The Photo Münsingen Award 2026 goes to Zurich

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“Life Journey” is the name of the winning entry in the “Competition for Photo Clubs” at Photo Münsingen 2026. The photo club Fotoclub Blende 79, Zurich, convinced the three-member jury with its work.

55 teams from 43 photography clubs participated in the competition. Competition The theme "Colours of Life" was chosen. The works of all 55 teams can be seen at Photo Münsingen 2026 until next Sunday, May 17, 2026.

Remarkably high level

The jury, consisting of Alice Lautenschlager, Nadine Reding, and Christoph Stöh Grünig, evaluated the submitted works. After an initial selection based on three main criteria, the ten best works were discussed in detail. The jury focused primarily on aspects of image composition, such as arrangement within the picture space and the effect of color.

Right from the start, the jury noted a remarkably high standard. In addition to the quality of the winning entries, they also commended the high level of commitment and passion shown by all participants. The competition impressively demonstrates the creative potential of amateur photography.

The winner's winning feature a clear visual language and strong composition.

The winners' table "Life's Journey" as Photo club Blende 79, Zurich The jury was impressed on all levels, from the conceptual depth and visual rigor to the precise photographic execution. The series displays a clear visual language and consistently strong composition. The team of Reta Lusser, Rolf Bühler, David Döring, and Peter Kohl thus secured the «Photo Münsingen Award 2026».

The honorary second place went to the "Farbentanz" (Dance of Colors) by the Münsingen Photo Club; a tableau characterized by powerful color design, dynamism and a strong overall effect.

Third place went to the EFFVAS Bern section of the photo club with their "dancing soap bubbles." A well-balanced overall composition and a fine interplay of light, color, and form.

Fourth place goes to the Société Genevoise de Photographie (SGP) with «Les couleurs qui nourrissent» due to coherent visual language and successful choice of subject matter.

Fifth place was achieved by the Zürisee Photo Club with the theme "Moment" and a successful variation in color design.

Sixth place went to the Belp Photo Club with "Colourful Sealife." A series of consistently well-executed and technically impressive photographs.

To the photo exhibition

The opinions of visitors are sought.

Visitors can judge the work of the photography clubs and, with a little luck, win attractive prizes. Six winners will be drawn from all submitted entries. The grand prize is a Nikon camera, and vouchers from Foto Video Zumstein will be awarded to the other winners.

To the audience competition

The anniversary program of Photo Münsingen 2026

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Photo Münsingen 2026: Colours of Life – Life in all its facets

"Colours of Life," in its broadest sense, represents the diversity of human experiences, feelings, and life paths, which, like different shades of paint, combine to form a personal whole. Life includes joy, pain, everyday life, and exceptional moments, lending it depth, contrast, and intensity. It is important to consciously perceive and shape this diversity in order to experience one's own life as vibrant, meaningful, and unique.

Photo exhibitions

Marginalized people on the fringes of Hollywood glamour

Carlos Leal is a versatile Swiss artist who has made an international name for himself as a musician, actor, and photographer. His powerful photo exhibition «Heroes of Another Story» Carlos Leal directs his empathetic gaze towards the unseen inhabitants of Los Angeles. His minimalist, understated visual language captures moments of quiet strength and inner resilience, meeting his subjects with profound respect and on equal terms.

Birds are becoming rare – increasingly rare.

Human activity, the decline of their habitats and stopover sites along migration routes, endanger the birds. Their colors, songs, and graceful beauty are being lost. The photo exhibition «Aux Oiseaux» from Lili Roze He seeks an artistic approach to this coexistence. If beauty can save the world, then we begin with the beauty of birds.

Punks in a socially deprived area

Blackpool, the once magnificent seaside resort northwest of Manchester, has long since seen its best days. The punks, who gather there every August, have also lost their revolutionary status. Both seem out of step with the times. Their despair and pessimism, but also their motto "Punks not dead," reflect this. Boris Müller in his photo exhibition «Blackpool».

Art meets science

Giles Revells Visual language blurs the line between still photography and moving images. He uses a high-speed camera to document his work. «DANCER» The dancers of the Royal Opera House. This resulted in works of pure artistic beauty.

