01.09.2025 / Uncategorized
Night of Photography 2025
This year’s edition of the Night of Photography, organized under the slogan City Limits / Limits Within the City, will take place on 12 September 2025, from 6PM to 11PM.
Visual narratives have been conceived with specific locations in mind, making use of the architecture and the unique ambience of Warsaw’s Old Town. Visitors will have an opportunity to view both archival photographs and the latest projects celebrated at international festivals.
Highlights include the premiere of works by this year’s photography competition laureates, images from the collection of the Museum of Warsaw—soon to be displayed in the Room of Photography about to open this autumn—alongside series by acclaimed Polish artists, such as Michał Łuczak, Janek Zamoyski and Joanna Kinowska. Also featured are photographic projects by Patryk Karbowski and Maria Książek, members of the Association of Polish Artists-Photographers, as well as works by photographers associated with the Polish Women Photographers collective: Małgorzata Wakuluk and Paulina Holtz.
At the heart of this year’s Night of Photography will be presentations of works by British artists, featuring renowned masters such as Martin Parr alongside emerging photographers affiliated with the London’s Photographers’ Gallery.
The programme will also include a review of the Victoria & Albert Museum collection, featuring, among others: Thomas Annan, Jennie Baptiste, Dorothy Bohm, Bill Brandt, Maurice Broomfield, Robert Brownjohn, Isabel Agnes Cowper, Francis Frith, William Henry Fox Talbot, Emil Otto Hoppe, Tom Hunter, Sarah Jones, Normski, Paul Martin, Dieter Meier, Mark Power, Sarah Pickering, Micha Riss, Simon Roberts, John Thomson, Agnes Beatrice Warburg, G.W. Wilson.
A selection of projects presented this year at the Rencontres d’Arles Festival. Among the featured artists are Abdulaziz Al-Hosni, Adeline Care, Susanne Duppen, Federic Estola, Asafe Ghalib, Erik Irmer, Ann-Christine Jansson, Henri Kisielewski, Eleana Konstantellos André, Keerthana Kunnath, Antoine Martin, Domenic Matera, Marisol Mendez, Adeline Praud, Louis Roth, Adam Rouhana, Alexandre Silberman, Sara Aue Sobol, Isabel Tirado, Alexey Yurenev and Kamil Zihnioglu.
The event will open with a vernissage of Jakub Stanek’s To Build a House exhibition at Rynek 30 Gallery.
Programme
Museum of Warsaw, Rynek 30 Gallery 30 Old Town Market Square
6PM – opening of the exhibition To Build a House by Jakub Stanek
Karolina Ziębińska is the curator of To Build a House exhibition by Jakub Stanek.
This is the first presentation of an excerpt from the series titled To Do a List. To Father a Son, To Plant a Tree, To Build a House, which the photographer has been developing for many years now. The project explores the theme of contemporary masculinity and fatherhood, revealing their mutual entanglement in patterns that constrain them and in narrow perspectives. More information.
Museum of Warsaw, Lapidarium 40 Old Town Market Square
6.30PM–7.30PM – meeting with Cian Oba-Smith, Zula Rabikowska, Lewis Khan and Alice Poyzer
The meeting will be chaired by Eva Eicker, Associate Curator at the London’s Photographers’ Gallery. The discussion will provide an opportunity to gain a closer insight into one of the most diverse photographic scenes in the world.
Meeting will be held in English.
Museum of Warsaw 30–42 Old Town Market Square
7.30PM – opening – a welcome, handing over the diplomas to the laureates of the City Limits / Limits Within the City competition organised by the Museum of Warsaw’s Centre of Photography
7.45PM–8PM – projection of works by the laureates of the photography competition:
- Marcin Nalepa Third Landscape,
- Dorota Raczyńska Beyond the Water,
- Maciej Stępiński Production of Space (cycle II),
- Tytus Szabelski-Różniak Capital,
- Anna Chyrykala and Darii Bogdanova In Between Places,
- Tomek Cichorek Warsaw Dream.
The jury consisting of Kamila Bondar, Tomek Fudala, Agata Grzybowska, Joanna Kinowska, Michał Łuczak, and Karolina Ziębińska have selected four projects by established artists and two by emerging ones. The jury recognised works that interpreted the competition theme in diverse ways, revealing physical, social and symbolic boundaries from local, historical, political and personal perspectives. More information.
The authors demonstrated consistency in their practice, an experimental approach to photography and the ability to combine documentary observation with poetic narrative.
