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Backlight’26 – The Art of Lying

The international Backlight Photo Festival will take place in Tampere during September. Founded in 1987, Backlight is one of the oldest photo festival in the Nordics, with this year being the 14th time is has been held.

The theme of the festival The Art of Lying will examine how images, stories and techology affect our way of understanding reality. In a time when Artificial Intelligence, algorithms and social media shape our understanding of the world, the exhibitions ask the question of who gets to define what we think of as real.

The international exhibition collection brings 12 artists and artist groups from around the world to Tampere. In their artwork they address the relationship between photography and power, political propaganda, surveillance techonology, algorithm visibility and alternative methods for knowledge and experience.

The main exhibition will be held in the Finlayson Area in Vooninki and in Photographic Centre Nykyaika. An international student exhibition will be held in Gallery Koppelo, with students from Tampere University, Tampere University of Applied Sciences and the Dutch Willem de Kooning Academy. The festival will also have artist meet-and-greets, a seminar and other programs.

The artists for Backlight 2026 are Katerina Angelopoulou, Jo Duck, David Ellingsen, Ganslmeier & Zibelnik, Joel Jimenez Jara, Akshay Mahajan, Rafael Roncato, André Ramos-Woodard, Timo Wright, Sheung Yiu, Amin Yousefi and Sasha Velicho.

Backlight 2026 invites you to think about how images form our reality - and what remains unseen. The festival and its exhibitions are free of charge for all visitors.

Image by David Ellingsen