PARADAJS PHOTO FEST 2026
Announcing the 2026 Open Call Winner! And a little surprise to go with it
Out of more than 200 international submissions responding to this year’s festival theme "Paradise," selecting a winner was no easy task. For this reason, the jury chose not only an absolute winner but also awarded one honorable mention.
The winner was officially announced at the opening of the Open Call finalists' exhibition – Of Apples and People – during the opening weekend of the Paradajs Photo Fest. Anyone who attended already knows that the winner is Lorraine Turci (FR) with her project At the Eclipse of the World!
The Honorable Mention goes to Konrad Koźmiński (PL) with his project With ghosts and souls. You might have caught the discussion with him on the opening night of the festival at Kino Akademik.
Congratulations! Both awarded artists win an artistic residency at the Hájovňa Cultural-Tourist Center in Banská Štiavnica, where Lorraine Turci will also present her project in a solo exhibition in 2027.
Main Prize – LORRAINE TURCI (FR) – At the Eclipse of the World French photographer Lorraine Turci spent four years working as a crew member on luxury cruise ships traveling to Antarctica. Her project serves as a visual act of resistance against ruthless consumer tourism. She views the "white paradise" of Antarctica as a laboratory of reality and a mirror in which humanity confronts its own responsibility and the prospect of extinction. Beneath the thick ice, she visualizes the exhaustion of our world. Lorraine's committed work sensitively explores peripheral spaces, the fragility of ecosystems, and forms of human resistance. More about the project: HERE!
Honorable Mention (Residency at Hájovňa) – KONRAD KOŹMIŃSKI (PL) – With ghosts and souls Polish photographer and ITF Opava student Konrad Koźmiński receives the Honorable Mention for his visual research into religious and cultural syncretism in Bulgaria. His profound documentary probe maps a world where Orthodox tradition intertwines with ancient Thracian and Greek pagan rituals, capturing spiritual energy in alternative spaces–hot springs, roadsides, and the homes of clairvoyants, thus documenting forms of faith outside institutions. More about the project: HERE!
Warm congratulations once again to both artists! We look forward to the work they will develop during their residencies right in the magical setting of Hájovňa in Banská Štiavnica!
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