Duration of the screening: approx. 15 minutes
8PM–11PM – show of photographs by British artists (in a loop):
- Martin Parr,
- Serena Brown, Lewis Khan, Nina Manandhar, Alice Poyzer, Zula Rabikowska, Cian Oba-Smith (artists affiliated with The Photographers’ Gallery),
- a selection of photos from the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London: Thomas Annan, Jennie Baptiste, Dorothy Bohm, Bill Brandt, Maurice Broomfield, Robert Brownjohn, Isabel Agnes Cowper, Francis Frith, William Henry Fox Talbot, Emil Otto Hoppe, Tom Hunter, Sarah Jones, Normski, Paul Martin, Dieter Meier, Mark Power, Sarah Pickering, Micha Riss, Simon Roberts, John Thomson, Agnes Beatrice Warburg, G.W. Wilson.
The representatives of the new generation of British photographers (affiliated with The Photographers’ Gallery), whose projects resonate with this year’s Night of Photography theme.
- Serena Brown explores the appropriation of working-class fashion by luxury brands.
- Lewis Khan portrays graduates from South London schools standing on the threshold between adolescence and adulthood.
- Nina Manandhar tells the story of Thamesmead residents by engaging them in the creative process.
- Alice Poyzer’s surreal images cross the boundary between social norms and the reality of a neurodiverse perspective.
- Cian Oba-Smith challenges stereotypical depictions of urban culture and knife crime.
- Zula Rabikowska presents the queer community along the former Iron Curtain in East-Central Europe.
Duration of the screening: approx. 30 minutes
This series of portraits centres around the perception of fashion and class associated with the tracksuit, challenging its negative cultural stereotypes.
Brown collaborated with fashion designer Georgia Borenius to create three luxury tracksuits the sitter could choose from to express their individuality, heritage and culture. Resourced for £20 at local textile markets in Shepherds Bush, West London, Brown emphasises the affordability of dynamic working-class fashion while disapproving of the high-end trend of looking ‘poor’ to appear cool.
The project is inspired by the Harlem-born tailor, Dapper Dan screen-printing high fashion monograms on garments to cheaply sell them to gangsters, rappers and locals into the 1990s. His shop eventually reopened with the support of a Gucci collaboration in 2018: acknowledging his fashion significance and origins, as well as diversifying the fashion world.
Shot locally in West London with friends from her childhood, Brown reclaims the working-class influence on trends and expresses the joy of everyday fashion. She critically engages with the hierarchies and bias in contemporary luxury brands, and the monetising of a fake urban working-class aesthetic, which makes it inaccessible for those from whom it takes inspiration.
For this project, Khan returns each year to document the prom of the local secondary school in his neighbourhood, taking portraits of the graduate students. Jubilant yet complex, this project is built on long-term engagement and provides a glimpse into those precious last moments of adolescence before embarking into the unknown.
For many pivotal life events, the photograph often functions as a public trophy, symbolising success and pride, a document and proof of accomplishment. Instead, Khan immerses himself in the community, taking behind-the-scenes shots of the celebrations, candid moments of young people celebrating in sparkling dresses and evening suits. The artist documents a moment of self-expression outside of the school structure and rigid rules. The images instantly turn into nostalgia the following day when the discharged students are being start their new life.
Employing still and moving images, Khan also includes a soundtrack by Lara George and poetry by Caleb Femi.
This complex, socially engaged work portrays the community and cultures living in Thamesmead, a district of the capital and one of the city’s largest postwar social housing schemes, dating from the 1960s.
Manandhar creates her images collaboratively with local residents, working with natural light and colour to construct a portrait of the people and area which challenges both the utopian visions of the past and the negative stereotypes of the present.
Constructing a photo studio against the backdrop of Brutalist tower blocks and concrete walkways, she involves all generations, identities and cultures to investigate the politics of representation often speaking to people at length about their experiences, histories and hopes.
In addition to her portraits, she often integrates archival materials, in this case drawing upon historical photographs from The Peabody Trust Archive, which present a futuristic vision of the area at odds with the reality that unfolded since, and the complexities faced by communities caught between the challenges of the past and hopes for the future.
In her ongoing series, Poyzer mixes self-portraits and constructed images to create a seemingly surreal and fantastical world. This autobiographical work explores the special interests, passions and obsessions often found in people with autism.
With a longtime fascination for animal shows and pet clubs, the artist poses with taxidermy animals, taking on multiple personalities through her photographs.
As the title suggests, the act of documenting these obsessions becomes a source of joy in itself, allowing the artist to find freedom from the pressure of ‘fitting in’ through the creative process. A celebration of self-acceptance for Poyzer, the work mirrors the artist’s own journey from masking her autism to eventually celebrating her own reality.
Rabikowska travelled 4500 miles along the borders of the former Iron Curtain documenting the contemporary queer culture and their post-Soviet gender identities.
