About Oslo Street Photo Festival (OSPF)

Oslo Street Photo Festival is a celebration of photography, culminating in powerful snapshots, typically in the form of street and documentary photography. We’re inviting photographers and photography enthusiasts from Oslo, Norway, Scandinavia, and Europe to two days of talks, exhibitions, professional development, inspiration, and mingling.

Despite the name, the festival’s themes won’t be exclusively about street photography. Street photography is a genre where the best contributions often come from photographers with different backgrounds, which we believe is essential. The line-up will therefore include a mix of professionals from genres like art, press, and documentary photography, to name a few.

At the same time, we want this to be a relaxed, social, and inspiring weekend with some wonderfully nerdy deep dives into a craft and art form we’re passionate about.

Norway hasn’t had a strong tradition in this genre, unlike in the USA or on the European continent. We want to change that with our festival. Street photography is simply vital for documenting Oslo’s changes for those who come after us, and for when the history of Norway and Oslo is written in the history books.

OSPF is a big step towards putting Oslo on the art map as a city that takes street photography seriously.

Goals for the festival

1. The street photography community in Oslo can meet and learn from each other. The street photography scene in Oslo needs a bigger stage where we can showcase our art.
2. The festival will make Oslo a strong voice in the Nordic street photography community. Stockholm and Gothenburg already have similar festivals. That’s why we’re inviting talented photographers from our neighbouring countries, both as speakers and as attendees.
3. It will create pride in our city and put Oslo on the street photography map.

About the festival organiser

The festival is organised and run by the association Oslo Street Photography Collective (Oslo SPC). We were started in 2021 by seven street photographers who wanted to support the local community of street photographers by creating an inclusive social space and organising various events, and who share a common desire to show the beauty and uniqueness of Oslo through street photography.

Oslo SPC has three goals:

1. We shall promote street photography in Oslo and Norwegian street photography as an art form in Norway and to the world.
2. We shall offer community, inspiration, support, and learning so that our members can develop as (street) photographers.
3. We shall run projects such as a street photography festival, active social media channels, produce and publish books and zines, hold exhibitions, and connect and collaborate with other street photographers and collectives in Norway and abroad.

We have organised monthly meet-ups and regular street photo walks ever since 2021. Our events attract up to 30-40 people each time. We have become an important meeting place for the street photography community in Oslo.

No one in Oslo SPC or OSPF receives any fees, salary, or other financial benefits for the work we do. Everything is done on a voluntary basis, and with a lot of love for photography.