Fifth ProgresFestival

An international event celebrating street photography and art

Our festival is a non-profit event dedicated to showcasing authentic, stereotype-free images that capture meaningful moments in life. We aim to foster connections, inspire insights, and promote reflection and a positive outlook. However, during these challenging times for our world, we at Progressive are finding it difficult to continue with our everyday activities. That is why we have chosen themes that help us stay connected to our humanity. We invite all photographers with a passion for their craft, as this quality drives significant artistic, political, and social expression. Committed photographers embody this trio in their work. Our platform welcomes photographers of all skill levels in the fields of street photography, documentary, and photojournalism. We support artistic goals across various genres and strive to foster an inclusive environment for everyone.

The winning photographs will be published on our official website, featured in our magazine, and compiled into a dedicated festival book. They will also be exhibited at a location to be announced later. 

The themes for the ProgresFestival 2026 photo challenge are

"Visions" – “The Visual Memory of Protest” – “Everyday Family Life”

Visions – (street and non-street) Participants are encouraged to explore creative and abstract photography. 

Visual Memory of Protest (street) This theme inspires participants to document the stories, feelings, and experiences of protesters, highlighting both the collective efforts and the personal effects of social change.  We invite photographers to capture emotions such as hope, anger, fear, determination, and solidarity during protests. The theme supports various photographic styles, from close-up portraits to documentary shots that convey the energy and atmosphere of demonstrations. Photographers could highlight protesters' resilience and unity, showing how issues of protest affect daily life and how simple acts can serve as forms of protest. They could also examine protest symbols and acts of resistance outside of large demonstrations. Photographers are required to include a short statement explaining the idea or concept behind their submissions.

Everyday Family Life Capture daily family moments, without staged shots. Focus on the small details that reveal a life story. It is essential to demonstrate the capacity to capture moments that narrate a story within an artistic context. This encompasses not merely casual snapshots but also images that explore family dialectics in depth. For those interested, submitting a project is possible, and in this case, staged images are allowed. The most notable submissions will be considered for publication on our website or in a magazine. The project must have a title and a brief statement explaining the idea or concept behind the submission.

The organising team will evaluate the qualifying images to determine which will advance to the final round for judging. Winners and nominated will be exhibited at the ProgresFestival 2026, featured on our official website and in our magazine, and promoted across the competition's social media platforms. The organisers have the discretion to recommend certain images that have not received votes from the jury. In addition to the three winners in each category, the jury may award other distinctions, such as Best Street Photograph, Best Artistic Photograph, Best Portrait, and so on.

Winners and nominated will be announced: Likely on 12 June 2026
Final exhibition: Likely in Autumn 2026, in Genova, Italy.

The jury is composed of:

Julia Coddington, Gabi Ben Avraham, Siegfried Hansen – Vision Single

Margarita Mavromichalis, Michael Dressel, Keef Charles – Vision Series

Aña Abrao, John Gill, Ximena Echagüe – The Visual Memory of Protest (singles and Projects)

Ornella Mazzola, Batsceba Hardy, Sabyasachi Nath – Everyday Family Life (singles and Projects)

Festival editorial team:‍ ‍Cameron Scott Manager – Delfim Correlo and Alberto M. Melis, Vision Section – Martin Agius, Cameron Scott, Protest Section – Cassian Edwards, Family Life Section

Promoters: Shubhodeep Roy, Federico Borobio

*The organiser will contact finalists to request a high-resolution JPEG of their selected photograph(s), which must be submitted quickly to avoid disqualification. Finalists should also include the year and location where the photos were taken. We may request the raw file in certain situations, even though we acknowledge that some photographers may not have access to it. The organiser reserves the right to refuse or exclude any entry at its sole discretion. The organiser will not provide feedback to those whose submissions were not selected. The Jury's decision is final. Neither appeals nor objections will be accepted. The images will be judged blind. This means the judges view the photos without the photographer's name or details. The organisation is not responsible for changes to contests or festivals resulting from major external forces. The organiser may cancel or modify competitions and conditions without notice, but will promptly inform participants of any changes. The organiser disclaims responsibility for potential copyright infringements by third parties and cannot be liable for claims from individuals in photos; such responsibility rests with the participant.

By entering the photo contest, photographers grant the organiser five years of unconditional permission to use their images for ProgresFestival, including exhibitions, in all media, such as social media, online, and print. This covers contests, festivals, exhibitions, and promotional activities overseen by ProgresFestival. Participants cannot claim copyright compensation, but proper credit will be given. Photos will not be sold or used commercially.