My face and my body are the main instruments.

As a model in front of the camera, she uses Katerina Belkina the ancient theatrical practice of role-playing. The photography therefore closely resembles a theatrical performance. Her mixed-media work "Grimms' Fairy Tales" combines classic painting colors, photographic reality and collage tradition with digital brushwork to create dreamlike, weightless light spaces from everyday observations.

Trees in reduced landscapes

The series «Digital Art» from Kathrin Federer It explores the quiet presence of individual trees in expansive, minimalist landscapes – often in combination with powerful sky structures and atmospheric cloud formations. It's about reduction, precision, atmosphere, and the question of how little or how much an image needs to be powerful.

Blind spot

Valentina Verdasca On her wanderings, she discovers "blind spots"—striking buildings, surprising perspectives, or hidden places that fascinate through their form, color, or atmosphere. With her friend Oona, she brings these scenes to life: contrasting the emptiness, playing with shapes, and merging with the evocative world of color, as seen in the photo exhibition. "Blind spot".

Club photography

An important element of Photo Münsingen is club photography. The goal of the 43 teams is to capture the «Photo Münsingen Award 2026» to win on the topic of «Colours of Life».

The photo clubs of Regio Photo (A collaboration between three countries) from Münsingen, Riedisheim and Kirchzarten present pictures on the theme "Minimalism" .

PHOTOSUISSE alongside the photo exhibition "Architecture" even the best and "The best of 2025".

Further photo exhibitions

15 photographers exhibit their work in the Photo arena.

Sandra Eigenheer and Marco Zedler celebrate the poetry of nature. Markus Eichenberger explores vast landscapes. Beatrice Hildbrand celebrates the beauty of existence. Joep Hijwegen captures the light of the late hour. Guido Klumpe shows the urban space. Elena Martynyuk It transports us to fantasy worlds. It stages an ode to stillness. Lea Meienberg. David Wagnières celebrates the creativity of theatre.

The photo exhibition «In Colours» showcases the best works from the youth competition «U25 Photo Challenge»The ten most extraordinary books of photo book competition can be seen at the Bookfactory booth.

Photo competitions, photo workshops, audiovisual productions, lectures and events

Photo contests

The best entries from the following photo competitions: “Competition for photo clubs”, «U25 Photo Challenge» and Photo Book Contest They can be seen in the corresponding photo exhibitions.

Photo workshops

With more than 30 photo workshops Photo Münsingen offers a wide range of photographic training courses, which can be booked immediately.

Audio vision

  • One highlight is the multimedia presentation. “Wonder of Earth” from Christian KleppThe geoscientist and landscape photographer takes you on a spectacular journey to remote places that tell the story of the Earth's constant change.
  • Four blocks of music are held every afternoon in the fire station hall. audiovisual short productions gezeigt.

Lectures

Lectures on a wide variety of topics Markus Eichenberger, Tobias Ryser, Joep Hijwegen, Miriam Bennouna, Remo Zehnder, Chiara Ruoss, Ralf Turtschi and Christian Reding.

Events

  • For the first time, Photo Münsingen, in collaboration with Stämpfli Kommunikation, is presenting the «PROMPT BATTLE» In this live event, two players at a time are given a task to complete quickly using AI tools. The audience then evaluates the results.
  • Photographing under expert guidance? Photo booth Photo Münsingen 2026 makes this possible for visitors.
  • Felix Maurer He creates portraits on location using his analog instant camera.
  • To mark the 25th anniversary, visitors can enjoy the Photo booth They can even step in front of the camera themselves. Whether alone or in a group, they pose and take their personal souvenir photo with them directly as a high-quality, free print or send it to their smartphone.
  • The awards ceremonies for this year will also take place at PHOTOSUISSE at Photo Münsingen.

 

The 25th and last Photo Münsingen

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The 25th Photo Münsingen will take place over the Ascension Day period from May 14 to 17, 2026. As always, the anniversary will feature numerous creative photo exhibitions by renowned photographers, photography clubs from Germany and abroad, interesting photo workshops, and audiovisual productions. We will announce the program at the beginning of 2026.

