After a two-year absence, Foto Festival Naarden is back. I thoroughly enjoyed the 2019 edition, but 2021 left me underwhelmed (to be mild). And what about 2025? To be honest, my thoughts echo those of 2021 almost word for word: “I don’t know what it was… a lower scale display, some local photographers, the topics, the artists…”. Except now, I do know what it was: a festival assembled simply for the sake of having one—lacking depth, vision, and soul. The result? Just a handful of locations in the Vesting, each showing three or four photographs at most of little artistic or thematic impact. At this rate, it is hard to imagine a 2027 edition drawing enough attention to survive. It is a sobering observation because the venue remains magical and there are so many incredible photographers that remain to be discovered when given the right forum! Digging through, I managed to find some interesting discoveries: the display for the 100th anniversary of Leica, Jordi Huisman’s rear Windows and the Morocco pictures of Sabrina Charehbili stood out for me from the rest.
