Previous Editions

Atla, Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, Basement Vesterbro, Bespoked, Blågårdens Bibliotek, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, Det Grønlandske Hus, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, DGI-Byen, Eks-Rummet, Format Artspace, Fotografisk Center, Fragment, Galerie Pi, Galleri Format, Galleri Image, Galleri Nybro, Galopperiet, Hans Alf Gallery, Harbo Bar, Jónshús, Kunstnerfællesskabet 2249, Nordiart, NW Gallery, Poesiens Hus og LiteraturHaus, Teatermuseet i Hofteatret, Kunstnow, TRBL Studio, VERA Skole for kunst & design, YellowCorner.
18 June 2020
After the cancellation of this year’s festival due to COVID-19, the audience was able to experience photography digitally through the online campaign #cpfcelebratingphotography. And as the city of Copenhagen started to re-open, June 18th became CPF Celebrating Photography Day, an all-day event that celebrated and shared photography outdoors, with interventions in and around Copenhagen – available all summer.
For these actions and happenings, we teamed up with like-minded partners and supporters, including the team at Donkey Republic bike rentals and Denmark’s largest balcony and elevator company, Altan.dk, as well as Café Altanen, Café Dyrehaven, La Banchina and Reffen – Copenhagen Street Food. Each of these partners contributed to the daily programme, which started off with the launch of the group exhibition Reconstruction of Identities at Vesterbro, where selected works from the project were installed on containers in the area, which the audience was encouraged to explore. Photographers, involved in this project, were presented on the night, where they each presented their works and their experiences with the project’s masterclasses and residencies.
The programme continued at Refshaleoen, where the large scale audio-visual outdoor installation FRAMES ON FRAME was presented. The installed works were all by artists and photographers, who had been chosen for the solo exhibitions during the festival, but whose engagement had instead been digital – through video and audio bits. In the nearby cultural hub Werkstatt, the presented works were available as limited edition prints at a pop-up print on demand sale in collaboration with Atla. The buzzing print sale marked the end of the day and was accompanied by an open bar and the best vibes from the DJ in Werkstatt on Reffen.
Frames on Frame
Applications for the open call:
396 applications from 50 countries.
Winners of the open call:
Mitchell Moreno (GB), Meinrad Schade (CH), Kyrre Lien (NO), Dafna Tal (IL), Roman Korovin (LV), Chirag Jindal (NZ), Ilvy Njiokiktjien (NL)
The Censored Exhibition
Jury:
Kristine Kern, director of Fotografisk Center, Alain Bieber, artistic director of NRW-Forum Düsseldorf, and Ãngel Luis Gonzalez Fernandez, founder and CEO of PhotoIreland Festival.
Applications:
389 applications from 42 countries.
Selected:
AnneMette Elmelund (DK), Ivan Murzin (RU), Jessica Auer (CA), Niels Østergaard Munk (DK), Olya Pegova (RU), Ting Chen (UK), Willner + Olsson (SE), Caroline Heinecke (DE), Cecilia Sordi Campos (BR), Ela Polkowska (PL), Emma Frisch (GE), George Selley (UK), Gloria Oyarzabal (ES)
Reconstruction of Identities
Martin Thaulow (DK), Marine Gastineau (DK), Katerina Buil (ES), Filippo Venturi (IT), Sanne De Wilde (BE), Ana Amado (ES), Clea Filippa Ingwersen (DK), Katinka Klinge (DK)
Satellite Exhibits
Atla, Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, Basement Vesterbro, Bespoked, Blågårdens Bibliotek, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, Det Grønlandske Hus, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, DGI-Byen, Eks-Rummet, Format Artspace, Fotografisk Center, Fragment, Galerie Pi, Galleri Format, Galleri Image, Galleri Nybro, Galopperiet, Hans Alf Gallery, Harbo Bar, Jónshús, Kunstnerfællesskabet 2249, Nordiart, NW Gallery, Poesiens Hus og LiteraturHaus, Teatermuseet i Hofteatret, Kunstnow, TRBL Studio, VERA Skole for kunst & design, YellowCorner.