Unfortunately, 2026 will also be the last Photo Münsingen. Due to staffing and financial constraints, the popular photo event held in the beautiful Schlossgut grounds has been discontinued. Despite intensive efforts, we have not been able to fill vacancies in the leadership of the organizing committee and the various departments. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to retain sponsors and partners or to find new ones.

With its unique format, Photo Münsingen has attracted thousands of interested visitors year after year, both across Switzerland and beyond. We look back with pride on countless photo exhibitions and workshops, both from the photography club scene and from renowned professional photographers.

Now we are fully committed to ensuring that the 25th Photo Münsingen anniversary will be a magnificent finale with special attractions.

For further information please contact:

St. Gallen wins the Photo Münsingen Award 2025

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The Photo Münsingen Award 2025 goes to the photography club of the Migros St. Gallen Club School. The panel "Living Passion in Tango" received the highest score from the three-member jury.

38 photo clubs from Switzerland and neighboring countries took part in the «Photo Club Competition» and were asked to photographically capture the theme of «passion».

Dance was strongly represented

The jury, consisting of Susanna Brändli, Sandra Gygax-Zehnder, and Raymond Zurschmitten, evaluated the submitted works. The tableaux were judged on their relevance to the given theme, their composition, and their technique.

"It quickly became clear that all tableaux were submitted with consistently good quality and that the theme of dance was strongly represented," the three jurors summarize.

Elegant composition of dance and passion 

The winning tableau, "Living Passion in Tango," by the photography club of the Migros Club School in St. Gallen, showcases an elegant composition of dance and passion. The photographs are technically perfect. The color scheme, as well as the devotion, eroticism, and sensuality, impressed us. The images are stylish and have a rigorous visual statement, which we consider appropriate for tango dancing, the jury writes in the exhibition catalog.

Second place goes to EFFVAS Bern with the panel "Pipe Smoking," followed by Fotoklub Sense with "Boy's Dream." Fourth to sixth place goes to Fotoclub Blende 8, Bern ("A Touch of Andalusia"), the CAPM Club d'Activités Photo de Meyrin ("Tango"), and the Photo Club Gland ("Tango Passion").

All panels will be on display at Photo Münsingen in the Schlossgutsaal (castle estate hall). Visitors can also judge the photography clubs' work and win attractive prizes there. Six winners will be randomly selected from all submitted tickets. The grand prize will be a Nikon camera and vouchers from Foto Video Zumstein.

The theme of the «Photo Club Competition 2026»

It is already known and is: “Colours of Life”.

Continue to the photo exhibition page
Continue to the audience competition

Looking back on four wonderful photo days

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With the theme of “Music”, Photo Münsingen attracted numerous photo enthusiasts to the Aare Valley over the Ascension Days. “The combination of photography and music was very well received by the audience,” says OK President Urs Hintermann, satisfied with this year’s edition.

“We received a lot of positive feedback on the exhibitions and events surrounding our main topic,” says Hintermann. That's what they were like Mussorgsky concert on Thursday with the photographically interpreted “Pictures at an Exhibition” or the multimedia lecture “The Art of Transformation” sold out by rock star photographer Hannes Schmid.

This year, visitors once again appreciated the exchange with the photographers or were inspired by their work. Thanks to the spring weather, the open-air exhibitions in and around the Münsinger Schlossgut area could be enjoyed to the fullest - always accompanied by melodious performances.

The organizing committee thanks the more than 100 helpers as well as sponsors, patrons and partners. Among them the main sponsors Nikon, Bookfactory and Foto Video Zumstein.

Photo Münsingen 2025 will take place from May 29th to June 1st, 2025. The Photo Club Competition takes place on the theme of “Passion”.

To the picture gallery on Flickr...
To the press reports…

Photo Münsingen Award 2024 goes to Austria

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This is the second time in its history Photo Münsingen Award according to Austria. The Erste Fotoclub Lustenau impressed the jury with its tableau “The Movement of Music”. Works from Basel and Meyrin follow on podium places two and three.

