erste Bank Art Prize. The prize is endowed with EUR 5,000 and includes an exhibition at DAS WEISSE HAUS, a residency, and a presentation in Hungary. Established in 2016, the Erste Bank Art Prize is a collaborative project between DAS WEISSE HAUS and the Erste Bank Sponsoring Program. De Almeida's work engages with photography, video, installation, and performance to explore the political dimensions of memory through archive-based strategies.

Founded in 1998, the Kunstbrücke of Raiffeisen-Landesbank Tirol will open its new exhibition space in the RAIQA Quartier on May 4, 2026. The 220-square-meter space will serve as a venue for contemporary art, hosting three exhibitions annually. The space was designed by artist Dorit Margreiter Choy in collaboration with the architectural firm Pichler & Traupmann and features movable walls and curtains. Additional art-in-architecture projects by various artists will be presented alongside the opening.

The Julia Stoschek Foundation has announced that it will close its Berlin exhibition space on Leipziger Straße at the end of October 2026. Specialising in video art, the foundation has exhibited works by artists such as Ian Cheng and Mark Leckey, attracting more than 450 000 visitors to its Berlin space. This decision is part of the foundation's strategic reorientation towards international projects. Meanwhile, the main building in Düsseldorf is undergoing renovation and is set to reopen in 2027. In Berlin, rotating exhibitions at various locations are planned for the future.

Independent researcher, author and curator Raquel Villar-Pérez has been selected for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation’s first internationally open Curatorial Fellowship. Villar-Pérez, who lives and works in the United Kingdom, will analyze the collection, develop an exhibition concept, and identify new acquisitions as part of the two-year program beginning in 2026. The resulting exhibition will be presented in Eschborn and at other European institutions in the spring of 2028.

On 24 and 25 April 2026, the current cohort of the 'Museum Curators for Photography' fellowship programme invites you to a symposium at the Museum Folkwang. Under the title “Caring for Photography”, the topic of care will be discussed in a photographic context. International curators and artists will exchange ideas in various presentations and panel discussions, exploring how 'care' can be reimagined in photography and the role it plays in the face of global crises. The event will be held in German and English and is free of charge.

Info: museum-folkwang.de

Fotomuseum Winterthur announced the successor to Nadine Wietlisbach, who has led the institution since 2018 and is now moving to the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (MGB): Sophie Haslinger, currently curator at KunstHausWien, will assume the directorship on August 1, 2026. Haslinger brings many years of expertise in the field of photography. Among other roles, she was involved in the FOTO WIEN festival (2019, 2022) and curated solo exhibitions at KunstHausWien featuring Mika Rottenberg (2025) and Stefanie Moshammer (2022), as well as thematic exhibitions such as SEEDS: Reclaiming Roots, Sowing Futures (2026) and Into the Woods: Approaching the Forest Ecosystem (2024). In addition, she has curated numerous independent exhibition projects. “With Sophie Haslinger, Fotomuseum Winterthur is gaining a director who combines curatorial practice with current social and ecological issues, thereby providing important impulses for the institution’s continued development in terms of content,” said Foundation Board President Madeleine Schuppli on Haslinger’s appointment.

A private album containing previously unknown photographs by the artist and war correspondent Lee Miller has been discovered. The images lay unnoticed for decades and have now been acquired by the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford, which plans to make them accessible to the public. The album, started in 1943, also contains photographs by Cecil Beaton. Both photographers sent their World War II photographs by courier to their assistant, Roland Haupt, in London, where they were edited for distribution to the press. This collection is considered a significant find in the history of 20th-century photography.

The Rencontres d’Arles festival has unveiled the program for its 57th edition, set to open on July 6, 2026. Titled “Worlds in View,” the festival will focus on global interconnections and social and ecological transformations. The program will include exhibitions featuring works by William Klein, Edward Steichen, Marie-Laure de Decker, Paul McCarthy, and others. Additionally, it will present the work of young artists and curatorial projects. This edition will present narratives from Africa and the Mediterranean region, display archives and monographs, and spotlight emerging scenes.

Artist Tekla Aslanishvili has been awarded the inaugural Eurasia Moving Image Commission from the Han Nefkens Foundation, in collaboration with international partner institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. Her project was recognized for its research-based exploration of internationalist image and film traditions. The grant provides USD 120,000 for the production of a video work, which will subsequently be exhibited at several institutions and added to their collections.