6 – 16 June 2019
2019 Copenhagen Photo Festival moved to Refshaleøen, which allowed us to work together with Copenhagen Contemporary, Teaterøen and Reffen – Copenhagen Street Food. Our festival centre was spread out in three locations at Refshaleøen, Maskinværkstedet, Beddingen and Flexsalen. On each of these three locations the festival’s main exhibitions could be seen, each part of either Framing Vision, Framing Society or Framing Identity.
In 2019 CPF could celebrate its 10-year-anniversary. Our anniversary programme included a photo island outside La Banchina, where works by the world-renowned photographer Mary Frey were exhibited. At Broens Gadekøkken we presented Ulrik Hasemann and Mathias Svold’s Kystland, and on the town squares self-portraits from the exhibition Self-Staged at the Theater Museum at the Court Theatre were presented.
During the festival, the visitors could take part in portfolio reviews, artists talks, art walks and guided photo walks around Copenhagen. During the festival, a Photobook Festival was arranged in DGI-byen, and on the last day of the festival selected works from The Censored Exhibition was up for auction in the foyer at Copenhagen Contemporary – in collaboration with Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers.
See the flyer and the printed programme (in Danish).
Festival Center
Applications for the open call:
217 applications from 41 countries.
Winners of the open call:
Mathias Løvgreen (DK), Franziska Gilli (IT), Marco Marzocchi (IT), Jana Sophia Nolle (DE), Garrett O’Hansen (US)
Invited by the programme committee:
Mary Frey (US), Espen Rasmussen (NO)
The Censored Exhibition
Jury:
Claire Gould (FIN), curator at HAM – Helsinki Art Museum, Elisa Medde (NL), managing editor at Foam Magazine, and Balder Olrik (DK), visual artist and art critic.
Applications:
360 applications from 42 countries.
Selected:
Adam Jandrup (DK), Alex Marchis (RO), Andreas Till (DE), Anna Cherednikova (RU/ES), Annika Björndotter (SE), Charles Xelot (FR), Christian Guldager (DK), Claudio Verbano (IT/DE), Dieter Schamne (DE), Eric Tabuchi (FR), Erlend Berge (NO), Gerlinde Miesenboeck (AT/DE), Kasper Christiansen (DK), Lars Daniel (DK), Ludovica Bastianini (IT), Martin Magntorn (SE), Martin Tscholl (DE), Paola Ruvioli (IT), Philip Gath (DK), Qian Jin (CN), Sofie Pihl (DK), Stepan Chubaev (RU), Tommaso Sacconi (IT/US), Torkil Gudnason (DK/US), Vanja Bucan (SI/DE)
Satellite Exhibits
Alice Folker Gallery, Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, Basement Vesterbro, Bella Center Metrostation, Biblioteket Rentemestervej, Bolsjefabrikken, BORCHs Butik, Broens Gadekøkken, CAMP – Center for Art on Migration Politics, Carlsberg Byens Galleri & Kunstsalon, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, Det Franske Institut, Det Grønlandske Hus, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, DGI-Byen, Eks-Rummet, Fatamorgana, Folkehuset Absalon, Fotografisk Center, Fotogalleri Vasli Souza, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Galleri Image, Rummet/ Galleri Format, Gallery Boat – Liva II, Galleri Krebsen, Grafik & Foto, Hans Alf Gallery, Harbo Bar, Institut for Geovidenskab og Naturforvaltning, In The Gallery, KBH Film- og Fotoskole, Kirkegaards Antikvariat, Kulturtårnet på Knippelsbro, Kvit Galleri, Landskrona Foto, Landskrona Museum, LOKALE, Marias hjem, Malmö Konsthall, Nikolaj Kunsthal, NW Gallery, Nordic Art Agency, Pavillon no. 11, Phototek Esbjerg, The PHOTOSCOPE, Teatermuseet i Hofteatret, Udstillingsbussen Højbro Plads, VERA Skole for kunst & design, Videomøllen.
- Further information can be found in the Programme.

