Martin Parr announced as highlight 2025

It is with great excitement that Copenhagen Photo Festival presents the world-renowned British Magnum photographer, Martin Parr, as the exhibition highlight of this year’s festival, opening on 12 June 2025 at the Royal Theater in the center of Copenhagen. It will be the photographer’s first larger exhibition in Denmark since 2003. 

Martin Parr has in many ways revolutionized documentary photography and is one of the most celebrated, award-winning, and published photographers in the world. Throughout his more than 50-year-long career he has been president of Magnum Photos, published more than 120 photo books, and been exhibited worldwide. 

The festival is proud to show highlights from Martin Parr’s extensive career with exhibitions diving into his elaborate work on leisure, tourism, and beach life. The exhibitions will take place both inside the festival’s new center at The Royal Theater on Kongens Nytorv and in public space in the city center. During the opening days of the festival, Parr will participate in various activities for both the public and professionals. This part of the program will be announced at the end of February. 

Tell-tale mirrors 

The distinguished photographer has a unique eye for unveiling the way we present ourselves and behave when we are together in public spheres. Through extensive photographic series, he confronts us with our own self-image in a caringly critical way. 

It is probably this unique anthropological eye for our human condition mixed in with a keen sense of humor that has kept his images relevant since he took his first photograph at 13 almost 60 years ago. His images are like tell-tale mirrors that unveil our blind spots, reflect our societal and cultural structures, and in the end also make us laugh at these constructs and ourselves. 

“My aim is to make an entertaining image with serious messages.” – Martin Parr

A pioneer of bringing topical issues into the light

Parr’s impressive back catalogue of images shows that the discussion we have today of Western values, (over)consumption, and cultural identity dates back decades. He was one of the pioneers in spotting and bringing these issues into the light.

As this year’s celebration of photography will be circling perspectives on the theme of ‘Fremkaldelser/Into the light’, Martin Parr is thus most relevant – both in terms of how we as humans present ourselves in the eye of the public and as a pioneer of bringing these ever-topical issues to our attention. 

“Martin Parr sensitises our subconscious – and once we’ve seen his photographs, we keep on discovering these images over and over again in our daily lives and recognising ourselves within them.” – Thomas Weski, German author, curator and Martin Parr biographer

The clashes and contrasts of everyday life – and photography

In his photos, Martin Parr shows us how stereotypical perceptions clash with everyday human behavior and thus he exposes the contradictory nature we all experience living a modern life. This ‘clash’ is consistent throughout his work. He seeks them out in his motives but also he appreciates the prevalent nature of the clash within the medium of photography in itself – photography can both be presented at Tate Modern and printed on a t-shirt.

“I love the fact that photography is high and low at the same time” – Martin Parr

A new spotlight on photography in the Danish Capital

With the exhibitions of Martin Parr and the remarkable move of the festival center from Refshaleøen to The Royal Theater in the city center, Copenhagen Photo Festival is stepping into the light in an entirely new way this year and for the first time presenting a solo exhibition by an artist and photographer recognised worldwide. 

“We are entering a new era for the festival this year, and we are incredibly proud and happy to present photography at one of the most spectacular historical and cultural venues in Copenhagen in the company of one of the most influential and groundbreaking photographers in the world for the past 50 years.

Martin Parr is an enormously generous photographer who has inspired generations of photographers with his images and through his work at the Martin Parr Foundation. The possibility to share Parr’s work with the public in the city of Copenhagen and in Denmark on a larger scale for the first time in 20 years is a great honour and privilege.” – Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen, festival director . 

Bio 

Martin Parr is one of the best-known documentary photographers of his generation. With over 100 books of his own published, and another 30 edited by Parr, his photographic legacy is already established. Parr also acts as a curator and editor. He has curated two photography festivals, Arles in 2004 and Brighton Biennial in 2010. More recently Parr curated the Barbican exhibition, Strange and Familiar. Parr has been a member of the Magnum agency since 1994 and was President from 2013 – 2017. In 2013 Parr was appointed the visiting professor of photography at the University of Ulster. Parr’s work has been collected by many of the leading museums, from the Tate, the Pompidou and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Martin Parr established the Martin Parr Foundation in 2017. In 2019 the National Portrait Gallery in London held a major exhibition of Parr’s work titled Only Human.