International Photo Festival Leiden 2020/21

The IPFL is an initiative of the Foundation for Talented Photographers, which was founded in 2013, and takes place every other year. The festival is based on two pillars: photo competition and festival. During the International Photo Festival Leiden, the works of the 15 nominated IPFL photographers will be presented in a free open-air exhibition.

The International Photo Festival Leiden (IPFL) offers emerging European photographers a stage in the first phase of their professional career. The IPFL creates an international platform with a high visibility and advertising value. The photographers show their work and get into contact with a broad and international photography-loving audience.

The fifth edition of the International Photo Festival Leiden (IPFL) takes place from 17 to 31 October 2021 and will be celebrated with a free open-air exhibition. For six weeks, the work of upcoming photographers from the Netherlands and abroad will be on show along the Singelpark route.

From more than 125 photo submissions sent to us from all over Europe, an independent jury of experts has made a critical assessment and selected the 15 nominated photographers. Out of these nominees, the jury also chose one overall winner, Jesper Boot, with his series: Power. He will receive a cash prize of € 1,500. There is also an audience award with a cash prize of € 500.

During the Photo Festival Leiden, not only the work of these 15 IPFL photographers can be seen. This five-year-anniversary edition would not be complete without a group exhibition of ‘alumni’ IPFL photographers that will present their further development as professional photographers with a combination of both older and brand-new material. Also displayed is the work from several Leiden based professional photographers, each showcasing a solo exposition with recent and new works. Besides, The LAFV (Leidse Amateur Photographers Association) will show a selection of the winning photos of their members submitted during the photo association competition 2020.

Our motto is: a photo festival without borders and boundaries. Since 2014, the IPFL has been working closely with two renowned international photo festivals: Photoville (New York) and HeadOn (Sydney), with the aim of giving new photographic talent a global platform. The work of upcoming American and Australian photographers is on show in an special exhibition along the Singelpark route. At the same time, the 15 IPFL photographers will have the opportunity to show their work across the oceans to a broad audience during these festivals in September 2021 and May 2022.

The versatile program surrounding the outdoor exhibition offers artist talks, presentations, masterclasses and portfolio reviews for both young and old, photo enthusiasts, amateur and professional photographers, taking into account the applicable corona rules.

The daily program and visitor information will be available from September the 11th.