7- 17 June 2018
In 2018 it was yet again the closed substation, Understation, and the surrounding wilderness, that provided the framework for the centre of the festival. Photo City consisted in 2018 of 11 international exhibitions, including indoor and outdoor film screenings as well as a hidden exhibition space made of containers.
This year’s festival also presented exhibitions all over Copenhagen and in Scania, and the workshops and events during the festival allowed visitors to work with and immerse themselves in photography. An international seminar focused on portraying everyday life in conflict areas, and Photo City visitors had the opportunity to experience the festival’s exhibitions through taste.
In 2018 the festival beat its record with no less than 449 applications from all over the world at our open call to The Censored Exhibition.
See the full programme and download click here
Photo City
Applications for the open call:
80 applications from 16 countries.
Winners of the open call:
Marta Pohlmann-Kryszkiewicz (PL/DE), Sara Vighi (IT), Martin Thaulow (DK), Nils Stelte (DE)
Invited by the programme committee:
Dana Balajovsky (ARH), Jessica Backhaus (DE) & Emil Salto (DK), Sander Foederer (NL), Prasiit Sthapit (NP) Sculptural Landscapes curated by Trine Stephensen (Miriam Nielsen (DK), Johan Österholm (SE), Marianne Bjørnmyr (NO), Inka og Niclas Lindergard (FI, SE), Adam Jeppesen (DK), Linn Pedersen (NO)), and The International Journalism Project (Alex Kay Potter (US), Alessandro Rota (IT), André Liohn (NO/BR), Andrea DiCenzo (US), Andrew McConnell (IE), Andoni Lubaki (ES), Anne Alling, Charles Thiefaine (FR), Gabriel Romero (US), Jan Grarup (DK), Joao Castellano (BR), Juan Carlos (SV), Nish Nalbandian (US), Osie Greenway (US), Yan Boechat (BR), Quentin Bruno (BE))
The Censored Exhibition
Jury members:
Balder Olrik (DK), visual artist and art critic, Johan Vikner (SE), Exhibition Manager at Fotografiska, and Markus Hartmann (DE), publisher and curator.
Applications:
449 applications from 55 different countries.
Selected:
Angelika Wienerroither (AT), Aristotle Roufanis (EL), Dan Frisk Petersen (DK), Elena Kristofor (AT), Fabiola Cedillo (EC), Hana Sackler (US/DE), Hannah Woolf (DE/ES), Hyejeong Yoo (KR/DE), Irina Kholodna (DE), Jacob Cook (GB), Laurence Kubski (CH), Maria Mäki (FI/SE), Matthew Arnold (US), Mette Ovgaard (DK), Michaela Maier (DE), monotoomono (DE), Nicole Gadiel (DK), Peter Ydeen (US), Rogério Vieira (BR), Sára Erzsébet Timár (HU), Simon Riemer (DE), Vincenzo Pagliuca (IT) and Walker Pickering (US).
Satellite Exhibits
Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, Basement x KBH Film & Fotoskole, Biblioteket Rentemestervej, Brandts, CAMP – Center for Art on Migration Politics, CAMP – Center for Art on Migration Politics, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, Den Georgiske Ambassade, Det Franske Institut, Det Grønlandske Hus, Det Italienske Kulturinstitut, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, Det Nationalhistoriske Museum, Eks-Rummet, Fotogalleri Vasli Souza, Fotografiska, Fotografisk Center, Galerie Pi, Rummet/ Galleri Format, Galleri Image, Galleri Kbh Kunst, Galleri Krebsen x Fatamorgana x Global Art Gallery, Hans Alf Gallery, KRÆ syndikatet, Kunstforeningen GL STRAND, Københavns Kulturcenter x IMMART, Metroen, Moderna Museet, Nikolaj Kunsthal, NW Gallery, Reffen – Cph Street Food x Plan BØRNEFONDEN, SixtyEight Art Institute, Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, Teatermuseet i Hofteatret, The PHOTOSCOPE, Vandrehallen – Hillerød Bibliotek, VESS – Vesterbro Showroom x VERA Skole for kunst & design, Videomøllen x DIAS Kunsthal.
- Further information can be found in the Programme.

