Welcome to Festival Zone for January 2026.

Happy New Year!

Movement [Kori] theme

The 2026 Festival theme is 'Movement' [Kori]. We're delighted to share our advance announcement of one of our key artists who will feature in the 'Movement' suite of works. AFP Trust are producing an exclusive presentation of Shen Chao-Liang’s ‘Stages’ series, which will be shown in Auckland, New Zealand at the Festival.

Image by Shen Chao-Liang - STAGE 121, Kaohsiung, Taiwan 2021

His exhibition statement says, “The STAGE series showcased in this exhibition mainly includes works captured between 2005 and 2023 using large-format cameras. These works feature mobile stage vehicles, transformed from large trucks, unfolding in realistic settings across Taiwan. Although there is no precise count of the total number of these mobile hydraulic stage vehicles, it is estimated that more than 600 are actively in operation throughout Taiwan. It is hoped that the unique industrial type and rich grassroots information, the imaginative and diverse applications, will inspire viewers to connect and imagine the unique entertainment culture of Taiwan, encompassing time, space, horizontal and vertical dimensions, and both planar and three-dimensional structures”. (abridged)

Shen Chao-Liang, born in 1968 in Tainan, Taiwan, graduated from the Graduate Institute of Applied Media Arts at National Taiwan University of Arts. He has held various positions in his career, including a photojournalist for the Liberty Times, Deputy Convener, Resident Artist at Central University, adjunct associate professor at both National Taiwan University of Arts and Taipei National University of the Arts, Convener of the Photo ONE Taipei International Image Art Festival, and a member of the Board of Culture and Arts Director of the 9th and 10th National Foundation.

Shen will also attend the 2026 Festival and take part in talks, panels and networking opportunities at Festival 2026. Full programme announced in April.

Thanks to the -

Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2026

Leica Camera AG Launches New Project Fund: First LOBA Women Grant Open for Applicants in 2026.

Image by Priya Kambli; Muma Me and Babas shadow

A new category of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) has been introduced with project funding for female photographers. The LOBA Women Grant is aimed at professional female photographers aged 21 and over. In contrast to the two existing LOBA awards, proposals for this competition will for now not be made by nominators; instead, applicants are free to submit their ideas, accompanied by a meaningful project outline. Female photographers may apply with either a new project or an existing one.

The LOBA Women Grant amounts to 10,000 euros. The selected applicant will additionally receive a Leica Q-Camera and professional support throughout the project implementation and production period.

Applications for the first LOBA Women Grant will be accepted from 11 February to 15 March 2026. Full details regarding the requirements, deadlines and conditions for application can be found here: www.leica-oskar-barnack-award.com/en/

Call for submissions – 2nd February 2026

Happy New Year again! The 23rd annual Auckland Festival of Photography is officially about to open the call, and we are excitedly encouraging submissions from artists, educators, and curators from around the region, nation and the world starting 2 February.

The theme for this year’s Festival has been announced as ‘Movement’ [kori], and we will be welcoming creative and insightful interpretations on the subject (for more information about our 2026 theme see here)

Your participation can be in-venue, online, or outdoors and can include a wide variety of activities that celebrate photography and its makers. Exhibitions, talks, events, book launches, pub quizzes, performance projections and everything in between can be suggested to our Festival Trust.

The Festival serves as a gathering of cultural exchange for visual storytellers, lens-based artists, educators, students, and anyone passionate about the art form, to connect with a large and diverse audience and share lived experiences, stories, and dynamic creativity, especially during challenging times.

Our joint programme model has been in place since 2004 allowing for full creative freedoms with work presented by artists, curators, groups and dealer galleries based in New Zealand. The Festival offers an inclusive platform for creative freedom that allows independence to choose how and where they showcase their work.

 Vision - Photography Connecting Communities and People

World Press Photo 2026 open

Entries for the 2026 World Press Photo Contest are open until 17 January 2026. The WPP Foundation are excited to invite photographers from all over the world, with a rich variety of stories and perspectives, to enter their work!

Asia Pacific Oceania singles, winner 2025.

Nouvelle Vague - ticket giveaway

Auckland Festival of Photography [whakaahua hākari] is giving away 5 x Double Passes for the film NOUVELLE VAGUE.

We are delighted to share NOUVELLE VAGUE is coming to cinemas January 22.

For your chance to win tickets, please email your name and address to info.photo.festival@xtra.co.nz with the email subject line “NOUVELLE VAGUE giveaway” before 5pm on Monday, 12th January. Good luck!

From Director Richard Linklater, NOUVELLE VAGUE is the story of Jean-Luc Godard making "Breathless". The film is a love letter to the revolutionary magic of the French New Wave and a homage to Godard's influential 1960 film, capturing its youthful dynamism and creative chaos.

NOUVELLE VAGUE - Official Trailer