EXPLORING THE THEME ‘IDENTITY’

Welcome to the Dark Peak Photo Festival, where the theme of Identity is unfolding across exhibition spaces throughout the town.

At the heart of the festival, our Headline Exhibition brings together award-winning photographers and invited artists some internationally established, others exhibiting at this scale for the first time. From Shirley Baker’s iconic street photography of post-war Manchester and Salford to Adam Docker’s intimate portraiture exploring presence and connection, the exhibition sets the tone for a compelling and layered conversation.

Alongside them, work by Kate Bellis, Adrian Lambert, Kathryn McGeary, Lucy Ridges, Robert John Watson, Kat Wood, and Not Quite Light alongside some established and new photographers exhibiting it all broadens the dialogue exploring identity through memory, belonging, landscape, community, resilience, and personal narrative.

Our Open Call Exhibition features 150 photographers responding to the same theme, presenting diverse interpretations through documentary, personal storytelling, social commentary, and experimental practice.

In smaller exhibition spaces, local photographers and members of the Peak District MTB Association reflect identity through community, landscape, sport, and connection to place grounding the festival firmly within its local setting.

Across every venue, Identity is not simply a theme it is a live and evolving conversation. We invite you to explore and discover the many ways it is being revealed and reimagined at Dark Peak Photo Festival.