Living in the UK, the Polish artist noticed the stereotypical representations of Eastern Europe and enduring traces of the former world order: the collective identity over individualism, a dominating patriarchy, and sexist stereotypes. While visiting 20 cities, the artist focused on a new generation of female, non-binary, genderfluid and transgender individuals. Like the artist, the 104 participants were mainly born after the Wall came down in 1989.
Rabikowska uses an old Soviet analogue camera Kiev 80, notorious for issues with focal sharpness and light leakage. Colour fading and stains are frequently visible in her images, symbolising a rupture of old structures or the drawing back of the curtain into new realities and alternative spaces.
Focusing on the victims of knife crime and their family members, Oba-Smith takes a sensitive, focused approach to this issue beyond the newspaper headlines. His portraits and photographs of memorials, alongside interviews of those affected, give important insight into the ongoing trauma of survivors and the relatives who have lost a loved one.
Drawing from the artist’s own experience growing up in North London, Oba-Smith challenges the frequent misrepresentation in media coverage and stigmatisation of black communities. By including the community’s voices the series shines awareness on aspects feeding into these crimes such as the closure of youth clubs, gang rivalry, and uncontrolled access to knives.
Focusing on collaborations with residents and associated charities, Oba-Smith successfully shifts the perspective from statistics and numbers to shaping people’s understanding, critical for social and political change.
Presentation of works by British artists is supported by the British Council under the UK/Poland Season 2025.
Association of Polish Artists-Photographers [ZPAF] 8 Zamkowy Square
6PM–11PM – Ujawnienie / Exposure exhibition by Agnieszka Sadowska, curator: Joanna Kinowska
This story takes place in a forest. Near the Polish-Belarusian border.
Agnieszka took these photos because, as a photojournalist, she documents important events. She wants and needs to document them. These are not innocent images.
They reveal. Photographs speak louder than words. That is why each of them has been captioned – a description that usually accompanies reportage photos. So that you don’t have to guess, but see the facts.
On special hangers, there are “newspapers” in which you can see, almost like on a contact sheet, how the intervention took place. In another, you can see what the aid provided to migrants looks like. There you will also find texts that provide a kind of background and context. These include: a timeline of events at the border prepared by journalist Joanna Klimowicz, reflections and excerpts from a conversation with Agnieszka Sadowska written down by photojournalist Maciek Moskwa, and a text about the photos and activities at the border written by director Agnieszka Holland.
Between the exhibition rooms, you will have to walk past a television set.
The film lasts nearly an hour and is a recording of several interventions and conversations recorded in the forest. It is by no means something you would want to watch, especially for nearly an hour. But if you can, stop or sit down for a moment. See what it looked like.
If you don’t understand what they are saying, don’t worry, the point is not to study this film. Listen to the voices themselves, experience the emotions and tension.
6PM–7.45PM – Adventure with the Optics – a workshop for children and youth
Optics is not only about lenses and objectives, but also a series of phenomena: refraction and diffraction of light, optical illusions, explaining the process of perceiving the world and the functioning of the sense of sight.
During the classes, participants will learn about various optical devices – kaleidoscopes, zoetropes, anaglyphs, thaumatropes, “fly eyes,” diffraction grating foils, mirrors, lenses, and prisms. They will learn how the human eye is constructed, why it works similarly to a camera, and why our brain sometimes “tricks” our sense of sight.
The workshops also include a presentation of different types of cameras and how they work. At the end, participants will discover how to use their phone camera creatively to take creative photos.
Anyone who wants to can also make their own optical toy and take it home. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to look at monidła (a type of optical toy) from Karolina Falkiewicz’s collection.
8PM–9PM – an evening of stories: Basilisk’s Eye
The narrative performance Oko Bazyliszka (Basilisk’s Eye) will present Warsaw, its legends, and other stories in a noir version. We will see a city of narrow streets, suspicious pubs, alleys, and dazzling palaces. We will see a vision of a city where, contrary to the laws of reality, nothing is lost, but layers of time accumulate like superimposed photographs. When time is flattened by the power of the story and, as in human memory, things from different times coexist, we will discover the invincible pulse of a city that has always been protected from destruction by memory, action, and storytelling.
The story will be told by Łukasz Szypkowski.
8PM–11PM – presentation of works by the artists affiliated in the Association of Polish Artists-Photographers: Patryk Karbowski and Maria Książek, as well as photos produced as part of the project titled Snapshots. Photographic Archive of Revitalisation (in a loop)
It is estimated that over half of Warsaw’s residents were born outside the city.
For many young people in Poland, migrating to a big city is a natural stage of development and the only opportunity for advancement.
Karbowski’s project is a story about people who leave smaller towns to start a new life in Warsaw. He presents his subjects in everyday situations – studying, working, walking with their children, or in their own newly furnished apartments. Karbowski breaks the image of stability and fulfillment with details that testify to fragility and transience – cigarette butts in a cup, dried flowers, or a messy bathroom. In his photographs, tenderness meets melancholy, and hope is accompanied by a note of uncertainty.
