KAUNAS PHOTO festival has been a festival of premières for future stars of photography since its launch in 2004. The festival is organized every year in Kaunas, the second largest city of Lithuania. Being the longest- running photographic festival in the Baltic States, KAUNAS PHOTO is a platform for dialogue around contemporary photographic creation between North and South, East and West. While being the prime event of art photography in Lithuania, KAUNAS PHOTO does not solely focus on Lithuanian photography. Its programs and projects, such as exhibition and book “Generation ’74. 11 European Photographers born in 1974” feature a vast menu of internationally acclaimed photographers.
Thanks to a variety of exhibitions, ranging from venues of National M. K. Čiurlionis Art Museum, to mid-sided galleries, such as Kaunas Photography Gallery, Meno Parkas gallery, Post Gallery, smaller adapted venues and outdoor exhibitions, KAUNAS PHOTO festival is the most attended photographic event in Lithuania, comprising 200-300 participants per year’s program and counting its audience by tens of thousands of local visitors. Besides numerous exhibitions, the festival publishes photography books, hosts artist talks, projection nights, portfolio reviews KAUNAS PHOTO STAR and organises annual distance-based portfolio reviews on its on-line platform, folioPORT.org.
Besides domestically hosted exhibitions in Kaunas, the festival also shows exhibitions in other Lithuanian towns and villages. Moreover, KAUNAS PHOTO holds exhibitions (of mostly Lithuanian photography) abroad. Since 2005, Kaunas-Photo-curated shows visited Finland (“Backlight” in Tampere), Poland (Fotofestiwal Lodz, Pix.House gallery in Poznan), Italy (“FotoGrafia” festival in Rome), France (“Photo de Mer” festival in Vannes, “Les Photaumnales” in Beauvais, Les Boreales in Caen), China (Pingiao and Lishui festivals), New Zealand (Auckland Festival of Photography), etc.
Since its beginning in 2004, “Kaunas Photo” festival was co-organised by the Kaunas Branch of the Lithuanian Association of Art Photographers, known as Kaunas Photography Gallery, which remains the strategic partner in the years to come. KAUNAS PHOTOfestival’s major sponsors are Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, Lithuanian Culture Council and Kaunas Municipality.
KAUNAS PHOTO is member of Festival Of Light organisation.
Founder and director of the festival Mindaugas Kavaliauskas
To contact KAUNAS PHOTO, write to: festival@KaunasPhoto.info