10th Light Leaks Festival Announced

The 2026 edition of the Light Leaks Festival, organized by the Luxembourg Streetphoto collective and aimed at all photography enthusiasts, will take place from 14-17 May 2026 at the Rotondes in Luxembourg-Bonnevoie (3 Place des Rotondes): the international event is focused on street and documentary photography.

Suspended in 2025 due to renovations in the Galerie des Rotondes, the exhibition is back, and this year celebrates its 10th anniversary.

What to expect

From the very beginning, sharing experiences with the public, dialogue, creative exchange and training have been at the heart of the festival. Visitors can attend conferences and interact with the speakers. Those interested also have the opportunity to participate in workshops, have their portfolio evaluated by professionals, and exhibit up to three images on the “Open Wall,” which is part of a competition.

They can also visit a rich exhibition, discover a wide selection of photo books in the bookstore area run by Ernster, and support local talent who present and sell their prints and photo books in the "Bazaar" corner.

Exhibition/Opening

Twenty guest photographers, as well as members of the organising collective, will present their series and projects. Young photographers from the Aline Mayrisch and Arts et Métiers secondary schools will also have the opportunity to exhibit their collaborative work alongside their more experienced colleagues in a professional setting. 

In addition to the group exhibition in Rotunda 1, photographer Samantha Wilvert will present a video installation (loop), visible above the Buvette bar, and photographer Giulia Thinnes will present an installation in the display case located in the entrance hall of Rotunda 2 (cube).

The festival will launch on Thursday 14 May at 18:00 with the exhibition opening, a free event open to all.

The renowned photographers in attendance: A highlight of the event, as always, will be the presence of prestigious guests: several internationally acclaimed photographers will give talks and will be available to exchange ideas with amateur photographers and offer advice. For this 2026 edition, these include Myriam Boulos (Lebanon), Gabrielle Duplantier (France-USA), Brice Gelot (France), and Charalampos Kydonakis, aka Dirty Harry (Greece). They will be joined by Nicolas Portnoï (France) for the portfolio reviews.

The four conferences (three in English, one in French) are scheduled for 15, 16 and 17 May, and registration is now open on the festival website.

The outdoor festival

The Light Leaks Festival also takes place all around the Rotondes, notably through the photography workshops:

- Street Photo Workshop on 14 and 16 May as an introduction to urban photography;

- Photowalk with Brice Gelot on 15 May;

- Flash Photo Workshop with Dirty Harry on 17 May.

In urban and documentary photography, countless ways of seeing the world and conveying messages and emotions intersect and can influence each other through dialogue, from the reportage style rooted in reality to poetic dreaminess inspired by reflections of urban life, including, in particular, the critical exploration of the image itself. In a nutshell, this is what the Light Leaks Festival strives to showcase and promote.

All practical details are available on the festival website: https://www.lightleaks.lu