Duration of the screening: approx. 3 minutes
Fotografie powstały w Cape Town. Cykl opowiada o fragmentach miasta, w których tkanka urbanistyczna pobrzmiewa echem apartheidu i współczesnych podziałów społecznych. Betonowa materia, zastana i niezmienna, została w obrazach ochłodzona decyzją autorki, co potęguje wrażenie dystansu. Jeśli pojawiają się ludzie, to jedynie jako elementy obce – w ruchu, unikający spojrzeń, kontrolujących oczu władzy i palącego słońca. Miasto, choć stworzone przez człowieka, zdaje się wypierać jego obecność.
Duration of the screening: approx. 3 minutes
Lengrenówka – Museum of Caricature studio 6/8A Brzozowa St
8PM–11PM – presentation of works by the laureates of the City Limits / Limits Within the City competition and photographs from the Museum of Warsaw collection (in a loop)
A presentation of works by the laureates of the City Limits / Limits Within the City photography competition as well as a special show of photographs which are to be displayed in the Room of Photography at the Museum of Warsaw, about to open on 29 October 2025.
Duration of the competition entries show: approx. 15 minutes
Duration of the show of photographs from the collection of the Museum of Warsaw: approx. 5 minutes
Alina Foundation 31/33 Brzozowa St
8PM–11PM – presentation of the project by Janek Zamoyski Urban Syntheses (in a loop)
This photographic series combines images created with a digital camera and deep learning methods. The artist developed a proprietary model based solely on his own visual practice, which generates new images derived from its characteristic features. The project deliberately blurs the line between photography and synthetic imagery—the viewer is given no information about which works were created traditionally and which were generated.
The series explores the boundaries of photography and image-making at a time when machine tools are becoming an integral part of the creative process.
Duration of the screening: approx. 3-5 minutes
Barbican 15/17 Nowomiejska St
8PM–11PM – presentation of photographs from the Habitat series by Michał Łuczak and the Lost in Between project by Joanna Kinowska (in a loop)
The Vistula River flowing through Warsaw is not fully regulated, which is a unique situation on a European scale. On the right side of the river, practically along its entire length, there is a strip of riparian forest and undeveloped open spaces. This environment has created living conditions for many species of mammals that inhabit these areas permanently. Deer, wild boars, foxes, and beavers have become accustomed to the noise coming from the bridges over the Vistula.
This forest corridor also allows other mammals, such as moose and wolves, to cross the agglomeration to reach areas outside the city.
Habitat is a documentation of animals living within the borders of the Polish capital. So far, photographs have been taken in the areas of Żerań and Tarchomin.
Duration of the screening: approx. 3-5 minutes
The exhibition is a record of a journey along the right-bank border of Warsaw—a place where the city meets “nothingness.”
The artist confronts her childhood memory of a map, on which only a pink stain stretched beyond the border, with the actual image of the suburbs: forests, cemeteries, shopping centers, and random houses growing right next to the city name sign.
It is a story about a border that divides but also connects – about Warsaw ending abruptly and about the space where something new begins.
Project implemented in 2019-2023.
Duration of the screening: approx. 3-5 minutes
Sto Pociech Foundation 20/24A Freta St
8PM–9.20PM – presentation of a selection of the photos shown at the Night of the Year of the Rencontres d’Arles Festival
A showcase of works from the Rencontres d’Arles Festival—the largest and oldest European photography festival, held in the French region of Provence. The festival presents a selection of the best photographic projects from the past twelve months.
9.25PM–9.35PM – presentation of projects by female artists from the Polish Women Photographers collective: Heart in the Centre by Małgorzata Wakuluk, Nolimits by Paulina Holtz
Polish Women Photographers collective is a space for women and non-binary individuals for whom self-realisation and the need to speak out on important social issues through artistic expression in photography are important.
PWP focuses on promoting Polish women photographers while ensuring parity within the photographic community.
The artist decided to transfer what lies beyond the city limits to the metropolis and created surreal postcards depicting a concrete urban jungle, where nature is only imagined or staged, and the characters are taken straight from idyllic holiday pictures.
Where is the line between truth and illusion?
A photographic project about selfless support and the reversal of social roles in the heart of Warsaw.
Every week, beneath the Palace of Culture and Science—in the symbolic center of the capital—a meeting takes place that moves and compels reflection. Foreigners, often in difficult situations themselves, who came to Poland in search of a better life, gather to support those whom our society has rejected — Polish homeless people, people living on the margins, in need of support, understanding, and warmth.
