On Sunday, October 12, 2025, at midnight, the eighth edition of the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival 2025 – Europe's largest photography festival – came to a close:
336,288 visitors / 57 artist talks, workshops, and portfolio reviews / 81 guided art tours / €8.4 million in economic impact / 728 reports in TV, radio, print media, and social media / 1,576 photographs in 38 exhibitions on the theme of Australia & The New World.
AUSTRALIA & THE NEW WORLD – The visual narratives of the world's best photographers once again resulted in a record-breaking attendance for the festival: 336,288 visitors enjoyed photographic art and garden art in the World Heritage city of Baden near Vienna. A spectacular 7km-long open-air gallery in the parks, gardens, and on the facades of buildings transformed the city into a visual oasis for four months.
The festival is not only the largest Franco-Austrian cultural event, but, in cooperation with its exhibition partners La Gacilly in Brittany, the Tulln Garden, and the Month of Photography in Bratislava, it is by far the largest photography exhibition in Europe.
"With the photo festival, Baden has created a unique selling point: As a leading medium of our time, top-level photography inspires both the local population and the many tourists who visit the region and its extensive cultural offerings beyond the festival. Thank you for this initiative," says Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.
Since its inception, the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival has made it its challenging commitment to consistently place nature, which gives us life, at the heart of its exhibitions. In doing so, the festival represents humanity's desire for peace. This focus has shaped the festival into an event whose social relevance is unparalleled through the fusion of artistic photography and photojournalism.
“For four months, the festival has shaped our city and presented Baden as an inspiring stage for international photographic art. This festival breathes even more life into our city, brings people together, and is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The successful 2025 season underscores that Baden has established itself as a center for contemporary photography, captivating people far beyond Baden's borders,” summarizes Carmen Jeitler-Cincelli, Mayor of Baden.
We've gathered some comments for you:
“I'm absolutely delighted that these wonderful exhibitions were back again, which I visit several times every year!” Parish Priest Clemens Abrahamowicz.
And Gero Anger, lawyer and artist, says: “Having something so magnificent in my own hometown is simply wonderful.”
“We especially appreciated the inclusion of ME/CFS. The photo concert was, of course, also a highlight. Fantastic for our city,” Astrid and Manfred Matzinger-Leopold, Board Members of the Austrian Mint.
“We have been enthusiastic fans of the exhibition for many years and invite friends to visit the festival together every year. The impact of the festival on Baden is invaluable… inspiring, moving – and above all, hopeful. A powerful sign that art and culture continue to make essential contributions to shaping a humane and sustainable future,” Udo Lackner, LKNR Advertising Agency.
“Great photos with plenty of opportunities to marvel and reflect!” Hubert Hochwarter, Artist.
“A must-see in summer – the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival.” Hannah Miriam Lessing, Secretary General of the National Fund of the Republic of Austria.
“I’m at the fantastic (open-air) exhibition in Baden. There are 31 amazing stations along a seven(!) kilometer city and park trail, ranging from the South Seas to the 1950s.” Peter Filzmaier, Political Scientist
“Hats off! This is a creative and innovative way to boost Baden’s image!” Renate Danler, Club Tirol
“This is a truly remarkable movement that has been set in motion in Baden. I’m delighted with your success!” Martin Traxl, ORF Culture
“Thanks to the festival, the world comes together in Baden!” Nathalie Ivanovich, Parliamentary Directorate
"The days at the Baden Festival were simply wonderful." Freddy Langer, FAZ, Frankfurt
"Some days remind us why we love photography so much – and my visit to the Baden Photo Festival 2025 was exactly such a day. Hosts Silvia and Lois, with great heart and curatorial sensitivity, have created a festival that touches and inspires." Ben Lorenz, Imaging Media House, Berlin
"These exhibitions are eye-opening, inspiring, and thought-provoking experiences." Heiner Henninges, Freelance Press Editorial Office, Munich
"What a celebration the opening weekend was again – full of inspiring conversations, impressive photographic works, and warm encounters! It is truly a special gift that you give to the international photography community year after year. Nowhere else is the organization so perfect, the exchange so open, and the connection to the photographers so palpable." Katharina Niu, Stern, Hamburg
“Under the theme ‘Australia & The New World,’ the spa town of Baden near Vienna is once again being transformed into a sprawling gallery for excellent photographic art. For professional photographers and those who are deeply engaged with the nuances of photography and digital image enhancement, the festival promises not only a wealth of visual inspiration but also profound insights into contemporary photographic discourses and their social relevance.” Christoph Künne, Cultural Studies Scholar and Docma Founder, Lüneburg
“I am still under the impression of the paradise-like feeling of the setting and the impact on that surrounding area. Keep up the great work.” Milica Mrvic, Photographer, Belgrade
“It was one of the most inspiring photographic experiences I’ve ever had. The quality of the exhibitions was outstanding, as was the hospitality and the opportunity to engage with so many top-level international professionals. Thank you! It will definitely become a regular annual event for me.” Gianmarco Maraviglia, Washington Post, CNN, Bloomberg, Newsweek, Milan:
"All these comments warm my heart, of course, and at the same time place a considerable responsibility on us," commented festival director Lois Lammerhuber on the magnitude of the task at hand. "Regarding the fundamental questions of biodiversity, natural resources, pollution, and climate change, we have tried, with the help of photo-documentaries, to offer, if not solutions, then at least food for thought. We have clearly succeeded in this in our eighth year of the festival, with the works of outstanding artists."
