The Chester Photo Festival presented its first full edition in May 2025, following a pilot event.
The University of Chester will host its inaugural Chester Photo Festival Symposium from April 16 to 18 at its Exton Park campus.
This year’s symposium, titled Trusting Voices and AI, will explore the intersection of photography, image-making, and artificial intelligence.
It has been organised by Associate Professor Dr Cian Quayle, BA Photography course leader at the University of Chester, and Dr Alexandru Modoi, founder and curator of the Chester Photo Festival.
Dr Quayle said: "There have been many events related to AI, art and photography over the last two years, as well as the incessant discussion of AI within the press and media.
"In light of this, we are delighted to invite Professor Victor Burgin, whose work emerged in the wake of Conceptual Art in the 1970s.
"Burgin, who is now based in Marseille, has been writing about art, photography and theory, and working with image and text for the last 50 years, as well as producing contemplative video works which reference art and cinema through their encounter with ideas and connections, and how these are shaped by technological developments in apparatus, art and media."
The symposium will open on April 16 with a keynote, illustrated talk at Storyhouse Cinema, delivered by internationally acclaimed artist, writer and theorist Professor Victor Burgin from Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton.
Dr Quayle joined the festival committee in 2025, helping to create a satellite exhibition at the university’s Creative Campus Kingsway, which included work from BA Photography students.
The full Chester Photo Festival launched in May 2025, featuring a city-wide programme of exhibitions.
The 2025 edition showcased the work of 84 national and international artists, with more than 200 photographic pieces displayed throughout Chester, including at the Grosvenor Museum, Castlefield Gallery New Art Spaces, and other key venues.
Sixteen speakers from academic institutions across the UK will take part in the symposium, with sessions open to both students and the public.
Dr Quayle said: "We have also assembled a formidable line-up of artists and academics to lend their perspective on the themes of the symposium, and its focus on the image and authorship."
More details and booking information are available at chesterphotofestival.com
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