Imago Lisboa – A Meeting of Contemporary Photographic Practices and Reflections

The Festival Imago Lisboa is a platform dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the diversity of photographic practices.

Since its foundation, the Festival has been guided by high artistic standards, which have earned it growing recognition and, consequently, consolidation within both the national and international landscape. The continued support of Lisbon City Council, as well as all other partners that enable this project to be built year after year, has also been essential to its development.

Each edition of the festival is guided by a structuring theme, which not only allows for a deeper dialogue between artists and the public, but also raises awareness of contemporary issues and fosters collaborations with related institutions.

Imago Lisboa is part of the European photography festival network EMOP (European Month of Photography), playing a key role in promoting contemporary artists, encouraging dialogue between creators, specialists, and the public, and showcasing emerging new talents.

The program is structured around two complementary axes. First, there is a creative strand focused on established names in photography, while simultaneously providing space for young artists, thus serving as an important platform for the recognition of their work. Second, it functions as a relevant catalyst for thought and reflection, materialized through debates, mediation activities, and workshops which collectively promote visual literacy.

The 2026 edition proposes as its overarching theme the idea of Rethinking Photography: Ecologies of the Image. It offers a venue for critical reflection on the impact of new technologies on artistic photographic practices. The thematic choice results from an in-depth analysis process conducted by the curators, in collaboration with researchers in the fields of technology and digital image.

The selection of artists stands out for its diversity, both in terms of gender and geographic origin, including both established and emerging creators. Approaches to the theme are multiple, ranging from documentary practices to conceptual exploration, using, for example, visual metaphor. The narratives span from vernacular photography to the use of images generated by artificial intelligence.

As a new feature, the festival presents its partnership with the Groundswell project, which includes exhibitions and publications on best practices in sustainability and is supported by Creative Europe.

— Rui Prata

This gesture signals an already 8-year-old tradition of uninterrupted support from Lisbon City Council for Imago Lisboa, and bears witness to the relevance of the festival and of the reflections it fosters around photographic practices and broader questions concerning the image.

It is worth highlighting that the festival has maintained, since its foundation, two important dimensions: a creative strand, centered on established names in photography while also providing a platform for emerging artists; and an educational strand, expressed through the organization of debates, mediation activities, and workshops that, taken together, promote visual literacy.

Far beyond its purely documentary function, and in addition to its invaluable role in preserving historical archives and collective memory, photography has, over recent decades, established itself as one of the most creative fields within contemporary art. It enables new generations of artists to critically reconfigure the narratives of the past and interpret the world in which we live, broadening our collective perception of the present.

The increasing prevalence of digital manipulation and artificial intelligence technologies has destabilized the centuries-old relationship between image and truth. It is therefore important to engage in a profound debate around, among other issues, the contemporary meaning of looking, as well as the longstanding question of trust in photographic images. Under the theme Rethinking Photography: Ecologies of the Image, the 2026 edition proposes a critical reflection on the impact of new technologies on the practices of artistic photography.

In this way, the importance of Lisbon City Council’s support for the Imago Lisboa festival is further reinforced. The festival serves as a significant forum for stimulating thought and reflection, contributing to the goal of fostering a city that is more inclusive, more critical, and freer.

— Laurentina Pereira
Municipal Director of Culture at Lisbon City Council