Kluge died in Munich at the age of 94. Regarded as a defining figure of the New German Cinema, Kluge was a co-signatory of the Oberhausen Manifesto. His body of work included films, books, and TV programs that straddled the line between documentary and fiction. A recipient of numerous prestigious awards, Kluge remained artistically active until the very end. As recently as February, he was celebrated at the Austrian Film Museum with a retrospective and at the Studio Building of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna with an exhibition titled At Night the Backdrops Dream of Unseen Images.

Julia Fuchs will receive the EUR 1,000 grand prize for the 2026 Queer Art Prize, presented by Queer Art Spaces Vienna and the SPARK Art Fair Vienna. The awards ceremony will be held on April 9, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna on Schillerplatz. Michael Rutz and Valentino Skarwan were named second runners-up and each received EUR 500. The prize honors outstanding works by queer artists, enhances their visibility, and promotes contemporary queer perspectives. The nine shortlisted artists, including the winners, will be featured in an exhibition from May 27 to June 14, 2026, at the QWIEN - Center for Queer History.

The presentations from the 3rd Essen Symposium on Photography are now available online and can be accessed at the following link: fotozentrum-essen.de. Under the title “What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate,” the event brought together over 200 participants in February at the SANAA building at Zollverein in Essen. Organized by the Center for Photography Essen, the event brought together international experts to discuss future perspectives for the medium. Partner institutions included the Museum Folkwang and the Folkwang University of the Arts. A follow-up is already planned: The 4th Symposium is scheduled to take place in June 2027 and will continue the dialogue.

American artist Trevor Paglen has been awarded the 2026 LG Guggenheim Award. The award, initiated by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and technology conglomerate LG, is part of a multi-year initiative to support art and technology and is endowed with USD 100,000. Paglen's work explores hidden digital infrastructures and power dynamics by combining photographic, technical, and research-based approaches. The jury particularly commended his engagement with imaging technologies, AI, and data structures. Paglen will present the lecture-performance The Lizard People Are Here! on May 18, 2026, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Curator Patrick Blümel is taking over as director of the office medienwerk.nrw in Dortmund, thereby assuming responsibility for the central state-wide position for media art and digital culture in North Rhine-Westphalia. Previously, Blümel was senior curator at the Max Ernst Museum in Brühl, where he organized exhibitions exploring the intersection of media art, society, and technology. In his new role, Blümel plans to strengthen existing networks and expand the visibility of the media art scene in a sustainable way. The office serves as a central platform and coordinates funding programs for media art in the state.

The 2026 Media Art Prize of the Kunststiftung Ingvild and Stephan Goetz goes to Ilinca Fechete, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. The prize money of EUR 5,000 will be used to realize the project After Inertia (working title). The plan is to create an installation with two screens hanging parallel in the room and a parametric sound system that works in real time with freely accessible geodata, continuously generating new image and sound sequences. The project is scheduled to be presented in September 2026 at the AkademieGalerie. The Media Art Prize is a collaboration between the Goetz Collection, the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, and the Kunststiftung Ingvild and Stephan Goetz. It is awarded annually to promote young media art.

The Hasselblad Award is one of the most prestigious international photography prizes and will be awarded to Zanele Muholi in 2026. With prize money of SEK 2,000,000 and a gold medal, the award is considered one of the most highly endowed prizes in photography. For more than two decades, Muholi has documented the lives of black LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa, combining photographic practice with activist engagement. The award ceremony is scheduled for October 9, followed by a solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg from October 10 to April 4, 2027.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Connection Machine, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe is exhibiting the historic supercomputer and providing a scientific context for it. Starting on March 25, 2026, visitors will be able to interact with an original Connection Machine CM-2 in the foyer. Developed under the direction of US engineer W. Daniel Hillis, the CM is considered a pioneering model of parallel information processing. The installation of the CM will be accompanied by an international conference dedicated to its technological, design and cultural heritage. From 26 to 28 March, the conference will explore the machine's role in AI research, design history, and the current discourse on artificial intelligence.

