Future Folklore Featuring: Pablo Giori
With a PhD in Contemporary History, a Master's in Communication, and a Master's in Cultural Studies, Pablo serves as co-director of the International Festival of Experimental Photography and Ágora, School of Experimentation. Pablo blends academic knowledge with practical experience, aiming to inspire transformative change through teaching and cultural management, shaping the future of photography.
Connect with Pablo on Instagram | LinkedIn | Website
Can you briefly describe your project/work? What it does, whom it serves, and how it works?
I am the co-founder of Experimental Photo Festival, a non-profit cultural association that aims to create, promote, and disseminate experimental photography in all its forms. To this end, I consider it essential to create an international community of artists who can support one another, recognise each other on an equal footing, and collaborate on shared projects.
My way of thinking and organising the festival is based on the belief that it is through experimentation and testing that the full exercise of equality, freedom, and creativity is exercised. Our team wants to create spaces for creation, reflection, and the exchange of knowledge where proximity prevails between artists from all over the world, that stimulate and provide feedback on their practices.
Photo by @grisphoto
In addition to the festival, I am the co-director of Ágora, an experimental photography school guided by the principles of Learn, Create, and Share. Our philosophy is that creation and exchange of ideas must be done hand in hand, as the learning process is enriched when there is a discussion between various views, experiences, and perspectives. We created a learning process that involves repetition: experimenting, making mistakes, learning from chance, and trying again.
Which prevailing story or norm are you trying to rewrite or carry
forward, and what new narrative do you hope to weave for the future?
I think we are trying to rewrite the idea that photography is mainly about results, about producing a perfect image that can be judged or categorised. What we want to carry forward instead is the idea of photography as a space for experimentation, where the process, the mistakes, and the discoveries are as important as the final outcome.
The new story we hope to weave with the Experimental Photo Festival is one where a festival is not just an event to attend but a community to join. It is a place where artists and participants learn side by side, share techniques, collaborate on projects, and reflect together. For us, experimentation is not a niche but an attitude, and the festival exists to make that attitude visible and accessible to everyone.
In short, we want the festival to show that the future of photography is experimental, and that its strength lies in creativity, collaboration, and inclusivity.
Photo by @solaguren
Each edition of the Experimental Photo Festival now gathers 300-plus international artists and enthusiasts.
What does “community” look like at that scale, and how do you preserve the intimate, horizontal spirit you value?
It’s not very easy to preserve the intimate spirit of a 300 participant community during 5 intense festival days. Our approach has been to encourage artists, participants, and staff to come together to learn, experiment, and share. They are all side by side in workshops, conferences, and exhibitions, exchanging ideas and trying new things. Everyone is actively involved, not just watching from the sidelines. They are not passive consumers or just visitors; they are participants! Discussions, workshops and conferences encourage dialogue and collaboration rather than hierarchy. Even at this scale, the festival feels like a summer camp for experimental photography, where people connect, inspire each other, and push the boundaries of their practice together.
What moment convinced you that the world’s 1,000-
plus photography festivals needed a formal network?
Over 1.000 photography festivals are happening around the world, yet there’s no central platform or network to connect them. These festivals are led by thousands of professionals, namely directors, curators, producers, and artists, working tirelessly to showcase photography and engage audiences. We realise that we want to meet them deeply, that we need all the knowledge created by them throughout history and in so many places in the world. We saw a huge opportunity to bring this incredible community together for the first time. We felt alone, like others; we created this community to have others to work together and to share what we are doing.
We have the belief that collaboration and knowledge-sharing are essential to strengthening the photography festival ecosystem. Festivals range from small, emerging events to major, well-established institutions, but they often face similar challenges: sustainability, inclusion, innovation, and resource sharing. By creating a global network, the International Photography Festivals Association (IPFA), we aim to provide a platform where these festivals can connect, exchange ideas, and grow together.
Photo by @grisphoto
