Photo|Frome returns in April 2025 with the theme ‘inEquality’. Through photography from internationally acclaimed, national and regional artists, we reflect on stories of global and local justice and equality.
The third edition of the festival brings another inclusive and thought-provoking perspective on photography to Frome & the Southwest. The festival runs from 5 April – 27 April 2025. with free exhibitions (indoor and outdoor), talks, workshops, portfolio reviews, pop-up portrait studio (Faces of Frome), curator tours and more.
One of Photo|Frome’s principal installations features Joss Barratt’s photography taken whilst working on set with acclaimed director Ken Loach. Loach is known for his focus on marginalized communities, which includes ‘Carla’s Song‘, images from which we are pairing with Susan Meiselas‘ renowned documentary on Nicaragua. By combining fiction and reality we explore the same issues but from totally different angles, giving new perspectives. The work of Tish Murtha, Paul Seawright, Nick Hedges and Fast Forward, Women in Photography is also featured alongside other Ken Loach films.
Other indoor and outdoor exhibitions take different creative approaches to the theme. This includes Joanne Coates whose work explores rurality, hidden histories, and income-based inequalities, Sujata Setia’s ‘A Thousand Cuts’, Sarah Palmer’s ‘Wish You Were Here’, and Evgeniya Strygina’s ‘Home from Home’.
Photo|Frome will again offer an international Open Photobook Award and the MPB Student Awards. In 2025, we also have a new Open Call on the inEquality theme. Details of all three are announced separately.
This year’s festival builds on 2023’s successful second edition which featured 170+ photographers across 15 venues, enjoying over 13,000 visits, broke venue records, and welcomed attendees from across the UK. For 2025, every facet of the festival has been revisited and revamped. We will be filling Frome with photography.
The organisers are committed to using Photo|Frome as a platform to explore important issues from a diverse set of viewpoints. We believe that this year’s theme of ‘InEquality’ is particularly timely:
- Despite rising living standards, economic inequality remains stark, with the wealthiest 1% owning about 45% of global wealth, compared to 33% in 1995. The UK gender pay gap was almost 15% in 2022, while life expectancy varies by 10 years between rich and poor areas of England.
- Globally, 108 million people today are displaced by conflict, compared to 33 million in the 1990s. In 2022, about 30 million were displaced by climate events, with the World Bank estimating that 200 million could be forced to migrate by 2050, fuelling immigration concerns.
- The Economist notes a continual decline in democracy across the globe. Though around half of the world’s population live in a democracy of some sort, only 8% reside in a full democracy, and almost 40% live in autocratic regimes.
Photo|Frome is an independent festival dedicated to showcasing and celebrating all levels of photographic endeavour from local, national, and international photographers. The festival aims to put photography on the map in Frome and the Southwest of the UK – and, eventually, put Frome firmly on the international photo circuit.
Photo|Frome’s Institutional Partner is Arts Council England, using public funding by the National Lottery. Our Official Sponsor is MPB, the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear.