Bristol Photo Festival, (multi-venue), opening week: 14th – 18th October 2026 – festival exhibitions run until 15th November 2026

Header image: Joy Gregory , Stockwell Siren from the series Celebrity Blonde, 2003 performance © Joy Gregory

Bristol Photo Festival, the international biennial of contemporary photography, has announced the exhibition programme for its third edition, Time Machine. Opening this autumn, with the opening week from 14th – 18th October 2026, the festival introduces nine major exhibitions and a landmark historical exhibition across Bristol’s leading museums, galleries, historic buildings and independent spaces. Drawing on the success of its second edition, which attracted over 115,000 visitors, it brings together internationally acclaimed artists alongside significant voices from the UK and beyond. All exhibitions are free to visit, with donations welcome.

Entitled Time Machine, the third edition of Bristol Photo Festival explores time not as a linear progression but as something layered, cyclical and continually unfolding. Across photography, moving image, archives and installation, the featured artists consider how histories persist within the present, how personal and collective memories shape contemporary experience, and how culture can help imagining alternative futures. Rather than documenting fixed moments, the exhibition programme presents photography as a medium through which time accumulates, folds back upon itself and remains open to reinterpretation.

Photos by Kegham, Djeghalian Sr. Courtesy of Kegham Djeghalian Jr

Alejandro Acín, Festival Director, says: “Time Machine brings together artists and curators whose work reminds us that the present is never singular. Every photograph carries traces of multiple temporalities — memories that continue to shape us, histories that refuse to disappear and futures that remain open to possibility. At a time when cultural organisations across the UK face significant challenges, this edition is also a testament to the power of collaboration. It has only been possible through the commitment of artists, funders, partners and communities who believe that this festival can help us better understand the complexity of the world we inhabit.”

Presented in collaboration with Arnolfini; Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; Martin Parr Foundation; the British Council; Whitechapel Gallery; Institut français du Royaume-Uni; Institut Ramon Llull; Acción Cultural Española; Liverpool John Moores University and other local and national partners, the programme reflects Bristol Photo Festival’s commitment to developing ambitious collaborations across the cultural sector. These partnerships enable the Festival to commission new work, present UK premieres and create exhibitions that connect international photographic practice with Bristol’s own social, cultural and historical contexts.

More details on the festival’s website here

Published 17th September