Brighton Photo Fringe, University of Sussex, Brighton (2026)

20/01/2026

Photography Networking Event and Artist Talk with Mikael Buck

Thursday 5 February 2026, 6 - 9pm
Fabrica
40 Duke Street, Brighton, BN1 1AG

Tickets £4/6 + £1 booking fee
All welcome

Photo Fringe is delighted to be partnering again with Fabrica, Spectrum Photographic, Jane & Jeremy and new In Between Gallery partners POST for a relaxed evening of photography discussion, music and photobooks.

At this annual event, we aim to create a welcoming space where photographers and creatives at any stage in their careers can connect with industry professionals and peers and discover new work.

The evening will feature an artist talk and Q&A with Mikael Buck, winner of the latest In Between Gallery open call currently on display in Fabrica’s main window, insights from POST founders Nina Emett and Simon Roberts, an opportunity to hear about plans for Photo Fringe 2026, plus networking, photobooks, a fully stocked bar, and a live DJ.

Come meet people, share ideas, and discover new work.

We're looking forward to seeing you!

Book your place via link in bio

10/12/2025

Join the Photo Fringe Board and help deliver our mission to develop new ways of seeing together, working towards a fairer, safer, greener and anti-racist world through photography.

We're on the look out for dynamic, committed Trustees. Spread the word!

Our open-access festival has never been more needed by lens-based artists. Our festival in 2024 saw more exhibitions and artists than ever before.

To continue to offer vital artist support to the photography community in a fast-changing world, we need to strengthen our board’s skills and share responsibilities. We are seeking bold strategic leadership and effective fundraising abilities.

Our current Chair, Rebecca Drew, is stepping down after many years of dedicated service, and a new team will be recruited next year to deliver the festival, so this is a significant and exciting period of change for Photo Fringe.

We're recruiting for three key trustee roles:

Chair / Co-Chairs: to guide our strategy and lead the Board.

Treasurer: to help us manage our budget and financial health.

Company Secretary: to ensure we stay well-organized and compliant.

We're committed to building a diverse and inclusive board and encourage candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and life experiences who demonstrate a clear passion for photography, open-access and our DIY ethos.

Being a Photo Fringe Trustee means being at the heart of an inclusive and supportive creative community. If you love photography and you're ready to contribute your professional skills to a mission-led charity where your input will make a real difference, we'd love to hear from you.

Find out more about each role and how to apply by following the link in our bio.

Applications close 5 pm, Friday 9 January 2026.

📷 Gin Rimmington Jones

13/10/2025

The latest work to be selected from an open call for Fabrica's In Between Gallery is Mikael Buck’s image, taken from his series, Sorry About That (2019-2024), showing in the large picture window on Duke Street, right in the heart of the city, until summer 2026.

Sorry About That is Mikael’s deeply personal visual diary, made over five years as he confronted the long-standing impact of his father’s disappearance and a childhood overshadowed by deception. Initially turning to photography as a way to avoid difficult conversations, he hoped for a small collection of images that might shield him from scrutiny. Instead, the project evolved into a raw, fragmentary exploration of grief, guilt and identity, rendered through photographs captured primarily with his smartphone.

The selected image shows the artist peering through a painted slate sculpture, created in response to unspoken memories. Left to weather in his garden, Mikeal later rediscovered and photographed it as part of a series about concealment and reflection. The edges of the image have been expanded using generative AI.

The In Between Gallery is a partnership project produced by Fabrica, Spectrum Photographic, Photo Fringe and Jane & Jeremy.

13/10/2025

Photo Fringe 2026 Discussion Meetup
Thursday, 16 Oct 2025 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Phoenix Art Space, Brighton

Plans for our next festival in October 2026 are advancing rapidly. At this challenging time for the arts, we'll be focusing on grassroots, peer-to-peer support for artists.

We welcome your ideas for the delivery of our next edition and the future of Photo Fringe. What should we continue doing, what should we stop and what should we start?

Whether you've exhibited with Photo Fringe before, or you're thinking of taking the plunge, everyone is welcome.

Book your place via
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/photo-fringe-2026-discussion-meet-up-tickets-1736894491179?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=PAT01DUANZpg9leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp_MZn40sz4_ewHqKZmI0y8oZsMLOpv5W8y9e-wfG8hy0fODI5bTayZSd0g5K_aem_ejDIiyoz5V9rEg_GhgmR7Q

📷 Photo Fringe 2024 opening at Phoenix Art Space image:

24/09/2025

Claire Wearn, Festival Director of Photo Fringe since 2020, is stepping down.

Claire says

“Photo Fringe is unlike anything else, a large-scale, collective effort showing just how brilliant people can be when they work together.

I’ve had the most fun, and I’m so grateful to have met so many incredible, talented, and generous people using photography in all its forms to communicate in such compelling ways and to have worked with such an extraordinary team, who really do go the extra mile.

Looking after Photo Fringe has been an absolute joy. When I picked up the baton, from some truly giant predecessors, I immediately felt at home with the mantra: Photo Fringe is open to all and everyone is invited.

It really is the sum of its beautiful parts; vast and eclectic in styles, subjects, and personalities. That’s what I love most, and what makes it so thrilling.

I can't wait to visit the next festival and I'm excited for what's to come!”

Photo Fringe Chair, Rebecca Drew says,

“Claire has brought incredible commitment, energy and talent to the role and Photo Fringe has significantly grown as a result. She will be greatly missed by everyone associated with Photo Fringe and we wish her every success in her new ventures”

Last year's Common Ground was the biggest Photo Fringe festival to date with over 500 artists, more than 70 venues, an additional 30 online exhibitions, and a total of 78 events. The festival expanded along the coast with a major exhibition in Newhaven Marine Workshops curated by Jane & Jeremy, and a new festival hub in Portsmouth, Claire’s hometown.

