Photoworks Festival runs 2 October to 1 November with 13 exhibitions across Brighton & Hove, from Brighton Museum to Jubilee Library, plus talks and workshops.

Photoworks Festival returns to Brighton & Hove from Friday 2 October to Sunday 1 November, with 13 exhibitions spread across galleries, museums, the University of Brighton and Jubilee Library. The theme for 2026 is Un/Stable: Lands, Anxieties, Dreams, and the programme looks at climate change, belonging, resilience and social change (Photoworks Festival 2026).

Photoworks is a photography charity (registered charity 1053208) with three decades of publishing and exhibition-making behind it. This edition is directed by Louise Fedotov-Clements and supported by Arts Council England. Each venue sets its own opening times, so check the exhibitions listings before you set out.

The opening weekend

The festival front-loads its first three days:

  • Friday 2 October: a full-day conference on the festival theme at the University of Brighton’s School of Art and Media, 9.30am to 6pm; exhibition openings across the venues, 6pm to 8pm; and Queer History Clubbing, a late event at The Oculist in central Brighton, 8pm to 1am.
  • Saturday 3 October: Open Portfolios at POST in Hove, 5.30pm to 7pm, and Mini Photographers, a day for families at Hove Museum of Creativity with sessions at 11am, 1pm and 2.30pm.
  • Sunday 4 October: a guided tour of the festival venues with talks, and a photocopy zine-making workshop with Matt Martin at POST.

Booking details for each are on the events page.

The exhibitions

Exhibition Venue Dates
Antinomies of Remembrance Dorset Place Gallery, Kemptown 2 Oct to 1 Nov
Tessa Boffin: Where We Touch The Archive, Draft 3 Phoenix Art Space 2 to 18 Oct
Pseudomorphs and Fighting Fish Regency Town House, Brunswick Square 2 to 18 Oct
Bones of Our Land Gallery Lock In 2 to 25 Oct
Playing With Your Eyes Hove Museum of Creativity 2 Oct to 18 Jan 2027
And So I Watch You From Afar / The Most Beautiful Anthropocene Brighton Museum & Art Gallery 2 Oct to 18 Jan 2027
Putting Ourselves in the Picture University of Brighton, Edward Street 2 Oct to 1 Nov
Bridges University of Brighton, Wilmot Gallery 2 Oct to 1 Nov
The Weight of the Earth University of Brighton, room 101 2 Oct to 1 Nov
Where We Meet Jubilee Library 2 Oct to 1 Nov
When the Earth Gives Birth POST, Hove 2 and 4 Oct
Photobook Table: Un/Stable Pages POST, Hove 2 and 4 Oct
Ukraine: Life Un/Broken see listing 16 to 18 Oct

Two shows outlast the festival by months: the Hove Museum of Creativity and Brighton Museum & Art Gallery exhibitions both run until 18 January 2027.

Later in the month

The programme keeps going after the opening weekend. Highlights from the listings: an artist talk with Holly Birtles at POST on 6 October, a film night on 15 October, a Ukraine: Life Un/Broken fundraising night with a screening and artist talk on 16 October, a photobook club with Amin Yousefi on 20 October, and a second family day at Hove Museum of Creativity on 24 October. Photography workshops run at POST on 24, 25 and 31 October, from pinhole processes to an introduction to digital photography.

What it means for you

The festival lands across the whole city, so some of it will be on your doorstep: Jubilee Library in the centre, POST and the Regency Town House in Hove, Dorset Place in Kemptown. Some events carry charges: Photoworks says its Friends members receive free or discounted entry to all festival exhibitions and events, so check the individual listing for prices and booking before travelling.

The organisation is also recruiting volunteers for the festival; register interest by emailing volunteer@photoworks.org.uk. And if a month of photography is not enough, Photoworks points visitors to the separate Photo Fringe programme, which also runs through October.

Getting there: most venues are central, and parking near the seafront and North Laine is tight on weekends, so the parking in Brighton page covers the car parks and zones, and things to do in Brighton has the rest of the month’s options.

Sources