The Fotofestiwal Grant 2026 was awarded to Belarusian artist Sasha Velichko. Velichko, who lives and works in Poland, impressed the jury with her project Called to the Carpet, which critically examines biopolitical structures of control and power. The Fotofestiwal Grant supports the realization of new photographic works by ambitious Polish artists or artists living in Poland. The award is part of the festival program, which focuses on promoting contemporary photography. The prize includes a production budget and the presentation of the award-winning work at the 25th Fotofestiwal in Łódź. The project will be on display from June 19 to July 12, 2026, at Kamienica Hilarego Majewskiego.

The Luma Foundation is presenting Gerhard Richter’s installation STRIP TOWER (962) in the Swiss Engadin as part of the initiative Elevation 1049. This piece, which will be on display until spring 2029, brings Richter's ongoing exploration of perception into the outdoor setting of the Alpine landscape. It is based on the technique of strip paintings, whereby a painted gesture is captured in a photograph, digitally decomposed, stretched and then recomposed. This creates a system of vertical colour bands that take on an architectural form in the walk-in sculpture, which stands at over five metres high. The installation is intended as a long-term addition to public art and as an interactive, site-specific experience.

Hungarian artist and filmmaker Dóra Maurer died on February 14, 2026, in Budapest at the age of 89. Maurer was one of the defining protagonists of the neo-avant-garde and worked across a variety of media, including photography, experimental film, painting, and printmaking. Following her studies at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts, she resided in Budapest and Vienna, thereby establishing a global network. Beginning in 1990, Maurer assumed a teaching position at the academy in Budapest. Her most significant accolades include the Kossuth Prize in 2003 and the Peter C. Ruppert Prize in 2013.

The German Photographic Society (DGPh) has announced the winners of the 2026 Otto-Steinert-Prize. From ten nominated projects, the jury selected three photographic works that address existential questions such as acceptance, love, security, grief, truthfulness, and belonging.Samuel Solazzo was awarded the primary prize of €5,000 for the project A Collection of Valuable Copies. Clarita Maria received recognition for Xola n'abantu, and Elliott Kreyenberg was similarly honored for War Flowers. The sponsorship award acknowledges photographic achievements and is bestowed biennially by the DGPh Image Section.

To mark the 200th anniversary of photography, OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH held its first competition for artistic photography. From 205 submissions related to Upper Austria, the jury unanimously chose Erli Grünzweil. They praised the clear visual language and Grünzweil's innovative and reflective approach. In another category of the two-part competition, amateur photographers were asked to explore the themes of nature and landscape. Selected works from both categories will be on display from April 17, 2026, in the group exhibition “WHAT A VIEW!” at the Francisco Carolinum – House for Photography and Media Art in Linz. The exhibition is dedicated to showcasing the diversity of Upper Austrian photography.

In February 2026, the Nederlands Fotomuseum opened its new location in the former SANTOS warehouse in Rotterdam. Built in 1902 and now a listed building, the port warehouse has been extensively renovated and houses the museum's collection of around 6.5 million photographs, negatives, and archival materials on nine floors. In addition to exhibition spaces, the new building includes publicly accessible storage areas, restoration and research rooms, a library, and educational and service areas. The aim is to secure photographic holdings for the long term, while making them accessible to a wide audience. The location at Rijnhaven replaces the previous museum building and was realized with the support of the Droom en Daad Foundation.

Clélia Coussonnet and Hélène Giannecchini are the recipients of Les Rencontres d’Arles’ Curatorial Research Fellowship 2026. One of the world’s most renowned photography festivals, Les Rencontres d’Arles has been held annually in the southern French city of Arles since 1970 and is considered a key platform for contemporary photography. The fellowship specifically supports innovative curatorial research within the international field of photography. In Volcanoes that Move Mountains, curator and researcher Coussonnet investigates geological and social forces that shape landscapes and narratives. In A Darkroom of One’s Own, Giannecchini explores the gendered conditions of photographic production. Both projects combine curatorial research with a critical engagement with images and power structures and will be presented as part of Les Rencontres d’Arles 2026 (July 6–October 4, 2026).

Over the next two years, ZKM | Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe is set to undergo a comprehensive artistic-conceptual as well as economic development process. Holger Neinhaus, recently confirmed as a board member through 2030, and Alistair Hudson, Director of the scientific-artistic division, have announced ZKM 28, a strategy paper outlining a framework for innovative projects and greater independence. It also aims to redesign the institution’s exhibition and conference formats. In addition, the strategy paper proposes an adaptable funding model intended to provide ZKM with greater long-term flexibility. The public is also set to be involved more actively than before—following the approach already taken in the recently presented interdisciplinary project MARS! – Mobilizing Awareness for Resilient Societies.