1- 11 June 2017
In 2017 the new Photo City was established in Østerbro where 11 international exhibitions were located in the area around Gasværksgrunden:
The abandoned transformer station was transformed into a hall with exhibitions, Østre Gasværk Theater screened movies and photo shows. Gasværksgrunden got its own exhibition park with photography works in the wilderness and a new mobile exhibition hall made out of containers exhibited works.
In 2017 CPF provided the setting for more than 100 different activities. There were workshops for every age groups which offered learning and creative development along with international conferences which focused on the importance of photography. In addition, the festival crowd had the possibility to experience Copenhagen’s hidden treasures through the ‘’Urban Photo Tour’’ around in the city.
2017 was also the year where the festival got a record number of international applications to Photo City. New initiatives were added such as portfolio reviews, film screenings, photobook days and walkings with sound stories.
See the the full programme and to download click here.
Photo City
Applications for the open call:
42 applications from 16 countries.
Winners of the open call:
Ida Arentoft (DK) & Simon McAuley (GB), Ingi Joensen (FO), Hannes Jung (DE), Sanne Vils Axelsen & Josee Schryer (CA), Mario Wezel (DE)
Invited by the programme committee:
Christian Vium (DK), Kien Hoang Le (VN/DE), Filippo Menichetti & Martin Errichiello (IT), Jana Romanova (RUS), DMJX Anniversary Exhibition (Ella Kiviniemi (FIN), Evgeny Makarov (RUS/D), Heba Khamis (ET), Mathias Svold & Ulrich Hasemann (DK), Mikkel Hørlyck (DK), Nanna Navntoft, Benjamin Nørskov & Sille Veilmark (DK), Anders Rye Skjoldjensen & Katrine Marie Kragh (DK), Olafur Steinar Gestsson & Jens Welding Øllgaard (DK), Riina Rinne (FIN), Anne Bæk & Morten Lau-Nielsen (DK))
The Censored Exhibition
Jury:
Beate Cegielska (DK), curator and director of Galleri Image, Tina Enghoff (DK), photographer, video and visual arts, and Torben Sangild (DK), art and cultural journalist.
Applications:
242 applications from 25 different countries.
Selected:
Adrian Fish (CA), Blør (DK/CYP), Borcher Lomholdt (DK), Carrie & Eric Tomberlin (US), Ebony Finck (AUS), Elisabeth Anna Kristjansdottir (IS), Erik Jørgensen (DK), Giles Clark (US), Ida Refsgaard (DK), Jake Naughton (US), Jim Johnston (UK), Ken Hermann (DK), Lars Brorson Fich (DK), Lesia Maruchak (CA), Louis De Belle (IT), Mads Kongerskov (DK), Maria Kapajeva (ES) & Mark Rammers (NL).
Satellite Exhibits
ARTOTEKET, Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, BLAA Galleri, BORCHs Butik, Breadfield, Bredgade Kunsthandel, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, Danmarks Fotomuseum, Davids Samling, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, Eks-Rummet, Fotografisk Center, Rummet/ Galleri Format, Galerie Pi, Galleri Image, Hans Alf Gallery, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Ragnarock – museet for pop, rock og ungdomskultur, SixtyEight Art Insitute.
- Further information can be found in the Programme.