It is an extraordinary, grassroots, and entirely charitable initiative that brings people together across borders, languages, and stereotypes. Volunteers — refugees, migrants, immigrants — distribute food, hygiene products, clothing, and sometimes simply their presence and care. They care for the dignity of people who have often been deprived of it.
The Heart in the Center project documents these weekly meetings—moments of tenderness, solidarity, and reversed social roles. It is a portrait of a city that lives not only in skyscrapers and shopping malls, but above all in the hearts of people who can see another human being where others look indifferently.
9.40PM–11PM – presentation of a selection of photos shown at the Night of the Year of the Rencontres d’Arles Festival
Museum of Warsaw, Syrena Cinema 42 Old Town Market Square
8.30PM–9.30PM – Quality of Photography – a meeting with Bownik, ambassador of Fujifilm
The artist will discuss his approach to photography, where technical precision is combined with artistic vision.
He will also talk with the audience about his workflow, equipment and the creative process behind his photos. He will also share his experiences in building visual narratives and the importance of detail in photography. Additionally, he will address the impact of analogue technology on image quality and the possibilities offered today by the quality equipment.
Meeting will be held in Polish.
Biographies of the competition jury
Since 2015, she has been the president of the ING Polish Art Foundation and curator of its collection. As part of this activity, she created a pioneering educational program called Artist — Professional, aimed at visual artists. Since 2021, she has been co-running Fotoklub, a micro-institution dedicated to historical and contemporary photography. In 2024, she headed the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. She is the author of exhibitions and publications on contemporary art and collecting. She is a member of the Program Council of the EL Gallery in Elbląg.
Art historian and exhibition curator. Graduate of the University of Warsaw, author of texts on architecture and art.
He works at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, is the curator of the Oskar and Zofia Hansen’s house in Szumin, and co-creator of the festival dedicated to urban issues, “Warsaw Under Construction.”
He received the Jerzy Stajuda Prize for Art Criticism and the Architectural Prize of the Mayor of Warsaw for the exhibition “Spór o odbudowę” (The dispute over reconstruction) (2015).
Photographer, documentary filmmaker, and visual artist. She graduated in photography from the Lodz Film School and currently teaches photography at the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities.
Author of the book “9 bram, z powrotem ani jednej”(9 Gates, Not a Single One Back) (2017). She regularly publishes in domestic and foreign magazines, and her work has been shown in Spanish, Iranian, and Polish art galleries.
She has recently collaborated with film professionals Jonathan Glazer, Charlie Kaufman, and Chloé Zhao.
Independent curator, photo editor, author, and photographer. As an art historian, she specializes in photography.
She works at Służewski Dom Kultury (Służew Culture Center) as the cultural education manager. She is sometimes a juror for competitions and a reviewer of portfolio reviews.
She is the founder of the blog Miejsce fotografii (Place of Photography), runs workshops entitled “Myślenie fotografią” (Thinking with Photography) and co-organizes the Photographic Publication of the Year competition.
She collaborates with Przekrój, Fotopolis, and Kwartalnik Fotografia.
Photographer, visual artist, and curator. He works mainly with photography and video. A graduate of the Institute of Creative Photography at the University of Silesia in Opava, Czech Republic, and Iberian Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Since 2010, he has been part of the Sputnik Photos collective.
In recent years, he has focused on the complex and interesting relationship between humans and the natural environment and their immediate surroundings.
He is the author of the photography books Brutal (2012), Koło miejsca/Elementarz (together with Krzysztof Siwczyk, 2016), and 11.41 (together with Filip Springer, 2016).
Art and photography historian, Doctor of Humanities, curator.
Since 2021, she has been the director of the Museum of Warsaw. From 1999 to 2010, she was associated with Zachęta — National Gallery of Art, from 2008 to 2014 she was the director of the Archaeology of Photography Foundation, which she founded together with Karolina Puchała-Rojek, and from 2014 to 2020 she was a curator in the photography department of the Pompidou Center in Paris.
She has curated over a dozen exhibitions, including the extensive presentation “Fotomontaż polski w XX-leciu międzywojennym” (Polish Photomontage in the Interwar Period) (2003), “Dokumentalistki — polskie fotografki 20 wieku” (Documentalists — Polish Women Photographers of the 20th Century) (2008), and “Moi Ver” (2023).
Biographies of creators
Mobile app developer from Minsk.
She takes photos while traveling, during long-distance runs, and in moments of silence—most often of friends, cities, and nature. She uses an analog camera—preferably a compact Olympus mju, which she always has at hand. She is inspired by movement—when everything around her is changing, her camera allows her to capture fleeting moments.
Visual artist and lecturer at the National Film, Television and Theater School in Łódź. Author of numerous exhibitions, institutional shows, and art books. A photographer by training, he develops his creative practice around recurring themes of dismantling and reproduction, as well as constructing models of spaces and objects.