Founded in Paris in 1949 and recognized by UNESCO as a non-governmental organization, the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art (AICA) is the world’s largest international network of art critics. It is dedicated to promoting and advancing art criticism in the field of the visual arts. The 58th AICA Congress will take place from October 12–16, 2026, in Rennes, France. It is hosted by the University of Rennes 2, the French National Institute for Art History (INHA), and AICA. Together, they are among the founding members of the Archives of Art Criticism—an institution that has been collecting, preserving, and providing access to the writings and archives of predominantly Francophone art critics since the mid-20th century. Under the title Art criticism and eco-socially engaged practices: new writing, new challenges?, the symposium explores the social, cultural, and political functions of contemporary art criticism against the backdrop of shifting relationships between art, society, and politics since the 2000s (Call for Papers: Deadline February 16, 2026). It focuses on emerging forms of critical writing and the question of what challenges socially responsible art criticism faces today.

The Crafting Data symposium at the University of Applied Arts Vienna (January 27–28, 2026) focused on the materiality of data and its interfaces with art. Panels and workshops explored how artistic practices affect data-based systems, reveal algorithmic biases, and address questions of responsible use of machine learning. The program included a keynote speech by Hito Steyerl, a film screening curated by Sophie Publig & Mikkel Rørbo, and several internal workshops. The aim was to bring together different artistic, theoretical, and interdisciplinary perspectives and to provide a space for exchange between art, research, teaching, and practical applications.

The Essen Symposium for Photography has been held since 2021 and has developed into an international platform for interdisciplinary exchange—for both professionals and an interested public. The third edition of this series by the Center for Photography Essen will take place from February 4 to 5, 2026, in the SANAA building of Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany. At its core is the question “What Will Photography Be? An Invitation to Speculate,” inviting critical engagement with current developments in photography as well as the medium’s future forms and uses. Numerous renowned international speakers will discuss technological, social, and artistic perspectives. The Timm Rautert Archive will also be presented for the first time, now under the stewardship of Museum Folkwang. All talks will be held in English.

Info: fotozentrum-essen.de

The Elfriede-Mejchar-Preis für Fotografie (Elfriede Mejchar Photography Award) has been presented biennially since 2024 and carries a prize of EUR 7,000. It commemorates the photographic legacy of Elfriede Mejchar (1924–2020) and recognizes artistic practices distinguished by a sustained and in-depth engagement with the medium of photography. In 2026, the award is presented to Nikolaus Korab (born 1963 in Vienna) and will be awarded on May 30, 2026, at Schloss Wolkersdorf in Lower Austria. The award ceremony will be accompanied by an exhibition, organized in cooperation with FLUSS, featuring works by the prizewinner as well as the finalists Werner Feiersinger, Katharina Gruzei, and Trude Lukacsek.

The prestigious Kaiserring of the City of Goslar 2026 will be awarded to
German artist Gabriele Stötzer. The jury honors Stötzer’s long-standing
engagement with the body, identity, and political history, which defines her diverse work in film, performance, installation, and textile art. Stötzer is considered a central figure of East German subculture in the GDR and has gained international recognition for her critical reflection on social norms and power structures. The Kaiserring carries no monetary prize and is one of the most significant art awards in the German-speaking world.

NFT Paris has been Europe's hub for Web3 start-ups and NFT-associated artists. Now the organizers of the conferences on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and real-world assets (RWAs) have canceled at short notice the fifth edition, which had been scheduled for early February at the Grande Halle de la Villette. According to the organizers, despite significant cost-cutting measures and months of effort, it was not possible to deliver this year’s program due to the downturn in the NFT market. The cancellation of this internationally significant conference reflects declining demand as well as sponsors’ waning willingness to support the event.

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) has appointed Julie Jones as its new Director, effective from 2026. She succeeds Simon Baker and most recently worked as a photography historian and curator at the Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Pompidou, where she was involved in major exhibition and research projects. Jones brings extensive experience in contemporary photography, archives, and institutional collections. With her appointment, the MEP signals a further development of its curatorial program and a stronger international positioning of the institution in the lead-up to its 30th anniversary.

