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Photo London 2026 moves to Olympia amid criticism

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Photo London 2026 moves to Olympia amid criticism
Key Points
  • Photo London 2026 moves to Olympia amid criticism over venue and transport issues.
  • Paz Errázuriz's first major UK solo exhibition reveals hidden realities of Chile.
  • Young photographers respond to identity and social issues in London exhibition.

3 billion redevelopment. Keith Tomlinson, a regular attendee, criticized the move, describing the venue as uninspired, chaotic, and lacking personality. He noted transport issues, with no District Line service on one day of a conference he attended, and suggested the decision may be cost-cutting.

Tomlinson is considering not attending for the first time in 10 years. Meanwhile, Chilean photographer Paz Errázuriz's first major solo UK exhibition, 'Paz Errázuriz: Dare to Look – Hidden Realities of Chile', is at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes, featuring 171 photographs. Errázuriz, born in Santiago in 1944, trained as a primary school teacher and studied at the Cambridge Institute of Education.

We hope the work stands as a testament to the men's enduring spirit and as an example of new forms of community.

Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph, Artists

Her work, held by Tate Modern and MoMA, includes the series 'Adam's Apple', for which she photographed trans sex workers in Santiago brothels between 1982 and 1987. She faced censorship during the dictatorship; a photograph of a naked man's reflection was removed from a group exhibition. Her first photobook, 'Amalia, Diary of a Chicken', depicted a household through a chicken's perspective.

In London, a new exhibition by photographers aged 16 to 19, working with Autograph and University of Arts London, responds to the political and social climate. One series represents cultural hybridity, focusing on mixed Algerian and Indian-Punjabi ethnicity. Another project, 'The Fluid State', explores gender fluidity through dance-inspired gestures.

It was beautiful. They trusted me.

Paz Errázuriz, Photographer

A third empowers queer youth through glitter portraits and interviews about identity. One series uses bold colours and dance gestures as a metaphor for overcoming challenges faced by marginalised communities. A photographer's work celebrates black skin and identity, aiming to make people feel proud.

A diptych portrays the impact of music on the photographer's life, with a subject listening to headphones. The collaborative series 'Bibby Boys' by Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph documents the experience of men aboard the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland, Dorset. Shot over more than a year, the project focuses on daily life, waiting, and relationships during asylum interviews.

The exhibition supports artists of colour and enriches London's culture dialogue.

Bianca Saunders, Curator

The artists worked from outside the barge as they had no access to it. McInnes and Ralph said they hope the work stands as a testament to the men's enduring spirit and as an example of new forms of community. Jermaine Francis's exhibition 'The Invisibles' documents London's homeless crisis through photographs of tents.

uk, Francis described not enjoying making the project and cited Shelter's research that there are about 300,000 homeless people in the UK. The exhibition included an auction of works by artists like Robi Rodriguez and Lena C Emery to support charities. Photo London 2026 will feature returning galleries such as HackelBury Fine Art, Akio Nagasawa, FishEye, and Curatorial.

I didn't enjoy making the project. Shelter's research says there are about 300,000 homeless people in the UK.

Jermaine Francis, Photographer

HackelBury will show Alys Tomlinson's 'Gli Isolani'. Akio Nagasawa will present Daidō Moriyama's post-war Japan street photography and Sakiko Nomura's male nudes. The Photographers Gallery will show Sayuri Ichida's work.

A focused selection of Central and Eastern European and Latin American galleries will be placed between the main gallery area and Discovery Section. The Talks Programme runs from 13 to 16 May 2026, opening with 'Collecting Cultures: Personal, Foundation & Institutional Perspectives' moderated by Tim Marlow. Alys Tomlinson and Sabina Jaskot-Gill will discuss portraiture in 'Looking for the Silence, Portraiture and Photography'.

Brave and defiant warriors.

Donna Gottschalk, Photographer

Alejandro Cegarra and Alfredo Jaar will be in conversation moderated by Charlotte Jansen, presented by Prix Pictet and Leica Oskar Barnack Award. Justine Kurland and Fiona Rogers will have a semi-performative conversation on photography, collage, and feminist practice. A photography fair, described by major media as risk-taking, features subjects including Parisian sex workers, Ibiza party-goers, and twins matched across continents.

The exact name and date of this fair have not been confirmed. Vincent Wechselberger's graduation project aimed to destigmatize sex workers' experiences, based on two years of interviews and photography in locations like Bangkok and Berlin. Wechselberger started sex work as a teenager after receiving a message from an older man on a dating app, and noted that sex workers share common stories and challenges across different cultures.

Other exhibitions include 'Liminality 2026' by final year BA Photography students at the University of Northampton. The Winning Fund, a legacy partnership in memory of photographer Andrew Winning, launches with an exhibition of his work. Photofusion presents the Creators' Studio, a workshop and mentoring programme for young people in council and social housing in Lambeth, and SALON/25, its annual members' exhibition featuring over 80 members.

'Celebration as Resistance' explores the legacy of carnival in London, featuring Wolfgang Suschitzky's project on Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. The exhibition 'Nearness', curated by Bianca Saunders for UK Black History Month in Brixton Village in October 2019, included works by Akinola Davies Jr, Jazz Grant, Caleb Femi, and Ronan Mckenzie. Saunders said the exhibition supports artists of colour and enriches London's culture dialogue.

The Outsider Art Fair Paris 2020 will feature 'Sexual Personae', an exhibition on representations of women in outsider art, curated by Alison M. Gingeras, including artists such as Henry Darger, Elisabetta Zangrandi, and Eugene von Bruenchenhein. According to the source, outsider artists' conceptions of women are less burdened by formal traditions than academically trained artists.

Donna Gottschalk's exhibition 'We Others' pairs her photographs with texts by Hélène Giannecchini. Gottschalk grew up in New York's Lower East Side in the 1950s and was involved in early lesbian, trans, and gay rights movements. She described her subjects as brave and defiant warriors.

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The Guardian - Main UKphotolondon.orgthephotographersgallery.org.ukhyperallergic.comwww.polyesterzine.com+7
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Photo London 2026 moves to Olympia amid criticism | Reed News