Toronto, Ontario, Canada – CONTACT Photography Festival today announced highlights of the 30th edition of its annual citywide event spanning May 2026. CONTACT is the Toronto-based Festival dedicated to exhibiting, analyzing, and celebrating photography and lens-based media. The Festival provides numerous opportunities to experience a diverse range of exhibitions across greater Toronto, with hundreds of events including openings, artist talks, workshops, portfolio reviews, the CONTACT Photobook Fair, and more, sparking community engagement and nurturing an appreciation of contemporary lens-based practices.
Over the last 30 years, CONTACT has achieved some very impressive figures, through its engagement with artists and the community. The Festival has attracted over 20 million visitors and presented the work of over 8500 artists. CONTACT has produced over 4500 exhibitions, 200 public art projects, and over 2000 free public programs.
“Our 30th anniversary is a milestone for our organization, and we are truly grateful to the thousands of artists who have participated and shared their work with the public in exhibitions and programs across Toronto and on our website. Our free community wide month-long event continues to showcase exceptional Canadian and international talent, raising awareness of and appreciation for this captivating, multifaceted medium. We also thank our partners and sponsors for the tremendous support they have shown the Festival over the years,” said Darcy Killeen, CONTACT’s Chief Executive Officer.
The 2026 Core Program of Exhibitions and Public Art Installations, developed both by CONTACT and through partnerships with local and international organizations, highlights projects by exceptional Canadian and international artists. This year, the featured lens-based and mixed-media artists employ practices variously incorporating themes of decolonization, community-building, activism, protest, and revolution. Several work in collage and photomontage processes to address personal and collective memory, displacement and migration, diasporic experiences, queer realities, and world-building. Select artists also explore gaps in historical and contemporary archives and embrace a return to experimentation from the medium’s earlier days and applying them to contemporary concerns.
This year’s Core Program artists include: Shannon Bool, Ernesto Cabral de Luna, Bob Carnie, Kristi Chen, Delali Cofie, Marlene Creates, Dylan Dae-Shin, Larry Fink, Tim Georgeson, Mickey Green, Hassan Hajjaj, Alex Hall, Leala Hewak, April Hickox, Risa Horowitz, Spring Hurlbut, Philip Jessup, Aaron Jones, Marie-Claude Lacroix, Parker Lily, Lilly Lulay, Alvin Luong, Arnaud Maggs, Robert Mapplethorpe, Caroline Mauxion, Marzieh M. Miri, Marlene Hilton Moore, Sophia Oppel, Lu Pan, Celia Perrin Sidarous, Dawit L. Petros, Yann Pocreau, Kenna Robinson, Gabe Seamon, Jessica Slipp, Sheida Soleimani, Adam Swica, Ho Tam, Anouk Vervier, Sin Wai Kin, Bo Wang, Yujie Wang, and Ian Wilms.
More information: https://contactphoto.com/festival/2026
