Launching Photo Hanoi ‘25 the 2025 International Photography Biennale in Hanoi

The international photography biennale Photo Hanoi ’25 will take place from November 1st to 30th, 2025, throughout the city of Hanoi. Initiated by the French Institute in Vietnam in 2021, the biennale returns this year for its second official edition. The previous edition in 2023 attracted over 170,000 visitors, generated 200 media articles, and garnered more than 5 million interactions on social media.

With the goal of establishing Photo Hanoi as one of the capital’s flagship international art events, the People’s Committee of Hanoi issued Plan No. 259/KH-UBND on September 24, 2025, to guide the organization of the 2025 edition. The event is held under the patronage of the People’s Committee of Hanoi and the French Embassy in Vietnam, and co-organized by the French Institute in Vietnam and the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, with support from the UNESCO Office in Hanoi and a wide network of national and international partners.

Towards artistic excellence and global reach

Photo Hanoi ’25 will feature a diverse program of activities spread across more than 20 locations in the capital. Its ambition is to position Hanoi as a creative photography hub in Asia and a compelling destination for visual arts enthusiasts both in Vietnam and abroad.

The 2025 edition will bring together over 170 artists, photographers, curators, and experts from 21 countries, in collaboration with 25 specialized institutions. Over the course of one month, the public will have access to 22 free exhibitions both solo and group shows alongside 29 parallel events, including talks, workshops, art tours, book launches, film screenings, and portfolio reviews.

A Professional gathering for the photography community

Photo Hanoi ’25 is a unique opportunity for the Vietnamese photography community to meet, collaborate, and grow alongside international professionals, right in the heart of Hanoi. The event brings together many renowned figures from the global photography scene, fostering a true space for professional dialogue, knowledge sharing, and networking.

Workshops, talks, art tours, and portfolio reviews provide hands-on support particularly for young photographers looking to build their careers, define their artistic identity, and access regional and international markets. It is also a rare opportunity for photography practitioners to receive direct feedback from curators, experts, and the public, enriching their creative practice and opening doors to new cross-border collaborations.

A visual feast for the general public

Photo Hanoi ’25 is not only for photography professionals – it aims to be a vibrant and emotional visual feast, open to a broad audience, both local and international.

The exhibitions cover a wide range of themes, from historical memory to urban landscapes, and address global issues such as climate change or the relationship between humans and nature.

Parallel events offer immersive and original experiences: handmade photography, the use of vintage-style cameras, wet plate collodion processes from the 19th century, lumen printing workshops, and handmade photobook creation. The public is not just a spectator—they are invited to take part, dive into the creative process, and experience photography as a living, accessible, and culturally integrated art form.

A collective effort for photography: collaboration, synergy, and connection

Photo Hanoi ’25 stands as a major collaborative initiative – the result of strong synergy among institutions, organizations, and individuals from Vietnam and abroad. All share the same ambition: to make photography more accessible and to celebrate its richness with both art lovers and the general public.

The 2025 edition highlights the pivotal role of foreign embassies, delegations, and cultural institutes based in Vietnam, including: the Delegation of the European Union, and the embassies of France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland, as well as the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation (Belgium), the Japan Foundation, the British Council (UK), the Goethe-Institut (Germany), Casa Italia (Italy), and the Czech Cultural Center. These institutions play a key role in supporting artists and fostering cultural exchange within the biennale.

Exhibitions are not limited to institutional venues such as 45 Tràng Tiền Exhibition House, 93 Đinh Tiên Hoàng, the Cultural and Artistic Center at 22 Hàng Buồm, 02 Lê Thái Tổ, or 49 Trần Hưng Đạo. They also extend to well-known art venues including the French Institute in Vietnam, Japan Foundation, Casa Italia, Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA), Complex 01, Long Biên Art Space, Matca, S+ Six Senses Space, and Chau & Co Gallery. Most notably, they appear in emblematic public spaces across Hanoi: Diên Hồng Garden, the banks of Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the outer wall of the Temple of Literature, and even the façade of the French Embassy.

Photo Hanoi ’25 also enjoys the participation of renowned international institutions such as the Institut Français de Paris, Pro Helvetia, Magnum Photos, Photo Phnom Penh Festival, and La Station Culturelle, who contribute through exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and portfolio review sessions.

Support from private companies such as Savico, Hanoia, Be Group, Cocoon, Saint Honoré, and Vietfoot Travel also demonstrates the private sector’s interest in promoting culture. On the media side, Hanoi Grapevine, Beon Agency and Art Republik are partnering to ensure wide visibility and content dissemination for the biennale.

The event calls on all media outlets, journalists, and press agencies – both Vietnamese and international – to join this dynamic initiative, helping to extend the reach of the biennale and promote the spirit of Photo Hanoi beyond borders.

Promoting Hanoi as a Creative Center for Photography

Photo Hanoi – International Photography Biennale is more than just a cultural event. It serves as a strategic platform to promote Hanoi’s cultural and tourism identity on a global scale, while strengthening professional, artistic, and economic exchanges within the creative cultural industries – especially photography.

This initiative fully aligns with Hanoi’s vision as a UNESCO Creative City, through the implementation of projects that diversify forms of artistic creation. Photography, as a universal language, becomes a powerful tool for intercultural dialogue, collective memory, and identity building in a context of regional and global integration.

Key Information

Dates: November 1–30, 2025
Locations: Over 20 exhibition venues across Hanoi
Program: 22 exhibitions, 29 parallel events, featuring over 170 artists, curators, and experts from 21 countries.

Photo Hanoi invites audiences from all walks of life to explore the diversity of contemporary photography through an accessible and immersive program. Visitors will not only discover works of varied aesthetics and narratives, but also participate in professional exchanges, engage directly with artists, explore photographic creation, and build lasting connections within both the national and international artistic communities.

Through exhibitions, roundtables, guided tours, workshops, portfolio reviews, and film screenings, Photo Hanoi creates a dynamic space for learning, dialogue, practice—and most importantly, for living photography.