Nadine Wietlisbach, who has served as Director of the Fotomuseum Winterthur and has been responsible for its programmatic direction since 2018, will leave the institution after eight years. Only in May 2025 the museum reopened following a two-year renovation and modernization, marked by the exhibition The Lure of the Image – How Images Entice Online and an extensive public opening program. Wietlisbach curated numerous major solo exhibitions, including projects with Sophie Calle, VALIE EXPORT, and Jürgen Teller. She placed a strong emphasis on education and mediation and developed key thematic focuses, particularly on digital image cultures and questions of diversity. In the summer of 2026, she will take up the position of Head of Cultural Funding at the Federation of Migros Cooperatives. The position of Artistic Director of the Fotomuseum Winterthur is now open and has been publicly advertised.

The prize, endowed with EUR 10,000, has been awarded every four years since 2021 to artists from North Rhine–Westphalia whose work engages with social issues. In her practice, Katja Stuke demonstrates a keen sensitivity to the interpretive power of photographic images. Together with Oliver Sieber, she founded the project ANT!FOTO in 2010, conceived as a platform for the critical reflection on images. Works by the prizewinner can be seen through January 4, 2026, as part of the exhibition Shifting Perspectives. Women Photographers in Düsseldorf at the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf.

The British photographer Martin Parr, a long-time member and later president of the Magnum Photos agency (2013–2017), passed away in Bristol on December 6, 2025, after a serious illness. Parr documented everyday life in a uniquely ironic style, as seen for example in his early series The Last Resort about the working class in New Brighton. Parr, who also distinguished himself as a major supporter of photography through the Martin Parr Foundation he founded, is currently being honored with the exhibition and photobook retrospective Grand Hotel Parr at the Neues Museum Nuremberg, where it can be seen until February 22, 2026.

Artists Jakob Ganslmeier and Ana Zibelnik have been selected as recipients of the Camera Austria Award for Contemporary Photography of the City of Graz 2025. The jury honors the duo for their thoroughly researched work, which examines the visual and linguistic patterns of right-wing extremist ideologies and reveals their presence within everyday visual culture. Endowed with 15,000 euros, the award has been presented every two years since 1989 to artists who have published a monographic contribution in Camera Austria International.

In autumn 2026, France will begin a year-long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of photography. Commemorating Nicéphore Niépce’s first permanent photographic image from 1826/27, the Ministry of Culture under Rachida Dati is honoring the invention of the medium with a nationwide program titled Bicentenaire de la Photographie. The initiative is supported by a scientific committee led by art historian Dominique de Font-Réaulx, which will oversee exhibitions, publications, and artistic projects across France. The program will also include open calls inviting professional photographers and the general public to participate.

Following teaching positions in Dusseldorf and Linz, Sophie Thun (b. 1985 in Frankfurt am Main, raised in Warsaw) will assume the professorship of Artistic Photography at the Institute of Fine and Media Arts at the University of Applied Arts Vienna starting January 1, 2026. Thun’s artistic practice engages with the techniques of analog photography and the their spaces, processes, production, and exhibition conditions. She is a board member of the Vienna Secession and a member of the Camera Austria association. She is succeeding Gabriele Rothemann, who held the chair at the university for nearly 25 years.

The winners of the 2025 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards have been announced: The First PhotoBook Award went to Eleonora Agostini for A Study on Waitressing (Witty Books, Turin), endowed with 10,000 USD. PhotoBook of the Year was awarded to Hicham Benohoud for The Classroom (Loose Joints Publishing, Marseille). The Photography Catalog of the Year prize went to the anthology Generalized Visual Resistance: Photobooks and Liberation Movements, edited by Catarina Boieiro and Raquel Schefer (ATLAS, Lisbon). In addition, Pia-Paulina Guilmoth received a Jurors’ Special Mention for Flowers Drink the River (STANLEY/BARKER, London) . The jury emphasized that both the shortlist and the winners reflect the vitality of the photobook as a medium—especially in a time when images are predominantly consumed in a dematerialized form.

The winners of the ROTLICHT Open Call 2025 with the theme “Life After Extinction?” have been announced: From 332 submissions from 43 countries, the jury selected 20 projects. This year’s Grand Prix was awarded to Canadian artist Ella Morton for her project The Residue of Starlight. She will present her work in a solo exhibition at the Photo Cluster Gallery and will be featured on the cover of the festival catalog and on the posters. The exhibition of the 20 nominees opened on November 21, 2025 at the Atelierhaus of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.

