OPENING DAYS at FOTO WIEN 2025 marks the beginning of an entire month of exhibitions and events dedicated to the medium photography. For two days, theorists and practitioners will gather at the FOTO ARSENAL WIEN festival headquarters to engage in current discourse.

In 2025 FOTO WIEN focuses on speculative future scenarios under the banner of dynamic futures to address the impact of technological and scientific progress on society through the lens of photography. What visions of the future are revealed in historical and contemporary images of science and art? How do photographs and postdigital technologies influence the way we imagine our future? What ethical and sociopolitical issues are highlighted by digital and algorithmic images? The program places a particular focus on ecological themes and critical engagement with the human body.

We will explore these issues with contributions from artists, curators, and scholars including Victoria Aresheva, Lisa Barnard, VALIE EXPORT, Djamila Grandits, Beate Gütschow, Sophie Haslinger, Ruth Horak, Margarete Jahrmann, DeLovie Kwagala (aka Papa De), Angelica Mesiti, Clothilde Morette, Taiyo Onorato, Monika Pietrzak-Franger, André Rendeiro, Roxana Rios, Thomas Seelig, Katharina Steidl, Bernd Stiegler, Thomas Struth, Fiona Tan, Salvatore Vitale, Thomas Wagensommerer, and Joanna Zylinska.

Opening Hours
Saturday, October 4, 2025, 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Sunday, October 5, 2025, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.

Location
FOTO ARSENAL WIEN, Object 19A, 1030 Vienna

Saturday, October 4, 2025

11:00 – CURATOR’S TOUR (EN) 
SCIENCE/FICTION. A NON-HISTORY OF PLANTS

What if plants were more intelligent than we thought? What if they could observe, communicate—and perhaps even dream? The group exhibition Science/Fiction—A Non-History of Plants invites viewers to engage historically with the world of plants, while being as sensuous as it is speculative and enlightening. During a guided tour with curator Clothilde Morette, we will gain exciting insights into the artworks and their backgrounds.

Guided tour with
Clothilde Morette, Artistic Director, Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris

12:00 – ARTIST TALK (DE)
IMAGES FOR TOMORROW. BETWEEN DOCUMENTATION AND IMAGINATION

Images document, visualize, analyze, but they also dream, question, speculate. Thomas Struth’s photographic oeuvre navigates the tension between scientific precision and artistic imagination. His works—ranging from cityscapes and family portraits to photographs of technological spaces—address questions of visibility, objectivity, and social memory. In conversation with curator Thomas Seelig, Struth reflects on the role of photography in a visually charged present, on technical image production, and on art’s responsibility to the future.

Thomas Struth, artist, Berlin
in conversation in German with
Thomas Seelig, director of the Photography Collection, Museum Folkwang, Essen

14:00 – PANEL (DE)
PHOTOGRAPHY MEETS SCIENCE

Since its invention, photography has played a central role in science—whether in the documentation, analysis, or visualization of complex phenomena. Photographic images have long been regarded as the epitome of objective representation. At the same time, they allow artists to develop new forms of expression. How are our visual worlds changing under the influence of new technologies? What future are we writing with the images we produce today? Art historian Katharina Steidl and artist Taiyo Onorato explore these and other questions.

Taiyo Onorato, artist, Biel
Katharina Steidl, art historian, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna
in conversation in German with
Bernd Stiegler, professor of Modern German Literature and Media History, University of Konstanz

16:00 – LECTURE PERFORMANCES (EN)
SEEING BEYOND. ON ECOLOGIES AND ENTANGLEMENTS

How does our perception change when we shift our perspective and decouple our view of the world from humans? In their lecture performances, Angelica Mesiti and Joanna Zylinska explore new forms of seeing, focusing specifically on the complex interrelationships between humans, machines, and the environment. Mesiti creates poetic imagery about natural phenomena and rituals, while Zylinska focuses on the image in the age of AI, data extractivism, and ecological crisis.

