Mesiac Fotografie 2025, the 35th edition of one of the most significant and long-running events on the European photography scene, will be held in Bratislava from 4 November 2025 to 15 January 2026. Established in 1991, the festival is among the most important in Slovakia and Central Europe, offering a wide-ranging, sophisticated program packed with artistic and thematic inspiration.
Main Themes and Innovation
The 35th edition revolves around three major threads: the relationship between photography and artificial intelligence, the link between image and text, and a special focus on Australia. After initial experiments with AI two years ago, the festival returns to this challenge, examining the possibilities and implications of artificial intelligence through exhibitions such as Carl de Keyzer’s “Putin’s Dream“, created entirely with AI. De Keyzer offers an unsettling satire on contemporary Russian imperial power. The festival explores the ongoing debate over the “death of photography” and reaffirms the central role of the medium itself.
The Australian section focuses on contemporary challenges posed by climate change. For example, Anna Zahalka’s “Fragments of Wilderness” uses digital manipulation to sensitize viewers to drastic environmental changes and collective responsibility toward nature.
Major Exhibitions and Photographic Heritage
The 2025 edition features the major exhibition “Eyes That Were a Century,” curated by collector Lola Garrido and presenting 90 photographs by 64 of the world’s most influential photographers, from Julia Margaret Cameron to Alfred Stieglitz, Man Ray, Nan Goldin, Irving Penn, Walker Evans, and Seydou Keïta. This exhibit offers a technically and historically rich panorama of national and international photography.
Other highlights include the participation of Joel Meyerowitz, and a wide retrospective dedicated to Tono Stano, an emblematic figure of the Slovak new wave. Stano’s staged photography fuses classical and experimental approaches.
In the Central and Eastern European sector, there are special celebrations such as the 35th anniversary of the Institute of Creative Photography in Opava, with the exhibition “Thirty-Five,” and the presentation of Milena Valuškova’s series “Widows,” an in-depth, intimate photographic reflection.
Cultural Program and Artistic Interactions
The festival includes a full schedule of side events, including workshops, presentations of photography books, and screenings of photography-themed films, such as “Chronicle” by Martin Kollár, “Paradise on Earth” by Jaro Vojtek, and “I’m Not Yet Who I Want To Be” by Klára Tasovská. The “Photography & Text” section brings together image and word with artists such as Stano Filek, Miloš Karáska, Michal Zajaček, and Elina Brotherus.
Mesiac Fotografie 2025 also extends beyond Bratislava, with exhibitions and partnerships in cities such as Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin.
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Mesiac 2025 takes place in Bratislava from 4 November 2025 to 15 January 2026. Festival passes are available from the official website.
