July 23-27, 2025
CONFERENCES of
EXPERIMENTAL 2025 ONLINE!
19 conferences, 64 artists, and 28 hours of presentations, from July 23rd to 26th, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM (CET). You can watch them simultaneously or recorded afterwards. Choose the experience that best suits your needs! 👇
Language of the title indicates the language of the conference.
WED. 07/23
DAY 1
15.00 - 16.00 CONF. Tramas Mestizas: El Arte como Medio Descolonizador con Marystela Camacho + Vilena Figueira
Tramas Mestizas is an artistic project that reinterprets Peru’s historical memory through the intervention of archival photographs, using mixed techniques such as watercolor, embroidery, and beadwork. These interventions not only create new textures and forms, filling the images with vibrant colors, but also evoke the cultural and sensory fusions that emerged during the colonial period, as a result of the encounter between two Worlds. This project seeks decolonization through art, offering a new perspective on the Eurocentric traditions and customs under which we still live, despite being a free people. The project uses art and heritage as a vehicle for healing and empowerment, visually reinterpreting our past and promoting a new narrative that dignifies the mestizo cultural legacy.
16:00 - 17:00 CONF. El Poder de Convocatoria Inherente a la Fotografía con Rafael Paris
This conference analyzes how photography has been perceived, since its invention, as a tool capable of retaining or summoning the photographed subject, due to its connection with the real world. On the early morning his grandfather Antonio passed away, he found a photograph of him and felt that his presence was returning, asking for something, seeking a reunion. Rafael began a photographic project in which, starting from passport photos of absent or deceased people, he studied their material composition. These small images are placed on X-ray film and exposed to light, revealing their physical characteristics and exploring their formal qualities. Thus, the project presents photography as a metaphysical communication agent: the medium's ability to connect with what is not physically present, but is summoned in the very moment of viewing.
17.30 - 19.00 CONF. Glass, Light, and Time: A Journey Through the Wet Plate Process con Quinn Jacobson
Glass, Light, and Time: A Journey Through the Wet Plate Process is an in-depth exploration of one of photography’s most haunting and hands-on techniques. Artist and scholar Quinn Jacobson traces the 19th-century origins of the wet collodion process, its decline, and its powerful contemporary revival. Blending historical insight with personal narrative, Jacobson reflects on how this fragile, time-bound method becomes a tool for confronting memory, mortality, and meaning. Featuring his own work—including the Ghost Dance series and In the Shadow of Sun Mountain—this talk offers a rare look at how an obsolete process can become a living philosophy of artmaking.
THU. 07/24
DAY 2
10.00 - 11.00 CONF. Exposiciones con Marta Fábregas + Javier Talavera + Lorena Grabinski + Clara Garrido + Sofía Silva + Marc Ávila Català
In this talk, the artists featured in the exhibitions of the VI Experimental Photo Festival 2025 will present their projects and working processes in Spanish. Through their experiences, they will share the ideas, techniques, and reflections that have shaped their works, creating a space for dialogue between creators and audience.
11.00 - 12.00 CONF. Presentation of the First Report on the Current State of Photography Festivals Worldwide by the International Photography Festivals Association (IPFA)
At this conference, IPFA directors, Pablo Giori and Laura Ligari, provides a brief overview of the development of this pioneering association, which was created to foster collaboration, innovation, and professionalization within the photography festival community. The focus of this talk will be the presentation of the First Report on the Current State of Photography Festivals Around the World. This global research has gathered information on the cultural and social impact of photography festivals worldwide to better understand the panorama of these events and their evolution.
12.30 - 13.30 CONF. Faces that Disappear - A Sustainable Photographic Process with Wendel Alves de Medeiros
This conference discusses a visual arts investigation that uses experimental and sustainable photographic processes, with art and politics as a background through artivism. It is an experiment/research that uses sunlight to expose and print the faces of disappeared Brazilian political dissidents on newsprint through stencil masks. This sustainable technique, used in an urban art intervention, revealed the faces of people who were tortured during the Brazilian military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985
15.00 - 16.00 CONF. Narrative and Message in Historical and Contemporary Photo Artists’ Books with Fruma Markowitz + Catalina de la Cruz
What is a Photo Artist’s Book? Catalina De la Cruz and Fruma Markowitz will guide you through some key historical and contemporary reference points that ask you to consider how you might define this for yourself, especially within the context of experimental photographic processes. Beginning with the very first photobook ever made, we look at how artists devoted to photography have employed unique, diverse strategies and processes to create sequences of images that tell a story or convey a deep message – personal, social, cultural, or political, or maybe simply illustrate a specific visual or formal aesthetic. We talk about books that are meant to be made and viewed as a private experience versus those that are built with a more interactive structure and purpose - and then examine those that are based on a collaboration in terms of process and narrative. All of these attributes are intentionally woven into contemporary books as art objects, and they are as revolutionary as the practice of photography itself once was, in breaking away from the standard and expected norms and definitions of books, photography, and art.