2- 12 June 2016
2016 was a landmark year for the Copenhagen Photo Festival with new management, program committee and a new program strategy. Photo City moved out of Carlsberg City and became a photo route from Bremerholm transformer station in the city to KW3 and Museumsbygningen in Østerbro. ‘Picture The Music’ culminated with the coffee table book releases of the best music photography from three years of travelling exhibitions. For the first time in the history of the festival, an auction of selected photos from ‘Picture the Music’ and the Juried Exhibition were held in collaboration with Brun Rasmussen Auctioneers. We held an international seminar in collaboration with the National Museum of Photography, and we launched the app Look & Listen, offering the audience a whole new way to experience the classic exhibition format. Finally, there were all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.
See the programme and catalogue and to download click here.
Photo City
Applications for the open call:
17 applications from 8 different countries.
Winners of the open call:
Andreas Olesen (DK/US), Daniele Sambo (IT), Frej Rosenstjerne (DK), Lars Just (DK), Nathalie Daoust (CA) & PutPut (Stephan Friedli (CH) and Ulrik Martin Larsen (DK)
Invited by the programme committee:
Elena Chernyshova (RUS)
The Censored Exhibition
Jury Members:
Matthias Hvass Borello, curator and editor of the Arts. Trine Søndergaard, pre-based visual artist, and Banja Rathnov, founder of Banja Rathnov Gallery & Art Store.
Application:
100 applications from 15 different countries.
Selected:
André Viking (DK), Carlos Cartama (ES), Claudia Kent (SE), Emilie Lundstrøm (DK), Esme Chapman Jones (DK) , Geoff Buono (UK), Jesper Hasseltoft (DK), Jonathan Ussing Magyar (DK), Julia Mejnertsen (DK), Karina Tengberg (DK), Kersti K (SE), Lars Brund Jensen (DK), Lene Hald (DK), Malte Brandenburg (DK), Mia Linnea Jørgensen (DK), Nanna Brøns (DK), Philip Overbuary (DK), Sanja Matoničkin (DK), Sofie Amalie Klougart (DK) & Zhao Qian (CN).
Satellite Exhibits
Banja Rathnov Galleri og Kunsthandel, BORCHs Butik, Bredgade Kunsthandel, DAC – Dansk Arkitektur Center, David Risley Gallery, Det Kgl. Bibliotek – Det Nationale Fotomuseum, Fotogalleri Vasli Souza, Rummet/ Galleri Format, Fotografisk Center, Galerie Pi, Galleri Image, Galleri Ingrid Bugge, Galleri Kant, Galleri KBH KUNST, Galleri Oxholm, Galloperiet – Stadens Museum for Kunst, Gl. Holtegaard, Hans Alf Gallery, In The Gallery, Kunstforeningen GL STRAND, Martin Asbæk Gallery, Galleri Naboløs, NLHspace, Rønnebæksholm, SixtyEight Art Space, The Toilet/ Din Nye Ven, Udstillingsstedet Sydhavn Station, VESS – Vesterbro Showroom.
- Further information can be found in the programme.

4- 14 June 2015
2015 was the year when CPF launched new fields of action. We presented a media channel with podcasts and videos on both the festival and the entire photographic scene. CPF’s new education portal efterbilleder.dk on photography in elementary school was launched, the best student photos were exhibited in Photo City and workshops for children and adolescents were held for the first time. We opened up for unconventional approaches to photography with the group exhibition Peripheral Vision, which challenged the classical photography and its borders. Benita Marcus’s documentary exhibition ‘Men & Dolls’ which focused on men’s relationships with silicone dolls became a crowd-puller. Photo City was located in Carlsberg City but had a department in Øksnehallen where you could see two exhibitions on the Nordic region. Soren Rønholts book and exhibition ‘The Nordic’ and Lasse Bak Mejlvang & Dennis Lehmann’s book and the exhibition ‘Inuit Now’ which explored towns and settlements in Greenland. Finally, there were all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.
See the programme and catalogue.

