Imagine a seaside city where the gallery walls spill out of the museums and into the library, the university corridors and the side streets. That is what Brighton & Hove becomes this October, when Photoworks Festival and Photo Fringe run side by side. Whether you hold a camera every day or simply love looking at pictures, this is the kind of month that rewards curiosity, comfortable shoes and a free afternoon.
Two festivals, one city
Photo Fringe runs from 2 to 31 October 2026, with exhibitions and creative projects in venues across Brighton & Hove and along England's south-east coast, reaching communities in Newhaven and Portsmouth too. Photoworks Festival runs from 2 October to 1 November, built around the theme Un/Stable: Lands, Anxieties, Dreams. Think of the Fringe as the open, adventurous sibling and the Photoworks programme as the curated main stage. Together they give you far more to see than any single weekend can hold.
Why the theme matters
Un/Stable: Lands, Anxieties, Dreams looks at how identity, place, memory, community and the environment are tangled together. It asks what it means to live through uncertainty while still imagining hopeful futures. Climate change, belonging, resilience and social change all sit inside that frame. You do not need an art degree to feel it. Standing in front of a landscape that has been altered, or a family archive that has been reworked, is often enough to start a conversation with yourself.
What to look out for
- Brighton Museum & Art Gallery hosts And So I Watch You From Afar and The Most Beautiful Anthropocene, which continue until 18 January 2027, so even a late visit is worthwhile.
- The University of Brighton's First Floor Gallery shows The Weight of the Earth and Dark Matters and Other Geographies until 1 November.
- The Wilmot Gallery presents the Luigi Ghirri Emerging Talent 2025 / 2026 exhibition, a good stop if you enjoy discovering new names.
- Free public spaces such as Jubilee Library carry work too, which makes the festival easy to dip into between coffees.
Beyond the walls, the programme includes talks, tours, portfolio reviews, workshops and film screenings, plus the 2026 Photoworks Annual publication. Photoworks Friends receive free or discounted entry to festival exhibitions and events, which is worth knowing if you plan to attend several.
A practical plan for visitors
Start with one anchor venue, such as the museum, and let the rest of your day grow around it. Brighton is compact, so you can stack three or four exhibitions on foot and still make time for the seafront. Check opening times before you go, because small venues often have shorter hours than the big institutions. If you are a photographer, bring a notebook rather than a long lens; what you notice in other people's sequencing, printing and captioning can change how you edit your own work.
For photographers, students and curious families
Students will find the university shows a low-pressure way to see current research and emerging talent. Families can treat the free spaces as a gentle introduction to photography as a language rather than a technique. Emerging photographers should look closely at how work is displayed, because presentation is half the story in a festival setting.
If you can only make one trip this month, choose a weekday morning when the galleries are quiet and you can linger. Photography rewards slow looking, and this festival is generous with places to do it.
Quick facts
- Photo Fringe: 2-31 October 2026, Brighton & Hove and the south-east coast
- Photoworks Festival: 2 October-1 November 2026, theme Un/Stable: Lands, Anxieties, Dreams
- Details, programme and tickets: see the official festival pages below, as opening hours and prices vary by venue
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