CONTACT PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL 2026 ANNOUNCES HIGHLIGHTS OF ITS 30th ANNIVERSARY

Toronto’s preeminent, annual, month-long Festival presents an outstanding roster of North American and international lens-based artists in May 2026

Toronto, Ontario, Canada… CONTACT Photography Festival today announced highlights of the 30th edition of its annual citywide event spanning the month of May 2026. CONTACT is a Toronto-based festival dedicated to exhibiting, analyzing, and celebrating photography and lens-based media. The Festival provides numerous opportunities to experience a diverse range of exhibitions in neighbourhoods across greater Toronto, and to take in hundreds of events including openings, lectures, artist talks, book reviews, workshops, and more, forging creative connections and sparking engagements. 

The 2026 Core Program features curated Exhibitions and Public Art Installations highlighting projects by Canadian and international artists and photographers, developed both independently and in partnership with numerous local and international arts and cultural organizations. In 2026, lens-based and mixed-media works examine subjects including decolonial practices, community-building, migration, looking backwards and looking forward, activism, mourning and loss, personal and collective memory, politics and poetics, and feature explorations in new media as well as a return to early photographic practices and experimentation.

The preliminary list of artists featured across the Core Program includes Ernesto Cabral de Luna, Delali Cofie, Marlene Creates, Larry Fink, Tim Georgeson, Hassan Hajjaj, April Hickox, Risa Horowitz, Spring Hurlbut, Alvin Luong, Arnaud Maggs, Thandiwe Muriu, Lu Pan, Celia Perrin Sidarous, Dawit L. Petros, Yann Pocreau, Jessica Slipp, Sheida Soleimani, Adam Swica, Ho Tam, Sin Wai Kin, Bo Wang, and Ian Wilms.

CONTACT’s Core Program of Exhibitions and Public Art Installations are developed through collaborations with partners across Toronto and beyond, including: Aga Khan Museum; Artexte; Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives; Artspace Gallery; BAND Gallery; Blouin Division; Capture Photography Festival; Daniel Faria Gallery; Towards Gallery; Goethe-Institut Toronto; The Image Centre; John B. Aird Gallery; McMichael Canadian Art Collection; Mercer Union; Onsite Gallery; Pattison Outdoor Advertising; Paul Petro Contemporary Art; Patel Brown; Reel Asian Film Festival; Prefix ICA; Sankofa Square; Stephen Bulger Gallery; Sur Gallery; United Contemporary, among others. Complete programming details will be announced in April.

Selected 2026 CONTACT Photography Festival exhibitions and public art projects

Sin Wai Kin | ESSENCE

CONTACT Gallery, 80 Spadina Ave, Suite 205 | May 1 – June 15

Sankofa Square | May 1 – 31

Billboards at College St & Delaware St | April 27 – May 24

Curated by Kelly Lui

Toronto-born UK-based Sin Wai Kin brings fantasy to life through storytelling. Introducing worlds and characters via thematic bodies of research, from Science-fiction and non-dualistic philosophies to Peking opera and theoretical physics, Sin exposes the constructed narratives that converge in environments that re/iterate who we are, who we can become, and the stories we can tell. Parts of Sin’s multiverse will be presented across three sites during the Festival, including the Canadian premiere of the advertising campaign ESSENCE. Wai King, one of the artist’s characters, becomes the brand ambassador for a male cologne, promising “Your true self awaits.” Through advertising, Sin reveals: “There isn’t an underlying objective reality that we uncover. What is ‘real’ is what we agree that it is.” Presented by CONTACT Photography Festival and Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, both organizations celebrating their 30th anniversaries in 2026. Supported by Sankofa Square and Pattison Outdoor Advertising.

Alvin Luong | DEPHINITELY PARADISE

Mercer Union, 1286 Bloor St West

February 13 – May 9

Curated by Theresa Wang

Alvin Luong’s commissioned exhibition is an installation of sculptures, drawings, and a moving-image work that centers on Pulau Bidong, a secluded Malaysian island once the epicentre of the refugee crisis following the Vietnam War. The film is a portrait of Lan Thiệu Nguyễn, who left Vietnam in 1987 and currently lives in Milford, CT. Filmed in a poetic and layered style, the work subtly skirts Lan’s past and instead documents his fascination for aquatic life and careful construction of fish and coral tanks in the basement of his home. Over time, the sense of water begins to permeate, and the film’s linear narrative is disrupted, collapsing the relationship between the dead and the living, and the horizon line where air and sea meet. Presented by Mercer Union in partnership with CONTACT Photography Festival.