16.00 - 17.00 CONF. Cine y Experimentación con Carmela Silva + Daniel Henríquez
From the invention of the cinematograph to today, the technical tools of this discipline have evolved into a codified language where the pursuit of mimesis has been the central goal of various narrative approaches. However, the free exploration of the characteristics specific to the sound image — the relationships between time, space, and movement — has allowed filmmakers to propose non-narrative artifacts to present ideas that would be impossible to realize in other formats. We invite you to discover these proposals and reflect on your experiences.
17.30 - 18.30 CONF. Experimental Photography, Gender and Queerness with Sophie Sherwood + Naroa Pérez + Cendre + Stéphanie Probst​
How does gender issues and queerness link with using alternative and experimental photographic processes inside and outside of the darkroom? Sophie Sherwood will host a round table with other artists identifying as Women and LGBTQIA+ discussing this question.
FRI. 07/25
DAY 3
10.00 - 13.30 CONF. Exhibitions with Séverine Chauveau+ Kevin Hoth + Kei Ito + Caroline Roberts + Agate TÅ«na + Ella Morton /Dale Rio + Wai-Hang Siu + Francesco Amorosino + Ralph Nevins + Pinzauti Giorgia/Paris Tommaso + Rob Macdonald + Ludovica Bastianini
This session brings together the artists featured in the VI Experimental Photo Festival 2025 exhibitions to share insights into their creative journeys in English. From concept to execution, they will discuss their artistic motivations, experimental techniques, and the challenges faced along the way. A unique chance to explore the behind-the-scenes of contemporary experimental photography and engage directly with the artists.
15.00 - 16.00 CONF. Photograph as Object: When Medium Matters with Bridget Conn + Michael Kirchoff + Ella Morton + Simone Rojas-Pick + Lynn Bierbaum
Unlike conventional photography which is usually only focused on the referential image, experimental photography frequently deals with the topic of the photographic object itself. Yet, this subject of medium is often treated differently within the photographic world than it is treated in other art media like painting or sculpture. Replications of experimental photographs often silently take the place of the original objects, leading to confusion about how to discuss photographic mediums. This panel will explore why this convention happens in the photographic art world, when it can be beneficial, and when it may be disadvantageous or even misleading. Our panel consists of perspectives from a gallerist, a curator, and photographic artists who create both unique pieces and work with replications.
16.00 - 17.30 CONF. La Fotografía «Creativa» en Cataluña (1973-1982) con Pep Rigol + Manel Úbeda
In this conference, the authors explain the emergence of a generation of photographers who demanded the recognition of "creative" or auteur photography as an autonomous art within the institutional and artistic system of the 1970s and early 1980s. It covers from the opening of Spectrum, the first gallery specialized in photography in Spain, inaugurated in Barcelona in 1973, to the celebration of the Primavera Fotogrà fica in 1982. For this purpose, numerous documentary archives from the period have been recovered, as well as a significant portion of the productions developed by this generation during the indicated timeline. These historical reflections began with the exhibition Creative Photography in Catalonia (1973-1982) at La Virreina. Centre de la Imatge in 2018.
18.00 - 19.00 CONF Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes with Jill Enfield
Jill Enfield presents the research behind her book Guide to Photographic Alternative Processes, which covers alternative processing from its historical roots through to digital manipulation and contemporary techniques, and how to combine them. Some of the techniques and alternative approaches mentioned in this talk include hand painting on silver gelatin prints, ceramics and photography, cyanotypes, wet plate collodion, and digital prints. Enfield also showcases the different styles and methods of contemporary artists together with suggestions for vegan and vegetarian friendly alternative processing, transforming 2D images to 3D installations, and how to apply darkroom techniques to digital captures.
