Program 2026

September 18–20, 2026, Sosnowiec (Poland) – Zamek Sielecki
Program for the 2026 edition:

1. Paper Photo Award – a competition for photobooks published between January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026 (prize: 2,300 euros)
2. Paper Photo Dummy Award – a competition for dummies (prize: 1,150 euros)
3. Main Program – curated exhibitions of photobooks:
   – Why We Look at…? – exhibition of posthumanist photobooks (curator: Rafał Siderski)
   – I like it when things aren’t simple – a monographic exhibition of publications designed by Aneta Kowalczyk [Blow Up Press],
   – Visual diplomacy. Photobooks from Hungary (curator: Katarzyna Zolich)
   + post-competition exhibition,
4. “Contexts” Program – exhibitions:
   – Paweł Żak: It Is and It Isn’t
   – Krzysztof Ślachciak: Conditionally Accepted
5. Paper Academy – a survey of photography publications created at art colleges
6. Book fair, meetings, premieres, and lots of fun!

Preliminary schedule for the opening weekend:

Friday, September 18:

• 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Polaroid emulsion transfer workshop led by Katarzyna Navarra, culminating in the creation of a collaborative zine [to be completed on Saturday morning],
• 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM – photography publication fair + Paper Academy,
• 6:00 PM – official festival opening and main program exhibitions opening,
• 7:00 PM – lecture by Dr. Jakub Dziewit on photobooks [topic – coming soon!],
• 9:00 PM – public screening of the film Please Do Not Sit (dir. Piotr Małecki) about Wojciech Plewiński in the garden of Sielecki Castle.

Saturday, September 19:

• 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM – photography publication fair + Paper Academy,
• 12:00 PM – presentation of the post-workshop zine,
• 12:30 PM – 4:00 PM – meet-and-greets with Paweł Żak and Krzysztof Ślachciak, as well as with the competition finalists (shortlist),
• 5:00 PM – guided tour by Aneta Kowalczyk of the exhibition I Like It When It’s Not Simple,
• 7:00 PM – awards gala + opening of the Paper Photo Award post-competition exhibition,
• 8:30 PM – open-air film screening [title – coming soon!] in the garden of Sielecki Castle.

Sunday, September 20

• 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM – photography publication fair + Paper Academy,
• 12:00 PM – curatorial tour of the exhibition Why We Look at…? [Rafał Siderski],
• 1:00 PM – curatorial tour of the exhibition Visual Diplomacy. Photobooks from Hungary [Katarzyna Zolich],
• 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM – meet-and-greets with creators of photobooks,
• 6:00 PM – open meeting with the festival jury.

The full schedule of author meetings will be announced on September 8.