Bo Wang & Lu Pan |

Replicas of Contact

Billboards at Lansdowne Ave & Dundas St W/College St

April 27 – May 24

Curated by Su-Ying Lee

Replicas of Contact is a large-scale public artwork staging an encounter across time, space, and histories of image-making. Presented on two double-sided billboards, it juxtaposes archival photographs, one depicting a Canadian artist at work, the other a Chinese export painter engaged in their craft. Through a process of visual intervention, the original paintings-in-progress within each photograph are replaced by works from the respective artist’s own era, creating a layered dialogue between past and present, photography and painting, and the artists themselves. Presented by CONTACT Photography Festival. Supported by PATTISON Outdoor Advertising.

Sheida Soleimani | Ghostwriter

Billboards on Clark Dr, Vancouver

March 21 – May 31

Billboards on Dundas St W and Rusholme Rd

April 27 – May 24

Curated by Emmy Lee Wall

Soleimani constructs detailed compositions that marry photographs, props, found objects, live animals, and people to create magical, dream-like montages. Deliberately combining her familial history with the political, Soleimani’s practice considers her cultural inheritance, the environment, and migration, all through evocative, visually sumptuous pictures. The daughter of political refugees who escaped Iran in the early 1980s, Soleimani often creates work that includes her parents as subjects. Soleimani’s work represents a two-part exhibition, as part of Capture Photography Festival, Vancouver (April 2026) and CONTACT Photography Festival, Toronto (May 2026). Presented by Capture and CONTACT Photography Festival. Supported by PATTISON Outdoor Advertising.

Delali Cofie | A Place of Ours

United Contemporary, 129 Tecumseth St

May 7 – June 13

Billboard at Queen St & Augusta Ave

April 27 – May 24

Curated by Emilie Croning

A Place of Ours highlights the quiet, everyday moments that shape who we are—moments that become a portrait of both home and self. In documenting his family and community within the daily pulse of life in Ghana, Delali Cofie offers a counter-gesture to narratives shaped by distance and time, tracing the evolving contours of childhood, friendship, and the journey from boyhood into manhood. Drawing on Tina M. Campt’s reflections on Black diasporic photography as a practice of listening to images, memory, and the soft hum of the everyday; this exhibition attends to subtle gestures and ordinary rituals, forming an intimate archive of gentle nostalgia. Delali Cofie is a Ghanaian-Nigerian photographer and visual artist based in Toronto whose practice spans fine art, documentary, and fashion. Exhibition presented by United Contemporary; billboard presented by CONTACT Photography Festival and supported by PATTISON Outdoor Advertising.

Spring Hurlbut, Arnaud Maggs                         

Stephen Bulger Gallery, 1356 Dundas St W

May 9 – June 27                                                         

As part of the CONTACT Photography Festival, Stephen Bulger Gallery will present a poetic juxtaposition of works by two artists. The first exhibition features Toronto-based artist Spring Hurlbut’s Dyadic Circles, 2019–20, comprising a series of delicate photographs of funerary ash both human and animal. Each circle is divided vertically into two parts; in some, both halves derive from a single individual, and in others, they represent two subjects, brought together in an eternal embrace. The second exhibition features work by renowned Canadian photographer, and Hurlbut’s partner, Arnaud Maggs (1926–2012), highlighting his examinations of time, memory, and death through the implementation of collecting, portraiture, and the grid. Presented by Stephen Bulger Gallery.

April Hickox | Vantage Point–Passing

Onsite Gallery, 199 Richmond St W (exterior windows)

May 1 – August 29

Curated by Meera Margaret Singh and Ursula Handleigh

April Hickox’s long-term series Vantage Point–Passing reflects her continued exploration of the relationship between humans and the land. A long-time resident, community member, and activist for the Toronto Islands, Hickox photographed and filmed a single groyne (an erosion barrier) for almost two decades, returning to the same vantage point to observe shifting water, sky, climate, and season, and to note how people, animals, and boats moved through this sustained frame. Her unwavering, repetitive practice became an act of deep looking and a meditative focus on life’s one constant: change. The images invite viewers to pause, observe, and consider their own connection to the land and to experience the quiet reverence that animated Hickox’s lifelong, prolific practice. Presented by Onsite Gallery in partnership with CONTACT Photography Festival. 

