Australia's largest photography festival comes into focus

With far-sighted agenda, Melbourne-based event aims for regional and international impact

PHOTO2024-Tony Albert_David C Collins_Kieran Lawson_Warakurna Superheroes No. 1_2017_archival pigment print on paper_100x150cm_Low Res.jpg

One of the many striking images selected for display at PHOTO 2024: Tony Albert, David C Collins and Kieran Lawson, "Warakurna Superheroes No. 1," 2017, archival pigment print on paper, 100 by 150 cm. (Courtesy of Sullivan+Strumpf)

CAT WOODS, Contributing writer

February 24, 2024 11:00 JST

MELBOURNE -- The third edition of the PHOTO International Festival of Photography, Australia's largest photography festival, has an ambitious theme: "The future is shaped by those who can see it." For Elias Redstone, the festival's founder and director, that means enabling access to both Australian and international art across the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital.

PHOTO 2024, which runs from March 1 to 24, will offer more than 100 free exhibitions that cater to the theme in seven central Melbourne precincts and in galleries in five regional towns -- Castlemaine, Shepparton, Benalla, Latrobe and Ballarat.