Cypriot artist Stelios Kallinikou (b. 1985) and German artist Susanne Kriemann (b. 1972) have been honored with the After Nature Ulrike Crespo Photography Prize, awarded annually in cooperation with C/O Berlin. Each prize, endowed with EUR 40,000, recognizes artistic practices that critically explore the relationship between nature, technology, and society. Kallinikou focuses on the Akrotiri Salt Lake in Cyprus, a site marked by military control, ecological fragility, and colonial history. His photographic and sculptural works intertwine political and landscape traces to create a poetic investigation of sovereignty and environmental justice. Kriemann, in contrast, continues her long-term engagement with the atomic age. Using experimental photographic techniques such as autoradiography and screen printing, she makes the invisible traces of radiation visible and reflects on the effects of the mineral pitchblende (uraninite) in science, photography, and ecology. The awarded works will be on view at C/O Berlin starting September 2026.

Two of Germany’s most prestigious art universities—Berlin University of the Arts and the Folkwang University of the Arts—are combining their expertise in the new collaborative project Multisensory in Dialogue and Artistic Practice (MIDAP). The four-year project, funded by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre, explores hybrid, AI-supported, and immersive teaching methods at the intersection of art, technology, and education. The aim is to develop new learning spaces and collaborative formats that connect students, instructors, and pupils, shaping the future of artistic education.

The Han Nefkens Foundation is launching its most substantial initiative to date with the new Eurasia Moving Image Commission, valued at USD 120,000. Developed in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA), the New Taipei City Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, and the Art Sonje Center, the program connects art institutions across Europe and Asia. The commission supports artists in producing new video works and provides extensive financial and production resources.

Iris Andraschek has been awarded the Lower Austrian Recognition Award 2025 in the Fine Arts category, endowed with EUR 13,000. The cultural awards of the State of Lower Austria are presented annually in several categories and are among the region’s most prestigious honors. An exhibition of the award-winning artist’s work, offering insight into her diverse practice, will be on view at the State Gallery of Lower Austria in Krems until May 2026.

Since October 1, 2025, Agata Madejska (b. 1979 in Warsaw) has held the Professorship of Art and Time | Photography at the Institute of Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Madejska works with post-photographic techniques, sculptural interventions, installations, and sound. Her practice investigates power relations, resource distribution, societal and state structures, as well as political and economic questions. In her teaching, she explores post-photographic landscapes as experimental spaces alongside students, aiming to expand photographic practice into spatial, performative, and time-based forms of expression. Previous teaching positions have taken her to institutions including the Folkwang University of the Arts (Essen) and the Royal Academy of Arts (London).

Philipp Fleischmann has been honored with the Austrian Art Prize 2025 in the category Film Art. Awarded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS), the prize carries a EUR 20,000 endowment and recognizes outstanding oeuvres as well as the continuous development of artistic practices. Fleischmann works at the intersection of film and visual arts, examining the material, institutional, and infrastructural conditions of the analog medium. Since 2014, he has shaped experimental film education in Austria and beyond as the artistic director of the Friedl Kubelka School for Independent Film.

In the Media Art category, media and game artist Margarete Jahrmann impressed the independent expert jury of this year’s Austrian Art Prize, one of the country’s most prestigious awards, presented by the BMWKMS. Jahrmann’s interdisciplinary practice spans installations as well as performative and participatory formats. Her practice-based research combines art, activism, and social inquiry, with a particular focus on technopolitics and digital cultures.

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS) has awarded this year’s Outstanding Artist Award in the category of Artistic Photography to Andreas Duscha. Presented annually across eleven categories, the award recognizes artists with a prize of EUR 10,000 each and honors innovative artistic practices as well as outstanding achievements. Duscha’s oeuvre is characterized by systematic explorations of analog photography and its material and conceptual potentials. His work engages with questions of time, light and darkness, as well as ecological interrelations.

Katrin Hornek has been honored with the Outstanding Artist Award 2025 in the category Media Art by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport (BMWKMS). Hornek works across the disciplines of video, installation, and architecture. Her large-scale works are created in close collaboration with artists and scientists and engage in a critical examination of the Anthropocene. Through her projects, Hornek creates collective and speculative spaces in which local experiences reflect global contexts.