About

The Experimental Photo Festival 2026 in Barcelona, one of the most important events on the global avant-garde photography scene, invites photographic and visual creators from all over the world to submit their most creative, alternative, and experimental projects. More than a festival, it is a vibrant international platform where the limits of photography are explored, between analogue, digital, and the totally disruptive.

During its last edition, the festival brought together more than 300 artists, featured over 20 free exhibitions, 68 workshops and 18 conferences, and attracted thousands of participants both in person and online. It is a meeting place for learning and creation, where experimentation takes place, and collective projects are built.

We invite you to be part of this unique experience. We are looking for proposals that combine techniques, strengthen messages, and encourage collective work. Both established professionals and emerging creators can submit their work, provided they seek to expand the boundaries of photographic language.

The 20 selected creators will have the opportunity to present their exhibitions in some of Barcelona's most iconic venues throughout the month of July. Some will be displayed indoors, others outdoors on large-format canvases, and a few will be specially adapted to unique spaces. First, they will open for the International Meeting of Photography Festivals, with representatives from more than 50 festivals worldwide. Then, they will reopen for the Experimental Photo Festival 2026, for the city's community and international audiences. This strategy ensures privileged international exposure before curators and festival directors from all over the world, as well as the citizens of the city.

Solo Exhibitions in Barcelona

The Experimental Photo Festival 2026, to be held in Barcelona from 2 to 26 July 2026, launches its international open call aimed at photographic and visual creators of all backgrounds, nationalities, and ages. The invitation is open to those who work with creative, experimental, alternative, historical, and hybrid photography, and who wish to take their work to a new level by exploring innovation in concepts, techniques, or forms of exhibition.

From this open call, creators will be selected to participate in twenty solo exhibitions, which will be presented in three emblematic venues of the city:

• Centre Cívic Pati Llimona

• Institut d'Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya (IEFC)

• Experimental Hub Barcelona

The allocation of spaces will be determined by the curatorial team of the festival, which will also support the participants in the working and installation process. In addition, the festival invites them to participate actively in its workshops, both proposing and attending them. Knowledge exchange and community building are essential pillars of the Experimental Photo Festival.

What winners receive

The selected artists will receive €800 in cash and in kind, as detailed below:

• Financial support of up to €250 for the production, transport, or installation of the work.

• A free ticket to the festival or a full pass if they deliver a workshop (estimated value €200).

• Official merchandising (estimated value €40) and lunch during the event (estimated value €50).

• €150 in courses at Agora, School of Experimentation.

• Participation in an international conference on experimental exhibitions.

• Priority in official accommodation in Barcelona.

• Promotion of their projects through the festival's channels, with a community of more than 60,000 followers.

• Visibility among festival organisers and curators of influential festivals on the international scene.

About Asociación Experimental Photo Festival

The open call is organised by the Asociación Experimental Photo Festival, in collaboration with the Centre Cívic Pati Llimona, the Institut d’Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya, and the Experimental Hub Barcelona. More than an open call, this is an invitation to be part of an international community that experiments, shares, and transforms contemporary photography. And this year, it also represents the opportunity for your work to be seen by directors and curators of photography festivals from all over the world.

Barcelona awaits you.

How to Participate

Registration is carried out through Picter.com. Participating is simple and takes no more than ten minutes:

• Enter Picter.com.

• Create an account and complete your personal information.

• Each applicant may submit more than one project, but each must be sent as a separate application.

• Pay the registration fee: €20 per project.

That's it! Send your work and be part of the revolution of photography. We look forward to discovering your project and shaping the future of photography with you.

Judging Criteria

The festival does not establish a specific theme. The proposal is articulated around photographic experimentation and three main axes:

• Combining techniques.

• Strengthening the message.

• Working collectively.

Projects of any theme are accepted, even if they have already been exhibited, published, or awarded. What matters is the ability of every proposal to innovate and expand the boundaries of photography.

Participation Commitments

Selected artists must be present in Barcelona to set up their exhibition and remain in the city until the end of the festival. If participants cannot personally attend the installation, they must ensure that the work is in Barcelona together with a clear installation plan during the first week of June 2026, so that the technical team of the festival can carry it out.

In any case, the selected artists must be present during the days of the festival (21 to 26 July 2026), participating in the opening and in the development of the activities. The technical team will support the installation and dismantling process, although final responsibility will always rest with the creator.

Once participation is confirmed, a mandatory contract will be sent, detailing the conditions set out here, along with aspects related to payment and the transfer of image and intellectual property rights.

The registration for the open call is final: the documents sent cannot be modified, and the fee paid will not be refunded under any circumstances.

In addition to the exhibitions, participants are encouraged to propose workshops and conferences. The festival may also invite them to deliver them, thus reinforcing the spirit of exchange and collective learning that characterises the Experimental Photo Festival.

It is important to note that the works presented will not be for sale during the festival.

The results of the selection will be communicated individually by email from 17 December 2025.