SAT. 07/26
DAY 4
10.00 - 11.00 CONF. Residency of Experimentation EXP-IEFC with Célica Veliz, Lucía Néspolo, Estefanía Montenegro, Cara Coombe, Lorenzo Vecchio, Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ogarrio, Lilian Barbon, Pilar Vezzani and Annette G. Parra
During their stay, each resident had a day to conduct a theoretical-practical workshop where they explained an experimental technique to the rest of the group. The residency aimed to create a small, horizontal community of collaborative learning where eight different techniques were worked on, rather than a space where each participant worked individually on their personal projects. The residency concluded with a collective exhibition showcasing the learning process of the different techniques, rather than the results, which was displayed on the ground floor of the Institut d'Estudis Fotogrà fics de Catalunya during the Experimental Photo Festival in Barcelona.
11:30 - 12:30 CONF. Collective Exhibition Echoes of the (in)visible with Anne Kalinic + Millee Tibbs + Abbey Hepner + Milena Tessereau + Fonotipia Project
What do rivers, mountains, and valleys sound like? And what about deforestation, pollution, and massive construction? Does the water flowing in rivers sound the same as the water that cools nuclear power plants? The dichotomy of Man's relationship with nature is disconcerting: they admire its beauty, but not enough to avoid storing radioactive waste in its depths or razing its forests to build concrete towers. Human artifacts take their place, while the original vegetation vanishes, transforming humans into masters of a domesticated, denaturalized, and arid territory. "Echoes of the (in)visible" takes us on a journey through natural, abstract, and sonorous landscapes, to reflect on the visible and the invisible, and also to question the mark we are leaving on our environment. Do we really want that to be our legacy? We cannot look away from the ecological crisis we are living. It's time to act before the beauty of nature fades, as if it were an anthotype.
12:45 -13:30 CONF. Wad-ras, Mujeres Invisibles con Marta Fàbregas + Amares Azielos de Carol Priego
Through their artistic projects in penitentiary contexts, Marta Fà bregas and Carol Priego reconfigure the representation of incarcerated individuals, making them protagonists of their own visual narratives. Carol Priego uses cyanotype as a tool for collaborative expression at the Youth Penitentiary Center, where young inmates and local and international volunteers work together in experimental photography workshops. The project, focused on female figures both historical and contemporary, extends into an exhibition space connecting their works with photographers such as Laia Abril, Irene Zottola, Clara Gassull, CecÃlia Coca, and Marta G. Cardellach. Marta Fà bregas, meanwhile, reinterprets the concept of the muse through portraits of incarcerated women in Catalan prisons, created using her Transphotography technique—a combination of photo transfer, collage, and stitching on canvas. In her series Traspasando el Objetivo, born within the social project of the Setba Foundation, art becomes a channel for dignity, visibility, and self-expression. Both artists share a vision of art as a vehicle for inclusion, healing, and social transformation, and come together in this conference to discuss their methodologies, challenges, and learnings from within penitentiary centers.
15.00 - 16.00 CONF. From Analog Photography to AI-Generated Images and Back Again with Jakub Gadek + Francesco Amorosino + Ralph Nevins
The artists explore the relationship between contemporary art and artificial intelligence by presenting various techniques for transferring AI-generated images onto analog media. However, this only serves as a starting point for a broader discussion on the issues and questions arising from the use of artificial intelligence in art. Some discussion topics include the role of AI as an independent creator versus a tool, the shifting boundaries between originality and replication, ethical concerns around authorship and ownership, and the potential impact of AI on the traditional roles of artists and audiences. These questions raise important issues: Can AI be truly creative? Does it challenge or diminish the authenticity of artistic expression? And how does AI redefine our understanding of artistic labor and originality in the technological age?
16:00 - 17:00 CONF. Investigar para Crear: Técnicas Históricas y Creación Contemporánea con Rosell Meseguer
This conference focuses on the tools and methodologies aimed at creating and developing an artistic project. It will discuss the relationship between theory and practice, idea and experimentation, between concepts and the use of alternative and digital photographic techniques. The emphasis will be on the coherence between what is intended to be developed in the project and the materials used to realize it.
17:30 - 18:30 CONF. Plataformas por el Cambio: Fotografía y Perspectiva de Género con Femgrafía + Fotógrafas LATAM + Feem + Foto Feminas
This conference, featuring four major platforms that work collectively, offers a space for reflection on how to promote and give visibility in the digital economy to the work of emerging women photographers, as well as those who are already established and serve as references. The conversation will revolve around the strategies each collective employs to strengthen their presence on online platforms, professional networks, and artistic circuits, as well as the need to recognize and dignify the role of women in the field of photography. From these Latin American experiences, we can see the importance of collaboration among collectives and how it creates new spaces and opportunities—not only for the participating photographers but also for the collectives themselves. Through their lenses, women show us the world from diverse and personal perspectives, enriching the contemporary visual language.
