PhotoBrussels: A city as a canvas

January 28, 2025

Cosmopolitan, creative and deeply human – this is how the Belgian capital presents itself during the PhotoBrussels Festival. 
From January 23 to February 23, 2025, Brussels is transformed into one large exhibition space. The focus is on current photographic approaches and subjects, such as how to deal with artificial intelligence (AI). Last year over 100,000 photography enthusiasts wandered through the streets of the Belgian capital. Festival founder Delphine Dumont speaks about the highlights of this ninth edition of the festival.

LFI: Please tell us something about yourself.
Delphine Dumont: I am Delphine Dumont, the founder of the PhotoBrussels Festival. I’ve been running the Hangar Photo Centre, which is dedicated to the presentation of contemporary photography, for eight years. Before that I worked for media and communications agencies. 

Can you give us a bit of information about the festival?
For one whole month, Brussels is all about pictures. With the PhotoBrussels Festival, we’re offering a meeting place for photography enthusiasts, photographers and professionals. Since 2022, when we founded the non-profit organisation Photo Art & Culture ASBL and we set up a coordination committee, we’ve been able to reach a wider audience. PhotoBrussels has now become a must-attend event for photography in Brussels. The ninth edition of the festival will be held from January 23 to February 23. PhotoBrussels is also part of the European Month of Photography (EMOP), a network of photography festivals taking place in various European cities, such as Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon.

What was the initial motivation for establishing the festival? 
We want to celebrate Brussels’s multi-faceted identity as a vibrant, European capital city. The festival aims to transform the city into a dynamic canvas for artistic exploration and offer both residents and visitors a unique opportunity to engage with contemporary photography. It is much more than just a cultural happening; it’s a living photographic feast that invites people to discover and explore the diversity and wealth of contemporary creativity, and to allow themselves to be surprised by the exhibits. 

What is it that makes the festival and its programme stand out? 
For one month, the whole city is converted into a canvas for photography. That’s an incredible experience. The festival extends beyond traditional exhibition spaces, by involving galleries, art centres, institutions and even private home galleries, which make the art accessible to all. The festival’s strength lies in its ability to present all forms of contemporary photography and, in doing so, to highlight both local and international talent. Furthermore, PhotoBrussels has brought together people from different backgrounds, who might otherwise never have met, and who remain in contact beyond the festival. The feeling of community during the festival impresses me a lot, and makes me proud. 

How has the festival evolved over the years?
Most of all, it’s the scope of the festival that has grown: hundreds of photographers exhibit their work in a great diversity of locations around the city.

Can you mention one particular highlight of this year’s event? 
The AImagine – photography and generative images exhibition at the Hangar Photo Centre is definitely one of the highlights. It is the first exhibition in Belgium that focusses of the lap over between AI and photography. It’s a group exhibition in which 18 artists use AI to revive and re-imagine historical events, figures or iconic moments from recent history. This very exciting exhibition explores the borderline between AI and photography – at a time when art and technology blur the lines between fiction and reality.

What plans and visions do you have for the festival’s future?
The festival has already set itself up as a key event in the Belgian art scene, but I certainly see the potential to expand its global influence. By inviting more international photographers, curators and artists, PhotoBrussels could become a hub for the international photography scene and create more cross-cultural exchanges, collaborations and events. This is something we want to strive for, in particular, for the tenth edition of the festival. Preparations for 2026 will soon be underway.
Pauline Knappschneider

Delphine Dumont+-

Delphine Dumont

After twenty years working in France in corporate communications and the media, Dumont moved to Brussels twenty years ago where she founded a new communications agency. At the same time, she oversaw the restoration of an Art Nouveau hotel, the Hôtel Ciamberlani. A lover and collector of contemporary art, and photography in particular, she founded the PhotoBrussels Festival in 2015. In July 2016, she took over the management of Hangar, a lively and experimental art centre for photography. As well as administering the place, she also co-curates the exhibitions organised there. 

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PhotoBrussels: A city as a canvas