Angelica Mesiti, artist, Paris
Joanna Zylinska, artist and professor of Media Philosophy + Critical Digital Practice, Digital Humanities, King’s College London
in conversation with
Clothilde Morette, artistic director, Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris

18:00 – PANEL (DE)
NAVIGATING PHOTOGRAPHY, RESOURCES AND THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY

From California’s Salton Sea, also known as Lithium Valley, to South Africa’s Gauteng province, home to the gig economy, artists Lisa Barnard and Salvatore Vitale explore who bears the burden of technological progress. Their works bear witness to the ecological and human costs of our hyperconnected world. As the tech industry and visual media consume more and more resources, the question remains: How can we expose the pitfalls that pervade our postdigital economies?

Lisa Barnard, artist and associate professor of photography at the University of South Wales, Cardiff
Salvatore Vitale, artist, Zurich
in conversation with
Sophie Haslinger, curator, KunstHausWien

In cooperation with Klima Biennale Wien, Vienna

20:00 – GAMING PERFORMANCE (EN)
EVERYDAY DAYLIGHT

Get in, buckle up—let’s visit Los Santos! The metropolis from the video game Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), inspired by Los Angeles, is not only action-packed; it has also established itself as a stage for art performances and so-called machinimas—films created directly in the game. Austrian collective Total Refusal will take you on a virtual joyride to the most exciting locations. They demonstrate how games can be used creatively and how the mechanisms of hyperreal media can be thwarted. A turbulent crash course in breaking out of the game plan!

Total Refusal, collective, Graz and Vienna

In cooperation with Vienna Business Agency

21:00 LET’S PLAY (DE)
PSYCHOLUDICART SPECTATOR, OR, HOW TO PLAY A PLANT?

How about, for once, not playing a character or chasing down the final boss in a video game—but instead stepping into the perspective of a plant? PsychoLudicArt Spectator makes it possible by turning traditional game mechanics upside down: instead of competition, you’ll enter a meditative space of experience. You don’t play against your environment, but with it—with what usually seems silent, yet may have more agency than we think. Austrian collective PLRG invites you on a sensory journey of discovery into the world of plants in this unique Let’s Play.

PLRG (Psycholudic Research Group)
Margarete Jahrmann and Thomas Wagensommerer, artists, Vienna

Sunday, October 5, 2025

11:00 – CURATOR’S TOUR (EN) 
SCIENCE/FICTION. A NON-HISTORY OF PLANTS

What if plants were more intelligent than we thought? What if they could observe, communicate—and perhaps even dream? The group exhibition Science/Fiction—A Non-History of Plants invites viewers to engage historically with the world of plants, while being as sensuous as it is speculative and enlightening. In this guided tour with curator Victoria Aresheva, we will gain exciting insights into the artworks and their backgrounds.

Guided tour with
Victoria Aresheva, curator, Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris

12:00 – ARTIST TALK (DE)
BODY/ FEMINISM/ ACTIVISM

In celebration of her eighty-fifth birthday, we honor VALIE EXPORT as a pioneer of the feminist avant-garde who uses photography and performance as powerful tools of resistance. Early on, the performance and media artist addressed how patriarchal structures inscribe themselves into and control the female body. Since the 1970s, her works have shed light on how identities are constructed and can be deconstructed through images. VALIE EXPORT talks with curator Ruth Horak about body politics and media criticism.

VALIE EXPORT, artist, Vienna
in conversation in German with
Ruth Horak, curator and author, Vienna

14:00 – PANEL (EN)
QUEER FUTURES

How can we imagine a future beyond normative categories—in images, bodies, stories? In their artistic practice, Roxana Rios and DeLovie Kwagala address questions of belonging, uprooting, and resistance. Their work deals not only with gender and identity, but also with issues of migration, environmental justice, and making marginalized perspectives visible. Moderated by Djamila Grandits, the panel understands queering as a practice of resistance and asks how spaces can be created that are open to everyone.

DeLovie Kwagala (aka Papa De), artist, Berlin
Roxana Rios, artist, Leipzig
in conversation with
Djamila Grandits, curator, part of CineCollective and D—Arts, Vienna

16:00 UHR – PANEL (EN)
PHOTOGRAPHY, MEDICINE AND POWER

From nineteenth-century clinical photography to today’s AI-generated diagnostics, the visual representation of the body has been a battleground of science, power, and desire. Together with artist Fiona Tan and scientist André Rendeiro, we explore how lens-based media engage with medical visuality—past and present—and how photographic practices might reclaim taboo or marginalized experiences. How can images help us reimagine bodily autonomy, health, and pleasure in the age of algorithmic care?