His works are included in public collections, including: the National Museum, Poznań; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Wrocław; MUFO Museum of Photography, Kraków; Huis Marseille, Museum voor fotografie, Amsterdam; the Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw; the National Library, Warsaw; and the ING Collection, Amsterdam.
Author of publications: Undercoat, 2022 (Hatje Cantz), Colours of Lost Time, 2021 (bownikstudio), Disassembly, 2014 (Mundin).
Photographer and director Serena Brown uses the influence of her culturally diverse upbringing to inform her practice. She grew up in West London in the 2000s in a family with a migration background.
Serena emphasises her subjects at the heart of each image, focusing on themes of identity and representation throughout her work and has adopted a social documentary style captured through a fashion lens, conveying a sense of honesty and community in every project.
Serena’s work has bene exhibited across the country including at the National Portrait Gallery as one of the winner of the prestigious Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2023.
A 2012 graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Wrocław. He lives in Warsaw, where he works professionally with railway simulators. After hours, he trains in boxing, watches cycling races, and travels around Poland.
He treats photography as a language through which he can communicate what he sees and feels. In his work, he primarily documents his hiking trips around Poland.
A mobile and web interface designer from Minsk. She has been living outside Belarus for over three years – first in Georgia for a year, and now in Poland.
She has been taking photographs since childhood: from flower beds in her grandmother’s garden on film, to photos of friends and everyday scenes with a digital camera and phone. In exile, she returned to analog photography, trying to capture the delicate and extraordinary moments of a new chapter in her life.
Actress. She is a graduate of the Theatre Academy in Warsaw and, privately, a sports enthusiast, particularly in shooting and strength training.
Holtz is also involved in photography. She is the author of exhibitions and a two-time winner of the Fujifilm Poland competition.
A graduate of the Film School in Łódź. Photographer and director of short films.
In photography, he is interested in searching for major social and historical phenomena in so-called ordinariness. He is a proponent of placing multi-photo narratives in art books. Author of several such publications about apartment blocks, teenagers, medium-sized cities, and being a “jar.” In advertising and music videos, he always seeks inspiration in social observations.
Lewis Khan is a photographic artist born and raised in London.
Working with stills and motion, his portrait based practice is a study of emotion, relationships and belonging. With a keen eye for observation and a personal interest in community as a driving force in his work, Lewis’ practice acts as social commentary.
Independent curator, photo editor, author, and photographer. As an art historian, she specializes in photography.
She works at Służewski Dom Kultury (Służew Culture Center) as the cultural education manager. She is sometimes a juror for competitions and a reviewer of portfolio reviews.
She is the founder of the blog Miejsce fotografii (Place of Photography), runs workshops entitled “Myślenie fotografią” (Thinking with Photography) and co-organizes the Photographic Publication of the Year competition.
She collaborates with Przekrój, Fotopolis, and Kwartalnik Fotografia.
Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the Warsaw University of Technology, exhibition artist.
For 30 years, owner of the interior design studio GocaDesign. Graduate of the Academy of Photography in Warsaw, ZPAF College, and first-year student at ITF in Opava.
In photography, she uses two extremely different means of expression: creative photography and reportage – focusing on people, their emotions, actions, searches, and the traces they leave behind.
Photographer, visual artist, and curator. He works mainly with photography and video. A graduate of the Institute of Creative Photography at the University of Silesia in Opava, Czech Republic, and Iberian Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Since 2010, he has been part of the Sputnik Photos collective.
In recent years, he has focused on the complex and interesting relationship between humans and the natural environment and their immediate surroundings.
He is the author of the photography books Brutal (2012), Koło miejsca/Elementarz (together with Krzysztof Siwczyk, 2016), and 11.41 (together with Filip Springer, 2016).
Nina Manandhar is a London based artist and curator working with photography, digital archives and participation. In her practice, Nina explores the relationship between place, style and identity. She is the author of What We Wore – A People’s History of British Style; a photographic documentary of street and subculture viewed through the lens of the people living it.
With a background facilitating youth led initiatives and collectives, her role as an educator continues to inform her practice. In 2021, she joined Central Saint Martins as Stage Two Leader, BA Fashion Communication.
Photographer, filmmaker, workshop leader, graduate of Urban Studies at the University of Warsaw. Currently employed at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology.
For him, photography is a tool for highlighting spatial, social, economic, and ecological processes taking place in the city. In photography, he moves between different genres: from classic reportage, through documentary and creative photography, to portraiture.
His works have been featured in publications and group exhibitions as part of the Mój Fyrtel 2021 workshop organized by Pix House in Poznań and the Reinterpretacje (2025) workshop at the Theater Institute.
Cian Oba-Smith is an Irish Nigerian photographer born and raised in London.
