FORMAT27: PLAY

11 March – 11 April 2027

FORMAT International Photography Festival is delighted to announce that in March 2027 our FORMAT27 biennale will explore the theme of PLAY.

From its first inception, the essence of photography has centered experimentation, trial and error, and exploration of something unknown; the desire to record the world around us in a way that is as close to reality as the eye can see. From Niépce’s first image to the Albumen print, photogram, cyanotype and collage, the very creation of the photographic medium and its continued evolution has been developed through the act of PLAY – experimentation as play.

PLAY is at the heart of the creative process, no matter the subject or idea; the act of exploration is what fuels us. FORMAT27 will seek to explore the theme in the widest possible sense, inviting people to think widely and challenge our interpretation of it. PLAY can be thought of as fun, joyful, intriguing, exploratory, experimental, challenging, deceitful, mischievous, imaginative, curious, provocative, inventive, spontaneous, subversive, engaging or perhaps rule-bending. Camera play, playing with and questioning the medium of photography itself, documenting the act of play, playing with the development of new technology, play as sport, playing with the truth or reality, the politics of play and the significance of the freedom of play being taken away are just some of the ways this broad theme could be interpreted.

The creation of an artwork with an ‘other’ whether this is an individual, advanced technologies, or mother nature and its natural materials are all rooted in the search for the collaborative and experimental aspect of play. The rapid advancement of digital technologies such as AI is becoming near impossible to avoid and experimentation with the medium of photography is taking on a whole new meaning. There are a lot of questions still to be asked about what impact AI will have on the future of photography and what the meaning of image making will become, but with our existence becoming so reliant on the digital, the natural rebellion in humanity is yearning for the real, tactile and natural characteristics of the analogue. Explorations of more environmentally friendly image making and ways of display, from materials, techniques and darkroom chemicals are becoming ever more important in a world that is still making sense of what changes need to be made to avoid ecological catastrophe.

PLAY as both a creative strategy and a critical tool within contemporary photographic practice is essential to creativity. Innovation and invention cannot occur without curiosity, risk taking and a willingness to explore the unknown through playful enquiry. In this sense, PLAY is a vital method for rethinking how photography is made, shared and experienced today.

Across the festival we will engage with PLAY as experimentation, improvisation and rule breaking, using humor, performance, games, and participation to question power, authorship, identity, and the politics of images.