Fiona Tan, artist, Amsterdam
André Rendeiro, Principal Investigator, CeMM—Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna
in conversation with
Monika Pietrzak-Franger, professor of British Cultural and Literary Studies, University of Vienna

In cooperation with the University of Vienna

18:00 UHR – CLOSING SESSION (EN)
FUTURE FORWARD

For our final session, we open a space for collective reflection and speculative thinking: Where could photography develop? What new ideas are emerging at the intersection of images, books, screens, and networks? Together with artists, thinkers, and participants, we will look beyond current practices and explore untapped possibilities of photographic storytelling, circulation, and materiality—toward possible futures of photographic practices.

The place for photobook lovers, collectors, publishers, booksellers, and artists to meet.

For the 11th edition, FOTO WIEN once again hosts the international platform BOOK DAYS, which focuses on the printed image. Participants of the photo book fair include publishers from Austria, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Mexico, Myanmar, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.

The accompanying BOOK TALKS celebrate the medium of the photobook in the form of book presentations, panels, and book signings—including with and about artists Robert Adams, Eric Asamoah, Gerry Badger, Máté Bartha, Kincső Bede, Alexey Brodovitch, Weronika Gęsicka, Beate Gütschow, Jan von Holleben, Alice Pallot, Viviane Sassen, and Marie Tomanova.

Curated by Regina Maria Anzenberger

Opening Hours
Saturday, October 4, 2025, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Sunday, October 5, 2025, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

Location
Opernwerkstätten / Art for Art, Object 19, 1030 Vienna

Saturday, October 4, 2025

11:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
LITTLE STEIDL. KIDS LOVE PHOTOGRAPHY

Welcome to Olaf’s world! This four-year-old boy lives in the Norwegian mountains and spends every day tinkering with his magical machines. These colorful and exciting machines help him tame the wild nature around him. Which is the most important machine of all? There can only be one! The Blueberry Machine (2023) is an imaginative photobook for children, created by Jan von Holleben and Monte Packham and traditionally printed by Nina Holland. In this talk, the creators explain how photobooks are made. The talk offers an exciting insight for inventors of all ages!

A conversation between
Jan von Holleben, artist, Berlin
Nina Holland, founder and publisher, Little Steidl, Göttingen
Monte Packham, author, Berlin

12:00 – BOOK TALK (DE)
BEATE GÜTSCHOW. RESISTANCE, FLOOD, FIRE, RESISTANCE

At first glance, Beate Gütschow’s photos appear to show people on the brink of disaster, depopulated areas, and abandoned villages. However, on closer inspection, it becomes clear that they depict protests, reconstruction work, or the consequences of natural disasters resulting from climate change. Her calm, precise images provide an alternative perspective to the typical depictions of disaster. Gütschow is part of the climate justice movement. She captures demonstrations, occupations, and actions at close range, complementing her photographs with personal, diary-like notes. This powerful interplay of text and image is captured in her new photobook.

Beate Gütschow, artist and professor of artistic photography at the Kunsthochschule für Medien, Cologne
in conversation with
Felix Hoffmann, Artistic Director, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN

13:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
WERONIKA GĘSICKA. ENCYCLOPAEDIA

In her latest photobook, Encyclopaedia (2024), Polish artist Weronika Gęsicka embarks on a quest to find evidence of fictitious entries in historical encyclopedias, known as “Mountweazels.” Originally used to more easily prove plagiarism through the use of such “fictitious facts,” Gęsicka employs AI-generated imagery and photomontages to explore pressing questions of our time: How can we get our bearings in an era of information manipulation and fake news? Which sources can we rely on? And, above all: What do we see when we look closely?

Weronika Gęsicka, artist, Choceń
in conversation with
Monika Pietrzak-Franger, professor of British Cultural and Literary Studies, University of Vienna

14:00 – BOOK PANEL (EN)
ON COLLECTING PHOTOBOOKS

What passion and curatorial expertise are involved in putting together a large photobook collection? This conversation focuses on the love of collecting, curatorial perspectives, and the cultural value of the medium. It explores various approaches and personal motivation, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into significant photobook collections.

