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Ghost of the moment
Reggio Emilia, 30 April – 14 June 2026
Inaugural events 30 April – 3 May 2026
Ghost of the moment is the theme chosen by the Festival curators: Arianna Catania (founder and director of Gibellina Photoroad / Open Air & Site-specific Festival), Tim Clark (editor and curator at 1000 Words) and Luce Lebart (researcherresearch at the Archive of Modern Conflict and artistic director of the Pavillon Populaire in Montpellier). In addition, there is a historical overview by Walter Guadagnini (photography historian and teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna) dedicated to 200 years of photography
This edition of Fotografia Europea is an invitation to seek out the unseen and the invisible, paying attention to the whispers of what has been and what could be. The featured artists reveal the silent stories that inform and guide our present while simultaneously opening up new paths for the imagination. The Festival explores the quiet endurance of memory – how memories fade and yet refuse to vanish entirely. Each photograph holds its own echo, a spectral reminder that even as time slips away, it keeps its essence suspended. In these exhibitions, the past is not gone, it breathes softly within the now.
For two centuries, photography has captured shadows, preserved faces and constructed collective memories, moving among these ghosts. The second part of this journey will delve into its history, examining how images have accompanied, interpreted and sometimes reinvented the lives of men and women from the 19th century to the present day.
It is here that our dialogue with the “ghosts” takes shape, traversing archives, authors and technologies that have shaped the way we see, perceive and understand the world around us..
Chiostri di San Pietro, Palazzo da Mosto, Palazzo Scaruffi, the Church of Saints Carlo and Agata, Palazzo dei Musei, Spazio Gerra and Collezione Maramotti are the venues hosting the twenty exhibitions in this edition.
Solo exhibitions: Elena Bellantoni; Tania Franco Klein; Simona Ghizzoni; Mohamed Hassan; Marine Lanier; Federica Mambrini; Emilia Martin; Frédéric D. Oberland; Ola Rindal; Felipe Romero Beltrán; Giulia Vanelli; Salvatore Vitale.
Group exhibitions: 200×200.Due secoli di fotografia e società; Ghostland; Keep the fire burning; Speciale diciottoventicinque.
Partner: Giovane Fotografia Italiana #13 | Luigi Ghirri Award 2026; Francesco Guccini. Canterò soltanto il tempo; Luigi Ghirri. A series of dreams; Ndayé Kouagou.
Like every year, the Festival is enhanced by a calendar of events for visitors during the opening days – 30 April, 1, 2, 3 May – until 14 June: conferences, meetings with artists, book presentations, book signings, portfolio readings, workshops, an independent publishers’ book fair and shows. These events are all designed to fuel a cultural debate that begins with photography and tackles wide-ranging themes, involving an increasingly broad and heterogeneous audience who know that Reggio Emilia offers the best that contemporary photography produces and provides.
The festival’s focus on younger visitors continues this year with special guided tours and a rich programme of educational events: from the opening weekend to mid-June, a range of events and workshops are aimed at involving children and young people more closely in the Festival’s varied programme, as well as a special exhibition map and workshops for families.
The complete programme is available at www.fotografiaeuropea.it
