Viewpoints Photography Festival

Viewpoints Photography Festival returns from 6–10 May, transforming spaces across Manchester Metropolitan University’s Oxford Road campus into a vibrant celebration of contemporary photography. Showcasing the work of BA and MA Photography students and staff from the School of Digital Arts (SODA), this free festival features a dynamic mix of exhibitions, talks, workshops, and events that push the boundaries of the photographic medium.

Audiences can explore group exhibitions that experiment with materials and technologies, preview third-year graduate portfolios, and view the 1×1 exhibition featuring single works from staff and MA students in The Lowry’s Vertical Gallery. Site-specific installations include Anna Marsden’s poetic and haptic project I need to start a garden, presented in All Saints Park.

The programme also includes TAP 05, a student-led show and artist talk at The Salutation pub, a zine-making workshop focused on pareidolia, and a conversation around anti-racist practice in the arts led by members of A Particular Reality. There’s also a drop-in badge-making workshop exploring activism through art, and an exciting showcase of first-year creative projects ranging from darkroom photography to 3D printing and AI.

With a central hub at SODA and the Ormond Campus, Viewpoints offers a fresh and critical look at how the next generation of photographers are rethinking the image, the self, and the role of art in society.