Caterina De Pietri, collector and director of the Artphilein Foundation, Lugano
Josef Chladek, collector and founder of The Virtual Bookshelf, Vienna
in conversation with
Roland Fischer-Briand, Kurator, Fotosammlung, Theatermuseum Wien

15:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
VIVIANE SASSEN. THE IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOBOOKS IN THE ARTIST’S CAREER

Dutch photographer Viviane Sassen is renowned for her powerful, color-intensive images that transcend the boundaries between art, fashion, and concept. This talk focuses on the photobook as a central medium in her work. Works such as Flamboya (2008) and Umbra (2015) encapsulate Sassen’s visual aesthetic and showcase her distinctive style beyond commercial commissions. These publications enable an in-depth exploration of the recurring themes in her work, including identity, the body, and space.

Viviane Sassen, artist, Amsterdam
in conversation with
Joshua Chuang, curator and director of photography, Gagosian, New York, London, Basel, et al.

16:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
FLORIAN RAINER. TAGADA

The Tagada in Vienna’s Wurstelprater is a local institution. The ride serves as a stage for anyone who wants to shine, as well as a meeting place for those who have nowhere else to go—those looking to escape or find a sense of belonging. Florian Rainer’s new photobook Tagada (2025) tells the story of the Prater and its people. The Austrian artist and sociologist talks to Frauke Kreutler, photography curator at the Wien Museum, about perceptions of social classes and the social phenomena that occur at this quintessentially Viennese location.

Florian Rainer, artist, Vienna
in conversation with
Frauke Kreutler, curator, photographic collection and head of the digital collection management department, Wien Museum, Vienna

17:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
ÜBER ROBERT ADAMS. LIVING LEGEND

Robert Adams is one of the most influential photographers of our time. Since the 1970s, he has used the medium of photography to raise awareness of human intervention in nature and the responsibility that comes with it by documenting landscape changes in the American West with quiet, powerful images. Curator Joshua Chuang, who has edited several of Adams’s books, discusses his legendary work, values, and the enduring relevance of his vision with British critic Gerry Badger, a longtime friend of Adams.

A conversation between
Joshua Chuang, curator and director of photography, Gagosian, New York, London, Basel, et al., and
Gerry Badger, author and curator, London

18:00 – AWARD (DE)
AWARD OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY (PHG) VIENNA

The Golden Medal from the Photographic Society (PHG) Vienna, which has been awarded since 1875, celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. The award honors outstanding lifetime achievements in the field of photography. This year’s winner is Elfi Semotan. The Golden Voigtländer Medal for special services to Austrian press photography will be awarded to Kristian Bissuti. In addition, emerging photographers Franzi Kreis and Julia Wesely will be honored with the Silver Medal.

Golden Medal
Elfi Semotan, photographer, Vienna

Golden Voigtländer Medal
Kristian Bissuti, photographer, Vienna

Silver Medal
Franzi Kreis, Julia Wesely, photographers, Vienna

The medals will be presented by

Horst Stasny, photographer, Salzburg
Werner Sobotka, President of the Photographic Society (PHG) Vienna
Eva Kelety, Federal Chairwoman of Professional Photography Austria
Felix Hoffmann, Artistic Director FOTO ARSENAL WIEN

Sunday, October 5, 2025

11:00 – BOOK TALK (DE)
ERIC ASAMOAH. IF BY CHANCE WE BELIEVED

Eric Asamoah offers insights into his photo book If by Chance We Believed (2025). Featuring images taken in Brazil, Ghana, France, Spain, and Turkey, the book unfolds as a sensitive web of black-and-white portraits, empty landscapes, and poetic diary fragments. These elements raise questions about the self, transience, and one’s own position. Much remains unspoken in this work, yet it is still tangible. The present seems like a fleeting transition—a glance, a moment. These gaps will be explored in a conversation with curator Djamila Grandits.

Eric Asamoah, artist, Linz
in conversation in German with
Djamila Grandits, curator, part of CineCollective and D—Arts, Vienna

12:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
KINCSŐ BEDE. PORCELAIN AND WOOL

How can generations with vastly different historical experiences find common ground within families and society? In her photographs, Kincső Bede combines personal self-positioning with an exploration of collective memory in postsocialist Eastern Europe. Drawing on her background as a member of the Hungarian Székely minority in Transylvania, Romania, Bede creates complex visual worlds that interweave folkloric symbols, everyday objects from the Soviet planned economy, and intimate portraits.