5- 15 June 2014
In 2014 we celebrated the festival’s fifth anniversary with a Photo City programme that among other things featured a DRK-cinema, a pop-up photo editing room with the photojournalists from Politiken and the launch of the nationwide music photo project ‘Picture the Music,’ which was exhibited simultaneously eight different locations around the country. We ran a masterclass in collaboration with Magnum and introduced Aperture Foundation photo book exhibition ‘The Paris Photo’. Josef Hoflehners exhibition ‘Jet Airliner’, Astrid Kruse Jensens ‘Within the Landscape’ and especially Joachim Ladefoged’s personal photo book and exhibition project ‘After My Time’ were among the headliners in Photo City. Finally, there were all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.

6- 16 June 2013
Photo Applications and mobile photography was the focus of this year’s Photo City, where we collaborated with the street festival Distortion on a street photography exhibition, curated by Rasmus Weng Karlsen and Gallery Naboløs. The competition ‘Hipstagram FTW’ was based solely on mobile photos and had Kristine Kern from Photographic Center as a jury member among others. Danish photography just now was examined in the exhibition ‘State of The Art’ with works on loan from V1 Gallery, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Martin Asbæk Gallery and Peter Lav Gallery. DR K had a theme week on photography with documentaries on iconic photographers, and the auction house Bruun Rasmussen arranged their very first photo auction in connection with Copenhagen Photo Festival. Photographers could also get a camera check in Canon’s “Check and Clean” service. Finally, there was all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.
- See the programme

7- 17 June 2012
Nordic contemporary photography along with press photography were two important themes in 2012. At the two-day seminar NORDIC NU, organised by Filter (DK), Objektiv (NO) and Raw (FI), photographers, critics and researchers discussed Nordic photography. The Commission for Press Photography celebrated its 100th anniversary with an exhibition at Nytorv, and at Photo City created a large exhibit with the photographers from Politiken along with smaller exhibitions collaborating with Henrik Saxgren, Martin Lehmann and Niels Hougaard. The young photojournalists behind Personal Project decorated The City Fence at the Kings Square. The public space in Copenhagen was taken over by the City space Art Project where art photos where shown in 130 poster stands. Finally there was all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.

9- 19 June 2011
Photo City moved to Carlsberg City and presented a multitude of small solo exhibitions. The most significant exhibition in townscape was ‘2200 Everyday Rituals about life’ in the neighborhood Nørrebro. The citizens own images of everyday life were exhibited in all the shop windows along Nørrebrogade as a counterweight to the negative news stories about the area. The jury consisted of gallery owner Martin Asbæk and the experienced photographers Joachim Ladefoged and Jacob Holdt. The TV channel DR subsequently took the concept further with the broadcasting of ‘Danes Everyday Rituals’. At the other end of the spectrum, CPF held a symposium on staged photography in cooperation with the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK). In 2011, CPF also initiated a cooperation with the Metro Company and had exhibitions in all the city metros. Finally, there was all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.

12- 20 May 2010
The first year of the festival was used to build foundations and explore ideas. Emphasis was placed on having a main exhibition: Day & Night, which consisted of a series of 16 prominent Danish and international photographers, including Nicolai Howalt, Todd Hido, Dash Snow, Peter Sutherland, who depicted the diurnal two modus vivendi. The exhibition took over Copenhagen’s most visited places in the form of billboards, banners and projections on gables, walls and big screens during the evening. The exhibition was followed by a photo competition launched by CPF, Canon and The Museum of Copenhagen with the aim to involve the audience and spread awareness of photography. The winning pictures were exhibited at the WALL, this started our goal to get everyday citizens involved in photography. Symposiums were offered at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and at gallery exhibition openings with a record high number of visitors . Photo City was located in the Meatpacking District and was a broad-spectrum presentation of both fashion photography, art photography and photojournalism. Finally, there was all the exhibits that CPF’s collaborators presented.