Copenhagen Photo Festival Steps onto the Big Stage

Copenhagen Photo Festival steps onto the big stage this year when the festival takes over the Royal Danish Theatre's Old Stage in the middle of Kongens Nytorv for the first time. The theater's foyer will form a spectacular setting for the center of the festival at this year's festival in June and will host the first major solo exhibition with the world-famous Magnum photographer Martin Parr in Denmark since 2003.

When this year's Copenhagen Photo Festival opens on June 12, it will be in a brand new, central setting in the heart of Copenhagen. With an extensive exhibition and activity program inside the Royal Theatre and outside on Kongens Nytorv, this year’s festival puts the spotlight on photography in a completely unconventional exhibition setting, which itself holds 150 years of cultural history.

Exhibitions with a World-Famous Photographer in the City Center

- We are entering a new era for the festival this year, and we are incredibly proud and excited to present photography in one of Copenhagen's most impressive historic cultural centers – especially in the company of one of the most significant and groundbreaking photographers of the past 50 years, Martin Parr, says Festival Director Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen.

- Martin Parr is a hugely generous photographer who has inspired generations of photographers with his photography. His impressive photographic body of work is one thing, but his passion for photobooks and work to strengthen the culture of photography through the Martin Parr Foundation is another. It is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to share Parr's work with the public in Copenhagen and in Denmark on a larger scale for the first time in 20 years.

More People Will Enjoy the Old Stage

Rasmus Øland, Head of Commercial Activities at the theater says:

- We are very happy to host an event like Copenhagen Photo Festival, as we want to collaborate with the city's other cultural actors. The new collaboration means that more guests will be able to enjoy the historic setting of the Old Stage and experience it in a completely new way with exhibitions in the foyer and corridors spread over several floors.

New Center at Kongens Nytorv and New Hub for the Talent Team on Refshaleøen

During the festival, selected projects by Martin Parr will be showcased both at the festival center at Gamle Scene and in the city center. The exhibitions present works from some of Martin Parr's most famous series. With the exhibitions by Martin Parr and the remarkable shift to the Royal Danish Theatre, the festival also marks a new direction.

- We were created to create visibility for photographic art - from documentary photography to fine art photography. By moving into the city center, while retaining our previous exhibition park on Refshaleøen for exhibitions with a focus on the growth layer. Our ambition is to reach a much larger audience through the festival’s exhibitions and program – both at our new center at Gamle Scene and through our many partner museums and galleries, Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen says about the new direction.

- And part of our mission has always been to show photography in unconventional settings that take art out of its usual confines and make it more accessible. That mission now takes on a new level with this shift, she says.

The festival continues to offer exhibitions and activities in the exhibition park at Refshaleøen, but can now offer an even better setting for the growth team. Therefore, this year the exhibition park will be renamed VÆKST. Here there will be room for upcoming photographers to experiment and show their work to a wider audience.

Talks, Guided Tours and Photo Market

In addition to Martin Parr’s solo exhibition, the festival’s new center will also showcase four international photographers selected from nearly 1,000 applicants in the festival’s traditional open call in autumn 2024. There also will be a photo book market, talk stage, guided tours and much more to explore.

Bringing the new festival format into the heart of Copenhagen has so far been made possible through the generous support of the City of Copenhagen, The Obel Family Foundation, The Aage and Johanne Louis-Hansen Foundation and The Augustinus Foundation.

Ticket sales for the festival and the event- and talk- program will open in February and will be continuously updated with new activities throughout spring.