Photo Fringe 2026 Discussion

Thursday, 16 Oct 2025 6.30pm - 8.30pm
Phoenix Art Space, Brighton

Plans for the next festival in October 2026 are advancing rapidly. At this challenging time for the arts, we'll be focusing on grassroots, peer-to-peer support for artists.

We welcome your ideas for the delivery of our next edition and the future of Photo Fringe. What should we continue doing, what should we should stop and what should we start?

Whether you've exhibited with Photo Fringe before, or you're thinking of taking the plunge, everyone is welcome.

Follow the link in bio to book your place

31/07/2025

A wonderful gathering was had to celebrate the launch of ’s newly released book, We Feed The UK, featuring the stories, poems, and photographs of over 40 collaborators, published by ⁠
⁠
After showing our co-commission of ’s Sankofa in and with Build Hollywood on North London billboards it was great to bring it home to the gorgeous plots and palm houses at Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre celebrating the inspiring work of Go Grow With Love and Black Rootz.

Once again we were mesmerised by the words and song of as well as all the energy and wisdom of the growers that we’ve had the great fortune to meet and work with. ⁠
⁠
An amazing and fun night with great tunes from DJ as well as the incredible drummers led by Ras Happa. Thank you to all who came along including some familiar Fringer faces too!
⁠
👉️ Click the link in our bio to find out more and order your copy of We Feed The UK

Images thx to...
Amy and Amber at Gaia Foundation
Ella Brolly
&

20/07/2025

Some wonderful We Feed The UK coverage in the latest Waitrose Weekend and in Positive News magazine too, each including work from our co-commissioned artist of the growers at and

Huge congratulations and thanks to all the many partners who have made the project such a joyous one and continue to spread the We Feed The UK magic with the newly published book

11/07/2025

It's been so exciting to see this coming together. POST will be an artist-led cultural space, right next to Hove Station from our friends and . Follow the link in our bio to find out more about the Kickstarter campaign and what is sure to be an important space for our community, for Photo Fringe and for Photo Fringers.

13/06/2025

Thanks for this feature on the newly published book We Feed The UK by and . See full article in bio.

“We Feed The UK is a project pairing photographers with nature-friendly farmers to raise awareness of their positive solutions to the environmental crises we face. From all-women worker cooperatives in Edinburgh to traditional fishing practices off the southern coast, these stories touch every corner of the country.”

We’re delighted that the book’s cover image features one of those taken by during our project together with and . Please join us on 15 July for a special event celebrating the project on the farm at Wolves Lane, see bio.

The full exhibition of all ten stories and remains open until 22 June.

Congrats to all at the Gaia Foundation and Papadakis Books for making this publication happen and sharing the project and key messages with the world.

09/05/2025

Showing Bristol until 22 June 2025, Photo Fringe is immensely proud to have been one of the UK arts partners for The Gaia Foundation’s We Feed The UK, pairing photographers and poets with inspiring British food producers.

The results of our co-commission with Arpita Shah working with Black Rootz and Go Grow with Love have previously been shown at ONCA Gallery Brighton and with Build Hollywood in London during paired with words of

This current exhibition brings together all ten national collaborations between farmers, poets, photographers and environmentalists and features
poetry and photography by

Saturday 10 May, Photo Fringe Festival Director Claire Wearn is heading to Bristol for a packed day of talks and tours.

See you there!

22/04/2025

⚡OPPORTUNITY: for photographic submissions for our - a temporary gallery that displays contemporary photography in Fabrica's main window on Duke Street, Brighton.

🔗 fabrica.org.uk/open-calls/in-between-gallery-open-call-2025

Fabrica is partnering with Spectrum Photographic, Brighton Photo Fringe and Jane & Jeremy to present excellent photographic work by UK-based artists who consider themselves to be early to mid-career.

There is no theme to address, but artists are asked to submit a work that will function well within the context of a large format print set within the window frame.

Deadline: 11am Tuesday 17 June 2025.

Last year's open call winner: 'Studio (Palm) by Sean Cham

08/03/2025

We’re delighted to be working with Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora as part of her project ‘Fractured Landscapes and How We Heal’.

The project examines the impact of violence against women and girls and how we heal from trauma. Jaskirt and four other commissioned artists will be working with women in refuge in four towns & cities across England.

The project will culminate in an exhibition of sound, image and text led by Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora in collaboration with all four artists and participants at The New Art Gallery Walsall in Spring 2026.

Project artists and regional partners:

* Katy Sadler and Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora, working with Birmingham & Solihull Women’s Aid
* Audrey Albert and Open Eye Gallery, working with Chrysalis Centre in Liverpool
* Lynda Laird and Peter Marlow Foundation, working with Oasis in Gravesend and Dungeness

We’ll be working with Lynn Weddle to lead her aspect of the project with Safe in Sussex in Worthing. Lynn brings an intuitive talent for creating spaces to share and learn, enabling others to control their own image, art making and representation.

This project is led and produced by Jaskirt Dhaliwal-Boora and supported by Arts Council England.

working with

working with .boyle at

working with at

Exhibition in 2026, working with and

Images:
1, 2 by Jaskirt
3, 4 by participants starting to work with Lynn Weddle
5. training day with Birmingham and Solihull Women’s Aid
6. site visit to The New Art Gallery Walsall

safeinsussex.co.uk
lynnweddleartist.org

Brighton Photo Fringe

20/01/2026

10/12/2025

13/10/2025

13/10/2025

24/09/2025

31/07/2025

20/07/2025

11/07/2025

13/06/2025

09/05/2025

22/04/2025

08/03/2025

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