Starting tomorrow, August 1st, until October 12th, 2025, San Lucido — a small town in the province of Cosenza — once again becomes a meeting point for contemporary photography, transforming into an open space for the present. The Fotografia Calabria Festival returns for its fourth edition, with a program that weaves together exhibitions, residencies, talks, and educational projects — turning this Tyrrhenian village in Calabria into a hub for contemporary photography.
This year’s theme, Common Roots: Places, is an invitation to reflect on the intimate relationship between memory, belonging, and landscape. It’s a journey across real and imagined places, identities in transit, wounded territories, and shared dreams. The program includes 16 exhibitions — many of them site-specific — with photographers such as Marie Tomanova, Lys Arango, Mykhaylo Palinchak, Hashem Shakeri, Ciro Battiloro, and Claudia Fuggetti.
The opening weekend kicks off tomorrow night in Piazza Monumento with a large nighttime projection by the Cesura Collective: I Lupi, a choral tale of the Cosenza valley, with photographs by Nicotra, Pedretti, Sala, and Zanella, curated by Alex Majoli. On Saturday, August 2nd, the core of the festival unfolds: the official opening of the exhibitions, portfolio reviews with international experts, the launch of three photobooks, and a seminar by Lys Arango on memory and energy transition. A rich, inclusive, and participatory beginning.
One of the key new features of this edition is the Singapore Exchange residency, which will take photographer Camilla Marrese to Singapore in 2026, in collaboration with the DECK Photography Art Centre. At the same time, Alvin Ng — an artist selected by the Asian counterpart — is already in Calabria conducting a research project that will continue over the coming months. Also returning is the Radicale residency, which saw Alessandra Gatto, Arianna Mattietti Orani, and Ng explore the territory starting from the historic Amarelli Licorice Factory in Corigliano-Rossano.
Inclusivity and education are two pillars on which the identity of the festival rests. This year marks the launch of the FCF Educational program, involving the IIS S. Lopiano of Cetraro, and for the first time, the introduction of tiflodidactic tools designed by Fabio Fornasari to make the experience accessible to blind and visually impaired visitors.
Bringing this year’s edition to a symbolic close is the project Ashes of the Arabian’s Pearl by Valentin Joseph Valette, winner of the FCF Award 2025. His work takes us to Oman, through architectural memories, diasporic identities, and a future yet to be written.
Fotografia Calabria Festival is not just an exhibition event: it is a shared cultural practice, a widespread lab connecting landscape, community, and artistic visions. As mayor Cosimo De Tommaso points out, “San Lucido is not just the setting for the Festival, but a living part of its story.” And photography, in this small corner of Calabria, becomes a powerful tool to help us interpret and navigate our times.
cover photo by Andrea Salvucci, I Licutani