Kincső Bede, artist, Kovászna/Budapest
in conversation with
Emese Mucsi, curator, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest

13:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
MARIE TOMANOVA. KATE, FOR YOU

What does it mean to dedicate one’s photographic practice to the same person over many years? What questions regarding identity, intimacy, memory, and the passage of time arise in such a collaboration? For her ongoing project Kate, For You (2025), Marie Tomanova has been photographing Kate Vitamin, a Czech model living in New York, since 2017. In this talk, Tomanova discusses portraiture itself—how it develops, deepens, and reflects not only the subject but also the photographer.

Marie Tomanova, artist, Mikulov/New York
in conversation with
Marit Lena Herrmann, curator, FOTO ARSENAL WIEN

14:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
GERRY BADGER. BEST FACE FORWARD

In Best Face Forward (2024), author, curator, and photographer Gerry Badger offers unique insights into the history and significance of portrait photography. In conversation with curator Fabian Knierim, Badger presents a personal selection of iconic and lesser-known works spanning two centuries, addressing themes such as death, colonialism, racism, and early celebrity culture. Through these portraits, Badger explores the art form and its reflection of society.

Gerry Badger, authr and curator, London
in conversation with
Fabian Knierim, curator, WestLicht, Vienna

15:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
ON ALEXEY BRODOVITCH. BALLET

In celebration of the eightieth anniversary of the publication of Alexey Brodovitch’s photographic masterpiece Ballet (1945/2024), book designer and editor Nina Holland of Little Steidl and Joshua Chuang, an independent editor and director of photography at the Gagosian Gallery, will discuss Brodovitch’s radical endeavor to capture the beauty of movement and dance in a static medium such as the book. Little Steidl’s historic reissue breathes new life into this canonical work.

A conversation between
Nina Holland, founder and publisher, Little Steidl, and
Joshua Chuang, curator and director of photography, Gagosian, New York, London, Basel, et al.

16:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
ALICE PALLOT. RED BLOOM

Traces of photographic technology blur with the structures of nature. They both question the medium behind the lens as well as the object in front of it. What do we see when we look through the camera? How are our views shaped, or even distorted, by technical and natural means? Alice Pallot’s work explores the impact of human activities on the environment, presenting scientific research findings. To accomplish this, she uses pollutants, such as algae and plastic waste, as photographic filters. A conversation about the (in)visibilities between nature, humans, and technology.

Alice Pallot, artist, Brussels/Paris
in conversation with
Victoria Aresheva, curator, Maison européenne de la photographie (MEP), Paris

17:00 – BOOK TALK (EN)
MÁTÉ BARTHA. ANIMA MUNDI

In images such as a high-rise with rows of lowered blinds forming an uneven pattern or a transparent grid in an urban landscape that only appears to organize the view of the hustle and bustle behind it, Máté Bartha discovers patterns and structures in our everyday surroundings that often go unnoticed. In doing so, he slips into the role of a fictional observer searching for an “order of things.” In conversation with Emese Mucsi, he discusses Anima Mundi (2024), a photobook that attempts to find structure and meaning in a random world.

Máté Bartha, artist, Budapest
in conversation with
Emese Mucsi, curator, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest

Publishers and Booksellers

• AnzenbergerGallery bookshop, AT
• Artphilein Editions, CH
• BLOW UP PRESS, PL
• FOTOHOF edition, AT
• Fraglich Publishing / Myanmar Photo Archive, AT/MM
• Gallery Container, GE
• Hartmann Books, DE
• Hydra, MX
• Kaunas Photography gallery books, LT
• Kehrer Verlag, DE
• LaBabuch, FR
• Leporello photobooks et al., IT
• Tanja Lažetić, SI
• Lithuanian Photobooks, LT
• Mack Books, GB
• Christian Reister and Christoph Schieder, DE
• Shift Books, DE
• Softcover, AT
• Spector Books, DE
• Steidl Verlag, DE
• The Angry Bat, SI
• THE EYES PUBLISHING, FR
• transcript, DE

Schools and Universities

• Die Angewandte / Klasse Angewandte Fotografie und zeitbasierte Medien, AT
• Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, HU
• Prager Fotoschule, AT
• Schule Friedl Kubelka für künstlerische Photographie, AT