Yann Pocreau I Archipelago

King Edward Canada Line Station, Vancouver

April 1 – August 31

Capture Photography Festival

Curated by CONTACT Photography Festival

Montreal-based artist Yann Pocreau works in a variety of media including photography, sculpture, and installation, and holds a keen interest in slide projections, light, and colour. In recent years, he has reimagined found photographs through interventions that consider photography’s complex connection to memory and time. Presented as a large-scale, three-part mural on the glass façade of Vancouver’s King Edward Station, a short distance from the Pacific coast, Archipelago is a poetic meditation on time and place. Presented by Capture Photography Festival in partnership with CONTACT Photography Festival and the Canada Line Public Art Program – InTransit BC.

Special Projects & Initiatives

PICTURE THIS: CONTACT Photography Festival Fundraiser – February 24, 6 - 10pm at Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto

In celebration of its 30th anniversary this May, CONTACT Photography Festival announces PICTURE THIS, a gala and auction of photography honouring three decades of CONTACT, while raising vital funds to support future editions of the Festival.  The CONTACT team is deeply grateful to present a curated selection of contemporary works by Canadian and international artists who have exhibited with CONTACT over the years. From exhibitions in museums, commercial galleries, and artist-run centres, to large-scale public murals and intimate photobooks, these emerging and established artists have created timely and impactful projects that reflect the power and diversity of lens-based media. The auction will feature works by Sara Angelucci, Edward Burtynsky, Dana Claxton, Lynne Cohen, Jake Kimble, James Lahey, Suzy Lake, Ken Lum, Arnaud Maggs, Dawit L. Petros, Shelley Niro, and Carrie Mae Weems, to name a few. Proceeds will go toward supporting Festival programs and artists — funding exhibition production, commissions, artist fees, and public programming. Tickets on sale now.

The CONTACT Photobook Fair – May 2, 11am - 6pm at Stephen Bulger Gallery

The Fair returns in 2026, gathering independent publishers and leading contemporary photographers, designers, and artists from around the world to bring their latest releases to Toronto. This unique event fosters opportunities for enthusiasts and artists to discover new projects, exchange ideas on books and photography, and build connections. In addition, invited professionals will give one-on-one reviews in The Book Dummy Reviews on May 3, at Stephen Bulger Gallery, offering emerging Canadian artists invaluable feedback and networking opportunities. The CONTACT Photobook Lab champions photobooks through a year-round reading room and store, while presenting a roster of programs that investigate contemporary approaches to photobooks and connect photographers with the resources they need to develop and publish their work.

CONSTELLATION | Public Art Guest Curators

Through CONSTELLATION, CONTACT invites local and international curators to program public art installations, often over a three-year term. Established in 2022, this program allows for a plurality of voices, perspectives, and dialogue to take shape throughout public space in the city. The 2026 CONSTELLATION curators are: Su-Ying Lee, an independent curator living in Tkaronto/Toronto whose projects have taken place across Canada, in Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Quezon City (Metro Manila, Philippines); and Emilie Croning, a curator, art historian, and writer committed to creating space for emerging artists and advancing global dialogues on representation, identity, and diasporic visual culture. In 2025, she launched EMC Contemporary, a nomadic curatorial platform supporting community-building and artist development through accessible opportunities and resources.

About CONTACT Photography Festival

CONTACT fosters and celebrates the art and profession of photography with its annual Festival across greater Toronto in May and year-round programming in the CONTACT Gallery. CONTACT presents lens-based works by acclaimed and emerging artists, documentary photographers, and photojournalists from Canada and around the world.

The curated Core Program of exhibitions, site-specific public art installations and public programs features work by local and international artists, presented in collaboration with major museums, galleries, and artist-run centers, and is the heart of the Festival. This program is cultivated through partnerships, commissions, and new discoveries, framing the cultural, social, and political events of our times. The Open Call Exhibitions are community-generated, independently organized exhibitions presented at unique venues throughout the city. The Photobook Lab champions photobooks through a year-round reading room store, book club, talks, and more. During the Festival, the Lab presents a roster of programs such as the Photobook Fair and workshops that investigate contemporary approaches to photobooks.  A complete list of exhibitions and programming will be announced in April.

CONTACT is generously supported by major sponsors BMO and Power Corporation of Canada, and sponsors 3M Canada, Beyond Digital Imaging, BIG Digital, Four By Eight Signs, Pattison Outdoor Advertising, Choice Properties, Total Image Works, and Transcontinental PLM.

CONTACT gratefully acknowledges the support of Canada Council for the Arts; Ontario Arts Council; Toronto Arts Council; The City of Toronto; Destination Toronto; The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming through the Experience Ontario Grant; La Fondation Emmanuelle Gattuso; and all funders, donors, and program partners.

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