Athens in the global spotlight
Honoured City at the Xposure International Photography Festival in the United Arab Emirates
Athens in the global spotlight: Honoured City at the Xposure International Photography Festival in the United Arab Emirates
For the first time in its history, the XPOSURE International Photography Festival presents a city Guest of Honour, having selected Athens for the 2026 edition. Five impressive exhibitions by leading Greek photographers from Athens Photo World –Maro Kouri, Socrates Baltagiannis, Michael Pappas, Antonis Pasvantis and Dimitris Tosidis– travelled to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates from 29 January to 4 February 2026, showcasing Athens’s contemporary creative identity at one of the world’s most important international photography festivals.
The official opening ceremony of the Xposure International Photography Festival took place on Thursday 29 January, attended by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi and Haris Doukas, the Mayor of Athens, marking the city’s international recognition in the most emphatic way. The two distinguished guests toured the exhibitions of the five Greek photographers, where the Athens Photo World team and the creators presented their work, and revealed the stories and contemporary perspectives behind each image.
Statement by the Mayor of Athens
During his speech at the opening ceremony, the Mayor of Athens emphasised:
“For Athens, being named Guest of Honour at the 10th Xposure International Photography Festival in Sharjah is a significant recognition of its role as a source of global inspiration for creators, as well as its contemporary, outward-looking character. Athens Photo World returns to our city in 2026, opening on 28 February. It will be hosted at Technopolis City of Athens, one of the city’s most emblematic cultural hubs, where culture, education, integration and international cooperation converge”.
Presentation and Participation
On the same day, the Athens Photo World team presented its activities over the last eight years at an open event, highlighting its role as a vibrant platform for dialogue, the exchange of ideas and photographic creation. The event, which was moderated by UAE-based photographers and academics Ioannis Kontos (UAEU) and Ioannis Galanopoulos-Papavasileiou (ZU), included photographers Dimitris Tosidis, Antonis Pasvantis and Maro Kouri, who spoke about their work, as well as the Festival Coordinator Christina Kalligianni, who presented an overview of the eight-year journey of Athens Photo World.
The Athens Photo World team was actively present throughout all Xposure exhibitions and events, thereby strengthening Athens’s international presence and that of the Greek photographic ecosystem until the festival concluded on the 4th of February.
