Exhibition Dates: September 9, 2025 (Tue.) – October 6 (Mon.) *Closed on Mondays, except Oct 6
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Venue: Future Square, Art Space IV, Art Space III, Art Space I
The first international photography festival named after Taiwan
In 2025, the inaugural Taiwan International Photography Festival (TIPF) is launched under the theme Democratic Camera, presenting three main components: thematic exhibitions, a photography summit, and public events. As a biennial platform dedicated to photographic art, TIPF brings together leading international and local art institutions, professionals, emerging Taiwanese talents, and civic organizations. The festival is committed to fostering cross-cultural dialogue and advancing the democratization of art, with the hope of deepening public engagement with photography, art, and Taiwan.
TIPF 2025: Democratic Camera
The concept of “democratic camera” emphasizes that the camera has become a creative tool accessible to everyone — not just elites or professionals. More people are now able to document their daily lives, express their perspectives, and participate in public dialogue through the lens.
Democratic photographic practices often break away from traditional grand narratives or heroic viewpoints, focusing instead on everyday life and personal experience. In doing so, they challenge values shaped under colonial systems, patriarchal structures, or artist-centered ideologies, allowing images to serve as a medium of communication, protection, memory, and imagination.
Turning the lens back to today’s Taiwan, the idea of the democratic camera gains new meaning in contrast to the “autocratic camera.” At its core, democracy is dialogue. Through TIPF, we hope to foster deeper listening and reflection, opening new mirrors and windows toward empathy and mutual understanding. We warmly invite everyone to join TIPF in exploring the contemporary landscape woven together by photography, art, and democracy.
Summit｜2025.9.6 (Sat.)－9.7 (Sun.)
Exhibitions｜2025.9.9 (Tue.)－10.6 (Mon.)
For more details, please see
Official Website：tipf.tw
Facebook：www.facebook.com/tipf.tw/
Instagram：www.instagram.com/tipf.tw
Organizer: Lightbox Photo Library
Founded in 2016, Lightbox Photo Library is a Taiwan-based, free-to-all, non-profit library dedicated to photography. Before its establishment, we saw gaps in Taiwan’s photographic ecosystem: scattered archives, costly learning resources, and a lack of community spaces — all of which contributed to the gradual erosion of local photographic culture.
Culture needs roots. In response, we created Lightbox, using the library as our method to preserve, research, and promote photography in Taiwan. Operated under the principle of “free to all,” Lightbox has gradually nurtured a stronger community, deepened perspectives rooted in Taiwan, and continued advancing the democratization of art.
Art arises from the freedom of human spirit and human mind. We believe that preserving Taiwan’s photography is a way of safeguarding the spirit and mind of the Taiwanese people. We warmly invite you to join Lightbox in building a more open and equitable photographic culture.