The artists nominated by

For 25 years, Fotofestiwal has served as a platform for artistic presentation, inspiration, and exchange. Alongside its curated program, the festival’s Open Program—based on an international open call—remains a vital component of its structure. In 2026 the first edition of the Fotofestiwal Grant was launched. It is dedicated to supporting the production and exhibition of a new project by an artist from Poland or living in Poland. Together, these two initiatives allow us to closely observe current developments in photography—emerging tendencies, formal experiments, and urgent thematic concerns. They also formed the basis for selecting artists to join the Futures platform. The selection process unfolded in two stages: first, the Fotofestiwal team created a shortlist based on submissions to the Open Program and the Fotofestiwal Grant. In the second stage, an expert panel composed of Julia Klewaniec (visual artist, curator, member of Picture Doc Foundation, and Futures Talent 2022), Grażyna Siedlecka (independent curator), and Marta Szymańska (Fotofestiwal curator) made the final nominations.

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When searching artists for Futures Talents, we focus on artists living and creating in the region, of Polish origin, or based in Poland, who are at a pivotal moment in their careers—ready to benefit from and contribute to the international Futures community. We look for artists with a strong, distinctive visual language and a clear artistic vision. And all artists joining the platform in 2026 demonstrates a highly individual and recognizable approach to the medium.