“The tableau is surprising, technically sophisticated and well done,” is how the jury summarizes the work of the Erste Fotoclub Lustenau on this year’s theme “Music”. The technique in which movement sequences were consciously used supported the image content. “The composition is slightly redundant, but the same distance gives something calming to the 'moving' tableau in which the instruments 'sound',” said the jury, which also liked the warm image tone.

Second place goes to “Purple Fury” from Fotowerk Basel. The jury describes this work as “classic stage photography, solidly implemented and monochrome (purple) designed.” “Plein les Oreilles” is the name of the tableau by Club Activités Photo Meyrin (CAPM) in third place.

The jury for the photography club competition consisted of Gabi Ortner, Guy Jost and Beat Suter. The three state: “Although the topic of “music” offers a very broad spectrum, which was also visible in the submitted works, it is demanding and difficult to present.” Many of the submitted works are of a similar level. Only a few surprised in terms of execution, impact and technical quality.

A total of 50 teams submitted their work on the topic of “music”. All tableaus are on display at Photo Münsingen in the Schlossgutsaal. Visitors can also judge the photography clubs’ works there.

The competition theme for next year is already known: At the Photo Münsingen Award 2025, everything is focused on “passion”.

To the exposition…
To the public competition…

Photo Münsingen 2024: Music in focus

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The theme of “Music” is at the center of Photo Münsingen 2024: the competition for photo clubs and eleven of the 27 exhibitions are dedicated to it. You can see, among other things, rock stars, Elvis impersonators, the inner workings of musical instruments and an interpretation of the work “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. Let's take a first look at a program full of music photography!

First there is the concert photography: the well-known Swiss photographer Hannes Schmid photographed rock stars on and off stage in the 1980s. In Münsingen he shows a selection of his photographs. They not only show well-known figures, but also capture the cultural changes and gender dynamics of this time.

“Emotions on Stage” is the name of the concert photographer’s exhibition Nicole Rötheli. She is present with the camera when musicians like Hecht, Stress or Stefanie Heinzmann perform. Grant emotional looks in blues and jazz clubs Wolf-Peter Steinheisser and Vicenç Semper.

Dance, instruments and Elvis

Axel Brand focuses on the elegance of dancers in his fine art black and white photography. Charles Brooks In “Architecture in Music” he takes a fascinating look at instruments from the inside.

Graeme Oxby documents the subculture of Elvis impersonators and their stories. Students of the CAP photography school photographed on the topic of “sound colors”.

Mussorgsky reinterpreted

Two special projects make the connection between music and photography directly tangible. Seraina Marchal was commissioned to create photos for the musical piece “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky composed his piano cycle in 1874 to match paintings and drawings. 150 years later, Seraina Marchal took the opposite approach for Photo Münsingen and was inspired by Mussorgsky's work. Your images will be projected alongside a piano concert played live by the pianist Martin Klopfenstein and will then be exhibited.

The versatile instrumentalist does it the other way around Wieslaw Pipczynski. He will improvise live on four series of images. Members of various photography clubs submitted the images.

The work of the photo clubs

The central component of Photo Münsingen is the competition for photo clubs. 52 photo clubs from all over Switzerland and neighboring countries took photos on the topic of “Music” and competed with their tableaux in the coveted competition «Photo Muensingen Award». These are being carried out for the second time U25 Photo Challenge and Photo Book Contest.

In the area of ​​club photography they represent Photo clubs from Münsingen, Riedisheim and Kirchzarten Images on the topic of “movement”. Photographers from Münsingen will also present their works on the topic “Electricity and heat”.

PHOTOSUISSE shows the best and award-winning pictures from the annual competition. The award ceremony for the «Swiss Photography Championship» by PHOTOSUISSE will again take place as part of Photo Münsingen.

Animals, places and society

Other photo exhibitions are dedicated to social phenomena: Petra Angela Imhof “Cyberized” explores the relationship between people and technology. Gerardo Garciacano shows street portraits of skiers and snowboarders. Oliver Stegmann takes a look behind the circus scenes in “Circus noir”.

Andrea Knechtle captures forgotten spaces and traces of past lives in “Vestiges – The End of Something”. Unexpected urban perspectives developed Manuel Giron. Romano P. Riedo presents Polaroid images with a special depth. Markus Eichenberger was impressed by the breathtaking starry sky in the Swiss Alps.

