CONTEXT 2026

Filter Photo is pleased to present Context 2026, our twelth annual survey exhibition of contemporary photography. This year's edition was juried by Sara Ickow, Associate Director of Exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, and features the work of 25 artists.

"Photography can be many things. It can slip between genres, complicate fact and fiction, mix media, blend old and new—all while expanding how we perceive and understand the world. The works in Filter Photo’s Context 2026 exemplify the broad forms a photograph can take, representing practices including collage, analog and digital photography, and alternative processes.

Beyond their varied and inventive practices, the artists represented here have also found ways to spark nuanced conversations and respond thought-provokingly in a turbulent moment. They touch on timely topics from climate to immigration and themes including aging, intimacy, loss, and discovery in their works. Their images provide the tools of understanding, inviting us to open our hearts and minds.

Whether placing us on a front porch, a simulated far-off planet, a school classroom, or a rural landscape, the works in Context 2026 transport us to other realities. Whether reminiscent of our own experiences or not, these realities challenge us to consider new ideas and experiences different from our own, or to look with fresh eyes at things we think we understand. These personal and careful images come together here to create a conversation that serves as a balm and an activating force in confusing and fearful times."

—Sara Ickow

Featured Artists

Andrés Altamirano

Mark Ambruster

Joshua Aronson

Sasha Arutyunova

Shweta Bist

Cleo Cartwright

Stephen Clay

Jorge Ariel Escobar

Garrett O. Hansen

Zackery Hobler 

James Hosking

Pratya Jankong

Marie Ketring

Cassandra Klos

Andrew Kung

Alejandro Manuel Martinez

Quetzal Maucci

Walter Morataya Ramirez

Sarah Palmer

Alice Proujansky

Rachel Girard Reisert

Ginger Russell

Chelsea Tan

Joshua Taylor

Hamzeh Zahran

About the Juror

Sara Ickow is the Associate Director of Exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, where she has been a curator on exhibitions including Gillian Laub: Family Matters; Diana Markosian: Santa Barbara; ICP at 50: From the Collection, 1845–2019; and To Conjure: New Archives in Recent Photography. Before this, she worked as a Curatorial Assistant and Collections Manager at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in the Department of Photographs. She is also the Managing Director for Women Photograph. Sara holds an MA in Art History from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts.

Image: Zackery Hobler