His work focuses on communities and subcultures around the world with a particular interest in approaching subjects that are often misrepresented with a view to presenting them in an alternate light. The relationship between human experience and environment is at the core of his projects.
British documentary photographer known for his satirical and anthropological photographs depicting everyday life and class divisions in England. His most famous projects include The Last Resort, The Cost of Living, Small World, and Common Sense.
He has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1994. From 2014 to 2017, he served as president of Magnum Photos International. In 2017, he opened the Martin Parr Foundation in Bristol.
Alice Poyzer is a British photographer, based in Lincolnshire. Poyzer’s work looks predominantly on documentary, portraiture and constructed imagery. The drive to be seen and heard as a neurodivergent woman acts as the main catalyst behind her photographic work, with images recently being shown at Paris Photo under the Carte Blanche Award and Photo Vogue in Milan, as a shortlisted artist for the Phmuseum’s Women Photographers Grant.
She has won the British Journal of Photography Female in Focus Award under her current ongoing project ‘Other Joys’.
Zula is a London-based photographer and videographer who creates documentary work focused on migration, identity, and LGBTQI+ communities.
Zula’s documentary practice is influenced by her own experience as a migrant moving from Poland to the UK. Her practice highlights the complexity of identity, by honouring and prioritising stories through an intentional approach. She specialises in portraiture.
A visual artist who works at the intersection of photography, graphic design, and reportage combined with creative photography. Her works often contain an element of mystery, which stems from her childhood discovery of the camera obscura phenomenon.
A graduate of UMCS in Lublin, the Warsaw School of Photography, and the Sputnik Photos and Pix.house Foundation mentoring programs. Co-founder of the DJAM collective. Winner of the CSW Director’s Award “Wystaw się w Toruniu” (2023).
Her works have been exhibited in solo exhibitions: “Magicians of Water” in Warsaw (2024), “Szepty Wierzby Nurty Zaklęcia” (Whispers of the Willow, Currents of Spells) at the Center for Contemporary Art in Toruń (2024), and ‘Wãsorë’ during the 13th Opole Photography Festival (2023), as well as in group exhibitions: “Uścisk Persefony” (Persephone’s Embrace) in Warsaw (2024), “2022 Through the Lenses of Polish Photographers” in Warsaw and other cities (2023) and “No.11” in Warsaw and Łódź (2022).
She lives in Warsaw.
Artist, photographer, curator, academic lecturer.
Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, France. He obtained his doctorate in photography at the Faculty of Graphic Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.
For over twenty years, he has been creating photographic projects related to the transformation of landscape and architecture.
He has presented his work at exhibitions in Poland and abroad, including in France, the United States, Canada, China, Germany, Morocco, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Spain, as well as at photography biennials and festivals (Sopot, Arles, Krakow, Poznań, Łódź). He is the recipient of awards and artistic scholarships from, among others, Kulturkontakt (Vienna), Artist in Residence program, 18th Street Art Center (California), Mécènes du Sud (Marseille), Drac Paca (France), and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
Photographer and visual artist, primarily interested in the political nature of landscape and technology.
Graduate of journalism and social communication at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and photography at the University of Arts in Poznań. Finalist in national and international competitions for the best artistic diploma, including the Best Diplomas of the Academy of Fine Arts 2016 (Gdańsk) and the StartPoint Prize 2016 (Prague). Recipient of the Konrad Pustoła Memorial Scholarship (2017), the Visual and Sound Arts Residency Program of the Visegrad Fund (Trafó Gallery, Budapest, 2021) and the Warsaw Biennale (2020).
His works can be found in the collection of the Arsenał Municipal Gallery in Poznań and the art collection of the Raffles Europejski Hotel in Warsaw.
He was the editor of the magazines Magenta, Postmedium, and BLOK. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of the magazine Widok. Teorie i Praktyki Kultury Wizualnej (View: Theories and Practices of Visual Culture).
Professionally associated with the Visual Narratives Laboratory and the Film School in Łódź.
For over nine years, she has been engaged in digital photography, documenting people, places, and perspectives. Her favorite projects are those related to humans—their stories, emotions, and surroundings.
She is the founder of the Polish Women Photographers association.
She was born in Poland but currently lives in the mountains of Spain.
Visual artist, photographer, art curator. In 2010, he co-founded the Czułość gallery, which has become an important platform for young contemporary photography in Poland. Author of conceptual series such as Heave Away and Antarctic Typology.
He has exhibited his work in Poland and abroad, including Spain, France, and Japan.
Institutional Partners
The foundation supports emerging, established, and underappreciated photographers who have created and continue to create work focused on the United Kingdom and Ireland. It also organizes exhibitions, conducts extensive educational activities, and creates and preserves collections of photographic works.
The foundation’s goal is to reflect the diversity of British and Irish culture and to strive to make photography engaging and accessible to all.