Lorenz Andreas Fischer shows animal portraits from Africa. And Karl Schuler After all, he was traveling in the realm of the snow leopards, where he ended up meeting them.

Book a date now!

Photo Münsingen also belong to this year audiovisual productions, Lectures, Photo workshops and – in keeping with the annual theme – musical performances. Take a look at our program now and mark the Ascension Days from May 9th to 12th, 2024 in bold on your agenda!

The audience's favourites

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"Customs" was the theme of the Competition for photo clubs um den Pho­to Mün­sin­gen Award 2023. After the jury at the Pho­to Mün­sin­gen the 'official' ranking announced, also had that during the four days of the exhibition audience the opportunity to vote for your favourites. Now these are counted.

The following tableaus went down best with the audience:

Photo Club Fricktal Moving tradition 562 votes
Photo club Sense CHAPEAU! 395 votes
Photo club Thun Fulfillment 325 votes
Münsingen photo club charcoal burning 300 votes
Photo club Rapperswil-Jona And tomorrow a king... 284 votes
Photo Club Lucerne fondue fun 274 votes

The competition theme for next year is already known: the Photo Münsingen Award 2024 is about “music”. Interested photo clubs can register for the competition until August 31st register.

The Photo Münsingen Award 2023 goes to Appenzell

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"Cowwalk" is the name of the winner tableau Photo Club Competition is Pho­to Mün­sin­gen 2023. The Photo Club Appenzellerland convinced the three-person jury. A total of 47 teams from all over Switzerland and neighboring countries took part in the “Customs” competition.

The jury praised the "modern, striking image conception" of the winning tableau. The work plays with details and is characterized by a colorful and fresh way of presentation, she writes in the exhibition catalogue.

This year the jury consisted of Susanna Brändli, Guy Jost and Roland Steffen. "The spectrum of submitted images is large and appropriately reflects the diversity of the subject," the three judges summarized. Many works are on a similar level, only a few have dropped in terms of effect, implementation or technical quality.

Second and third places go to the Sense photo club with the tableau «CHAPEAU!» and the Fricktal photo club with «Bewegte Tradition». The Thun Photo Club («Fulehung»), the Brown Boveri Baden Camera Club («Celtic Rough Nights») and the Dietikon Amateur Photo Club («Alpabzug») follow in fourth to sixth place.

All tableaux are exhibited at Photo Münsingen in the Schlossgutsaal. There, visitors can also judge the work of the photo clubs and win nice prizes. Six winners will be drawn from all the talons submitted. Vouchers from Nikon, Foto Video Zumstein and Bookfactory are waiting for them.

The competition theme for next year is already known: the Photo Münsingen Award 2024 is about “music”.

The Photo Münsingen Award 2022 goes to Lucerne

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"Last Call" is the name of the winner tableau Photo Club Competition is Pho­to Mün­sin­gen 2022. The work of the Lucerne photo team convinced the jury. 50 teams from all over Switzerland took part in the "Abstract" competition.

 "Very, very, beautiful," said Antonino Catalano about the tableau of the Photo teams Lucerne on the occasion of the vernissage. The picture was discussed in the three-person jury. «The cable in the middle is the connection between above and below. The four components on the page form a circle that holds together. And the red dot looks like the dot on the I,” Catalano describes the composition. Alongside him, Alice Lautenschlager and Anita Vozza acted as jurors.

The jury placed the photo club Münsingen with "Berner Brunnen" and the photo club Ebikon with "water colors" in second and third place. Then come the Fotoclub Fricktal (“Curved”), the Fotofreunde Oberaargau (“Indigo”) and the Fotoklub Solothurn (“Abstract”).

All panels are at the Pho­to Mün­sin­gen exhibited in the castle hall. There, visitors can also judge the work of the photo clubs and win nice prizes. Six winners will be drawn from all the talons submitted on Sunday, May 29th. Vouchers from Nikon, Foto Video Zumstein and Bookfactory are waiting for them.

Incidentally, the theme of the competition for next year is already known: the Photo Münsingen Award 2023 is about “customs”.

To the exposition…
To the visitor competition…