Large-format projections of photographs from this year's exhibitions were accompanied by a medley of famous songs by the Beatles and Queen. Exclusively arranged for this occasion and performed live by the Baden Stage Orchestra, image and sound merged into a unified performance, a visual concert that paid tribute to this year's focus country, the United Kingdom:
SO BRITISH! is the theme of the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival 2026, which takes place for the ninth time from June 12 to October 11 in Baden near Vienna. With around 340,000 visitors, it is Europe's largest open-air photography festival. Along a 7-kilometer stretch through the parks, gardens, and the old town, some 1,500 large-format images by the world's best photographers transform the city of Baden into a total work of art combining photography and garden design.
SO BRITISH! – Great Britain and Europe share a thousand-year history full of misunderstandings and hostilities, admiration and respect. This might be due to the British tendency to do things differently. They don't just drive on the left; they also have their own currency, and 51.89 percent voted for Brexit a long time ago. They play darts, believe in ghosts, and still have a monarchy.
And they have this touch of eccentricity. Ever since Oscar Wilde walked a lobster on a leash along the banks of the Thames, we've known that in this land of strict upbringing, extravagance is still cultivated as an art form. Many British photographers share this style. They are so British because they understand how to capture the spirit of their time with a great sense of clarity.
"Our festival has always strived to honor the great masters of photography, and Sir Don McCullin, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, is a legend. Throughout his career, he didn't just photograph the misery of the marginalized, he denounced it; he didn't just photograph war, he condemned its absurdity; he didn't just photograph the English countryside, no, he showed its fragility." Lois Lammerhuber, Co-Initiator of the La Gacilly-Baden Photo Festival 2026.
If mischief were the prerogative of the British, then Martin Parr would be their photographic herald. For over fifty years, this tireless chronicler of English society cast his razor-sharp gaze upon his compatriots. And he approached his assignments for the world of fashion no differently: his stylistic devices lend the images a certain exaggeration. Fashion is not merely presented, but simultaneously questioned: What does style mean in a world of mass consumption? How do trends influence our behavior and our perception of beauty?
Tony Ray-Jones, this ironic observer who gave humor its rightful place without ever resorting to unnecessary cruelty, is in no way inferior. Peter Dench has chosen to scrutinize the contradictions of a society considered deeply steeped in tradition. Josh Edgoose roams the streets of London in search of the unexpected. “Swinging London” reminds us that iconic pop music was born on the banks of the Thames. Terry O’Neill wasn’t just a witness to this exhilarating revolution; he was the photographic confidant of England’s “enfants terribles,” from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to David Bowie and Elton John.
Did you know that the United Kingdom and France share the distinction of being the inventors of photography? Although Nicéphore Niépce from Chalon-sur-Saône was the first to capture an image on a metal plate, it was an English botanist who first further developed this technique as early as 1843. Anna Atkins was a pioneer in the field of cyanotype, using it to create herbaria of captivating beauty. Gina Soden explores stately homes and old villas left behind by their owners, abandoned factories, and derelict hospitals where nature has reclaimed its territory. Cig Harvey experiments with color, our sensory experiences, and bodies merging with nature. Finally, Mary Turner casts a tender gaze on the marginalized populations of post-industrial England.
Christian Skrein reminds us of the Beatles' visit to Obertauern, where they had traveled to film the video for "Help!"—and were greeted by the local population with banners: Beatles Go Home! ... Baden-based filmmaker Richard Ladkani creates a photographic memorial to Jane Goodall from the intimate perspective of a now abruptly severed friendship: "Just me, Jane!"
Star photographer Esther Haase visited Andreas Kronthaler to explore with him the legacy of his longtime companion and wife, Vivien Westwood. Mike Taylor's work "The Beautiful Game" shows us football from the perspective of feverish fans in British pubs—without including a single football player in the picture.
Queen guitar virtuoso Sir Brian May is not only an iconic rock musician, but above all a passionate stereoscopic photographer and the world's largest collector of this art. Following the world premiere of his work "The Moon Landing in 3D" at the Arnulf Rainer Museum in Baden in 2019, the festival will present an absolute rarity from its collection: "Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell," created shortly after the invention of photography.
This 3D cult classic offers a unique satirical perspective on the concept of hell in the 1860s, transforming it into a nightmarish underworld in the most beautiful way possible! These remarkable scenes were modeled in clay by two leading French sculptors, Pierre Hennetier and Louis Habert, and then photographed with a stereo camera—a truly special photographic treat in the context of the 200th anniversary of photography.