From Australia, Matthew Abbot, Narelle Autio, Tamara Dean, Adam Ferguson, Bobby Lockyer, Trent Parke, Anne Zahalka, as well as Viviane Dalles and Agence France-Presse participated. In the New World, we encountered the works of Louise Johns and Joel Meyerowitz in the USA, which we contrasted with the perspectives of the Austrian artist Alfred Seiland. Mitch Dobrowner's photographs bear witness to the apocalypse of extreme weather phenomena.
With his magnum opus "Feed The Planet," George Steinmetz answers the question of whether the world will be able to feed 10 billion people. We also juxtaposed his work with Dieter Bornemann's Austrian piece "Eaten Up," which aims to raise awareness of the major issue of food waste.
Alessandro Cinque presented his long-term project on the consequences of mining in the Andean countries. And with Ulla Lohmann, we traveled to the volcanic tribes of Papua New Guinea. Gaël Turine led us into the sacred forests of Benin, where Voodoo gods are considered the true guardians of biodiversity.
Alice Pallot addressed the problem of green algae blooms on the Atlantic coast, Sophie Zenon invited us on a journey of discovery through the Breton heath, and Bernard Plossu exhibited large-format Fresson prints that lend his landscapes an otherworldly quality.
The bilateral photography project "The Spirit of Sport" challenged schools in Morbihan and Lower Austria to explore photographically whether the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" still holds true today.
Brent Stirton has the talent to make the almost invisible visible and to bring the hidden suffering of the approximately 80,000 ME/CFS patients in Austria into the public eye.
For his work "On Days Like These," Hans-Jürgen Burkard embarked on a musical and photographic journey, resulting in a captivating portrait of Germany.
“Photography undoubtedly remains the most powerful tool for changing public opinion and preserving glimpses of humanity,” said Christian Schörg, Master of the Photographers' Guild of Lower Austria. This tradition was further exemplified by the exhibition of Lower Austrian professional photographers and the exhibition of CEWE's “Our World is Beautiful,” the world's largest photography competition with 656,738 submissions from 153 countries. These additions, along with the retrospective of 2024 presented by artist-in-residence Reiner Riedler, rounded out the festival.
The underwater photographs of “freshwater pope” Herbert Frei were dedicated to the UNESCO Global Water Summit 2025. He and Harald Hordosch, founder and mastermind of Seacam, a manufacturer of excellent underwater housings, led three days of underwater photography workshops for high school students in Baden at the Baden lido.
With the four-week special exhibition "Code of the Universe," the festival reflected on the feasibility of humanity's largest research project at CERN in Geneva—the planned Future Circular Collider.
Two additional special exhibitions were also featured. One was dedicated to Austria's forests and entitled "100 Years of the Federal Forests: The Forest is the Greatest Artist," a tribute to the forest's biodiversity—conceived by Pia Scharler and Greg Dillon. The other celebrated the history of the railway: "The Railway Through the Ages," an exhibition developed in collaboration with the Austrian Federal Railways.
Under the guiding principle of "Culture of Solidarity," the festival continued its collaborations with partners Garten Tulln—where "The Human Footprint" by Gerald Mansberger and Markus Eisl was exhibited—and Bratislava's Month of Photography in 2025. A new addition was the festival's presence in Budapest, where the Global Peace Photo Award was exhibited for three weeks starting September 21, 2025.
“Our festival inspires visitors to look, reflect, and perhaps even take action; we understand photography as a responsibility. The power of the images and their stories opens up spaces for dialogue on ecological and social issues—and this extends far beyond the festival's boundaries,” reflects Silvia Lammerhuber, the festival's managing director.
Klaus Lorenz, Baden's tourism director, adds, referring to the festival's media days: “It was, as always, magnificent. This wonderful festival is invaluable for transforming our city's image.”
62 photographers and 84 journalists from publications ranging from Stern to Le Figaro Magazine and GEO, from ORF Television to derStandard and Ö1 Morgenjournal, represented the who's who of the European media landscape. They were joined by museum directors such as Vaclav Macek from Bratislava, Felix Hoffmann from Foto Arsenal Vienna, Luca Venturi, director of the Siena International Photo Awards, and Andréa Holzherr, representing Magnum in Paris, the world's leading photo agency.
Finally, a look back. A very special highlight of the festival was the opening concert. Dorothy Khadem-Missagh conducted Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring Suite" at the Baden City Theatre. Following the rhythmic melody of the Beethoven Spring Orchestra, images from the festival's exhibitions were projected onto a giant screen. A magnificent moment in which the music and the powerful photographs merged into a unified work of art. Enthusiastic applause.
AUSTRALIA & THE NEW WORLD - the 2025 exhibition catalog is available from Edition Lammerhuber.