One of the largest museums of art and crafts. Founded in 1852, it has a rich collection including fashion, ceramics, furniture, textiles, and photographs.
The museum’s photography collection includes over 500,000 photographs dating back to the beginnings of the field. The oldest photograph dates back to 1839. As early as 1858, when the museum was called the South Kensington Museum, the world’s first international photography exhibition was organized there.
The collection includes works by many outstanding photographers, such as Fox Talbot, Julia Margaret Cameron, Viscountess Clementina Hawarden, Gustave Le Gray, Benjamin Brecknell Turner, Frederick Hollyer, Samuel Bourne, Roger Fenton, Man Ray, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ilse Bing, Bill Brandt, Cecil Beaton, Don McCullin, David Bailey, Jim Lee, and Helen Chadwick, as well as contemporary artists.
The photography gallery in London was founded in 1971 as the first public gallery in the UK dedicated exclusively to photography. Over the years, it has exhibited the work of renowned photographers from around the world and supported the development of young talent.
The gallery organizes prestigious awards such as the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize and the BarTur Photo Award.
Since 2012, it has been housed in a modern building in Soho, offering exhibitions and educational programs, among other things.
A new venue, gallery, and art foundation.
The organization’s headquarters are located in a space that was once the studio of sculptor Alina Szapocznikow in the 1960s. By using the artist’s name as its name, the foundation aims to commemorate her on the one hand, and on the other, through the presentation and promotion of contemporary artistic strategies, it wants to refer to Szapocznikow’s creative attitude. She was characterized above all by her courage in experimenting with matter, form, and subject matter, as well as breaking taboos (searching for the tangibility of life, corporeality, transience, transgression, agency).
Treating the sculptor’s history as an interesting starting point, ALINA is establishing an exhibition laboratory.
Instagram: @fundacjaalina
Completed in 2022, the Integrated Revitalization Program of the Capital City of Warsaw and its planned successor will completely transform the right bank of the capital. Praga, Targówek, Grochów, and Kamionek are changing beyond recognition.
Snapshots. Photographic Archive of Revitalization (Migawki. Fotograficzne Archiwum Rewitalizacji) was created to observe this great transformation while it is still underway. In the future, the photo database built in this way will become a source of knowledge about the past and present of Warsaw – invaluable for researchers and gaining value with each passing year separating us from the formal completion of the revitalization programs.
Polish Women Photographers (PWP) is a nationwide association founded in 2020 that supports, promotes, and connects Polish female artists working with photography, creating a space for women and non-binary people in this field.
PWP works toward gender equality in the photography community and organizes exhibitions, publications, and events that showcase the work of Polish women photographers and promote photographic education.
It is a creative-professional association (operating since 1947). It brings together Polish photographers working in various photographic styles – from classical to avant-garde.
The main goal of ZPAF is to promote and develop contemporary photography, as well as to preserve the achievements of artists in this field.
Night of Photography colophon
Originator of the event: Karolina Ziębińska
Night of photography curators: Karolina Puchała-Rojek, Julia Staniszewska
Coordination and production: Ewa Jadacka
Production: Logistics and Technical Department (Dział Logistyczno-Techniczny), Filip Wielechowski-Olszak, Tomasz Raubo
Technical support and implementation: technical team of the Museum of Warsaw and Audio Capital
Administration and Service Department (Dział Administracyjno-Serwisowy): Iwona Morawińska, Paulina Biedrzycka-Zajkowska
Communication: Anna Dobrowolska-Balcerzak, Anna Ładna, Ewa Jadacka, Martyna Sowińska, Nela Sobieszczańska, Dorian Widawski, Olga Gaertner
Graphic design: Joanna Bębenek, photography: Alija Magomadova, from the series New Warsawers (Nowi Warszawiacy / Nowe Warszawianki), 2019, collection of the Museum of Warsaw
Projection editing:
- Julia Klewaniec, Maciek Bernaś, Miłosz Kowalewski – projection from the Martin Parr Foundation, projection from the V&A Museum collection;
- Anna Koc-Wittels – projections by competition winners and projection from the Museum of Warsaw collection, Room of Photographs;
- Piotr Kornobis – trailer and teaser;
- Jarek Grześkowiak, Agata Matusz – projection by artists from the Photographers’ Gallery
Cooperation with British partners: Wanda Kaczor
Legal services: Małgorzata Gońda, Elwira Magdziak, Katarzyna Radecka
Security Department (Dział Bezpieczeństwa): Edward Nowak
Marketing Department (Dział Marketingu): Agata Fijałkowska, Karina Dąbska
Museum Services Department (Dział Obsługi Muzeum): Barbara Rosiak
Volunteer coordination: Karolina Kędzierska
