Ho Chi Minh City In'l Photography Festival to kick off next month, gathering 100 local, foreign photographers

The six-day festival, themed 'Ho Chi Minh City – Creative Culture, Shaping the Future,' will be held at Le Van Tam Park in response to the upcoming Vietnam Culture Day (November 24).

The contest is backed by the International Federation of Photographic Art, the Photographic Society of America and the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists.

One of the festival's highlights will be an international photography camp featuring more than 30 foreign photographers from the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei, alongside Vietnamese participants, said Doan Hoai Trung, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association.

During the camp, participating photographers will take field trips to explore the lives, culture and daily activities of the Cho Ro ethnic community and residents in the city's Can Gio area.

These trips are expected to broaden their creative perspectives and contribute photographs capturing the culture, people and landscapes of Ho Chi Minh City to international photography exchanges, Trung said.

Another major activity will be the fourth International Artistic Photography Contest, which aims to promote tourism in Vietnam and other countries, showcase the country's people and landscapes, and capture Ho Chi Minh City's achievements in integration and development.

The festival will also feature the fourth International Photography Exhibition, a traditional photography festival exhibition and cultural exchange activities at Le Van Tam Park.

The cultural exchange area is expected to host more than 100 booths showcasing printing, education, food, 'ao dai' (Vietnamese traditional long gown) and other activities.

The Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association.will work with Ho Chi Minh City Book Street to organize an exhibition showcasing the pride of the city named after President Ho Chi Minh, while Thu Duc Book Street will host another exhibition titled 'Ho Chi Minh City Steadfastly Moving into a New Era.'

According to the organizers, the festival aims to promote photography as a cultural industry, strengthen international exchanges and connect photography with tourism.

It will also mark the 45th anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh City Photography Association before closing on November 24.

The 2025 edition attracted nearly 100 photographers from 14 international delegations, reflecting the festival's growing international reach.