Equally spectacular and dedicated to the bicentenary of photography, the festival will present a retrospective of the unique work of photographic icon and Magnum founder Robert Capa, marking the festival's first collaboration with the Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center Budapest.
Another rarity is the exhibition "I Love The Beatles" by Michel Bouvet, who, as an admirer of the Beatles, illustrates the most legendary songs of the mythical band from Liverpool in 35 extraordinary paintings. It is a work that is above all the result of an imagination fueled by his passion for music, painting, literature, and travel.
Under the title "Water is Life!", the festival, with the help of UNESCO World Water Chair Helmut Habersack, takes a sobering look at the world's rivers: "We learn about their beauty and their dramas and discover what science can contribute to making their waters refreshing again. Innsbruck-based researcher Günter Köck takes us to the most remote regions of the world, where Arctic char are used as an 'instrument' for environmental monitoring. Even more unexpected exoticism awaits us when the festival accompanies the young woman from Baden, Christin Gerstorfer, into the fascinating, silent, and dark world of freediving."
Silvia Lammerhuber, co-initiator of the festival, explains: "2024 was the hottest year on record. This fact is attributable to the ever-increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The oceans, which cover 70% of the Earth's surface, are a crucial regulator of the Earth's climate." They absorb over 90% of the excess heat in the climate system, leading to increasingly violent hurricanes and storms. Who better to give us a vivid insight into the fragile ecosystem of the Blue Planet than marine biologist Laurent Ballesta, one of the finest underwater photographers of his generation? With Robert Doisneau, whose work extends far beyond Paris and its suburbs, we take a refreshing dip. Stéphane Lavoué set out this winter to meet the people who live from and with the oceans. Indian photographer Supratim Bhattacharjee has been working in the Sundarbans archipelago for years. He shows us the everyday lives of people confronted with climate disasters and rising sea levels."
The tireless traveler, fashion photographer, and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, Françoise Huguier, explores the soul of people from Mali to Ethiopia, from Benin to Mozambique in Emotive Africa. In Tanzania, Frédéric Noy's long-term project, Udzungwa, is set, where populations of endemic monkeys live in the heart of a primary forest threatened by urbanization. In an essay that is both documentary and artistic, Axelle de Russé uses infrared photography to examine our two inhabited polar worlds in the north and south. Corey Arnold's report documents how bears, coyotes, and raccoons are venturing into our cities in search of food they can no longer find in their original habitats.
As a fleeting gift to nature and an ode to travel and contemplation, we present the sensual world of François Fontaine, winner of the 2025 Leica Prize for New Environmental Photography, presents his work. His images, taken during peak bloom, resemble prints and depict mottled light, magical reflections, the wind in the trees, and the blossoming of a new season. Finally, Norbert Span will surprise you with his visual journey into the microscopic structures of vitamins, revealing their enchanting inner beauty.
The exhibition "The Dream of Flying" showcases the achievements humans are capable of when driven by ambition and curiosity. Every takeoff, every flight, every landing is a reminder of this. "The Dream of Flying" is a collaborative photographic project by Ana María Arévalo Gosen, Hans-Jürgen Burkard, Heinz Stephan Tesarek, Jérôme Gence, Martina Draper, Nadia Ferroukhi, Ulla Lohmann, and Lois Lammerhuber, commissioned by Vienna Airport to mark its 70th anniversary.
The bilateral photography project "Pop Nature" challenges the schools of Morbihan and Lower Austria are exploring a free, carefree, psychedelic, rhythmic, and vibrant photographic perspective on nature. The focus is on luminous colors, a sparkling, lively, carefree, and positive world.
The exhibition "I love Coffee, I love Tea," featuring photographs by 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, will round out the festival, as will Christoph Künne's AI-inspired work on the 450-year history of Manfred Schneider's Annamühle bakehouse in Baden.
Under the guiding principle of "Culture of Solidarity," the collaboration with festival partners Garten Tulln—where the CEWE exhibition "Our World is Beautiful" will be shown—and Bratislava's Month of Photography will continue in 2026.
The exhibition catalog "SO BRITISH!" is published by Edition Lammerhuber.
SO BRITISH! . 21 × 28 cm . 304 Seiten, ca. 219 Fotos . Deutsch, Englisch . Softcover . ISBN 978-3-903462-18-2 . 30,00 Euro