Padua presents , offering it an ideal setting for expression.
IMP 2025 offers even more motivation to spend a weekend in Padua, immersed in culture, art, and journalistic research, but also in discovery, debate, and insight, with all the comforts that only a short-term rental in Veneto can offer. Let's discover the program for this edition of the festival , focusing on the main exhibitions and featured artists. A widespread, international, intimate, and powerful festival. And if you're looking for the perfect excuse for a getaway to Veneto, here it is.
A photographic journey across the world
From May 16th to June 15th, Padua will host the IMP Festival , the International Month of Photojournalism , organized by Irfoss Aps in collaboration with the Municipality of Padua and the Veneto Region. This is an opportunity to admire a series of exhibitions and participate in events exploring current global issues. This event transcends the concept of a photography exhibition, becoming a collective narrative of our times, crafted through the shots of some of the world's most authoritative photojournalists.
IMP doesn't just fill the walls with images. The photographs occupy some of Padua's most evocative spaces: Galleria Cavour , Palazzo della Gran Guardia , Scuderie di Palazzo Moroni , the Cathedral Ex Macello , as well as independent bookstores and art galleries. Strolling through the historic center, you'll find yourself catapulted from one visual story to another, with the opportunity to meet the authors, participate in talks, guided tours, workshops, and experience the city as a global narrative hub.
The great stories of humanity, on display
The 2025 edition is packed with emotions, investigations, and hidden identities. Here are some of the projects not to be missed:
- “Ukraine: Love + War” by AA.VV., a group exhibition that brings together the perspectives of great international reporters and the world's most influential photojournalists, including Pulitzer Prize and World Press Photo Award winners such as Lynsey Addario and Fabio Bucciarelli, who tell stories of hope and sacrifice, but above all of determination and love, even in a context of war. Where sweetness survives terror. Cathedral. Former slaughterhouse.
- "American Bedroom" offers an anthropological glimpse into the private lives of Americans, a poignant work that tells the story of people through their bedrooms, intimately between sheets and silence, where the beating heart of a nation lies. Galleria Cavour, Piazza Cavour.
- "I Grant You Refuge," where six Palestinian photographers recount the Gaza Strip from the inside with a respectful and humane perspective. Ex-Macello Cathedral.
- "Vivir Para Contarlo" is undoubtedly the retrospective that guides this edition of the festival. It's a long-term project that explores gender violence, the fight for fundamental human rights, and social equality, starting in Argentina and focusing on Latin American countries. A cry that silently spreads throughout the world. Cathedral Ex Macello.
- "More than Meet the Eye" is an exhibition showcasing the extraordinary projects of graduates of the annual Visual Journalism and Documentary Photography course. The project begins with aspects of contemporary life explored by the authors through visual fieldwork. Each project is a journey to discover and admire. Cathedral, Ex-slaughterhouse.
- "Terra Mala – Living with Poison" is Stefano Schirato's ten-year photographic narrative of pollution in Italy, from the Land of Fires to the Veneto region. The Ex-Macello Cathedral.
- "'68 Anno di Frontiera" by Uliono Lucas, which recounts the protest movement in every corner of the world and how it transcends generations amidst changes and contradictions. Palazzo della Gran Guardia, Piazza dei Signori.
And then there's more: the women of Cilento who grow ancestral onions, the Mapuche youth, the spirituality of Mayotte, the transition in Laos, the Senegalese struggle of the Laamb, the Iranian women's prisons. The whole world is there in Padua. And it lets itself be seen.
Talks, meetings, and workshops: the festival that puts you in dialogue
Every weekend, the IMP offers guided tours with the artists, public talks, and educational workshops for those who want to delve deeper into visual language. Names like Uliano Lucas, Andrew McConnell, Bénédicte Kurzen, Barbara Peacock, Ksenia Kuleshova, Riccardo Bononi, Karl Mancini, and many others are waiting to tell their stories live.
You can attend all exhibitions with a standard ticket for €15, €13, or €25. VIP tickets consist of a removable bracelet that grants access to all areas of the festival and is valid until removed or damaged. Workshops are priced separately and offer a mini-immersion into the world of documentary photography and visual storytelling, taught by prestigious international names. To learn more, all the workshops for this edition here
Sleeping in Padua: the slow experience of short-term rentals
The beauty of the IMP Festival is that it invites you to stop. Not just to see, but to listen, walk, and breathe in the city. Staying in an apartment in the heart of Padua is the perfect option for those who want to experience the festival at a leisurely pace, explore every corner of the historic center, and perhaps indulge in a few excursions in the surrounding area.
From your accommodation, you can easily reach each exhibition venue, stop by a bookshop, grab a coffee, tour the city, discover the surrounding villages, and why not, participate in workshops and test your photography and reporting skills. You have a temporary nest available for those who love to feel part of the place they pass through.
