25 YEARS OF WESTLICHT – 200 YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
25 Years of WestLicht – WestLicht celebrates anniversaries with camera and photo auction, gala reception, and exhibition opening of Platon’s PEOPLE POWER from May 28 to 31, 2026
For 25 years, the photography museum WestLicht in Vienna has been a central institution for international photography: an exhibition space, a camera museum, a platform for critical discourse, and a meeting point for photographers, collectors, and photography enthusiasts from around the world.
Marking its 25th anniversary, WestLicht celebrates not only its own history but also 200 years of photography with an exceptional exhibition: PEOPLE POWER by British photographer Platon, one of the most influential portrait photographers of our time.
Platon is renowned for his iconic, psychologically charged portraits of political leaders, activists, artists, and individuals shaping social change. His images have been published for decades in international outlets such as TIME, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone, and have profoundly shaped our collective visual understanding of power, responsibility, and humanity. PEOPLE POWER presents Platon’s work as a multifaceted exploration of authority and empathy, consistently placing the human being at the center of the photographic encounter.
The exhibition marks one of the highlights of the 25 YEARS OF WESTLICHT anniversary program, taking place from May 28 to 31, 2026, underscoring the institution’s significance within the international photographic landscape:
May 28, 2026: Camera and special photo auction at OstLicht, where highlights from 25 years of WestLicht exhibition history will be up for auction
May 29, 2026: Gala reception at WestLicht with photographers, long-term collaborators, and supporters
May 30, 2026: Opening party PLATON. PEOPLE POWER
May 31, 2026: Open house at WestLicht (free admission)
Additionally, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of photography, WestLicht is presenting a state-of-the-art expansion of its camera museum. For the digital counterpart of the legendary collection, more than 100 historical camera exhibits have been meticulously scanned and made available to collectors around the world in high-resolution 3D views – including the Le Daguerréotype Susse Frères from 1839, the world’s first commercially produced camera.
Since its founding in 2001, WestLicht has established itself as one of Europe’s leading institutions for artistic, documentary, and historical photography. Through its ambitious exhibition program, its internationally renowned collection of historical cameras, and its ongoing engagement with contemporary photographic practices, WestLicht has become a vital point of reference within the European photography scene.
With Platon and PEOPLE POWER, WestLicht’s anniversary does not merely look back, but deliberately forward: towards photography as a socially relevant art form, as a visual language of our time, and as a medium capable of revealing, questioning, and renegotiating structures of power.
25 YEARS OF WESTLICHT
25 Years of WestLicht – WestLicht celebrates anniversaries with camera and photo auction, gala reception, and exhibition opening of Platon’s PEOPLE POWER from May 28 to 31, 2026
For 25 years, the photography museum WestLicht in Vienna has been a central institution for international photography: an exhibition space, a camera museum, a platform for critical discourse, and a meeting point for photographers, collectors, and photography enthusiasts from around the world.
Marking its 25th anniversary, WestLicht celebrates not only its own history but also 200 years of photography with an exceptional exhibition: PEOPLE POWER by British photographer Platon, one of the most influential portrait photographers of our time.
Platon is renowned for his iconic, psychologically charged portraits of political leaders, activists, artists, and individuals shaping social change. His images have been published for decades in international outlets such as TIME, The New Yorker, and Rolling Stone, and have profoundly shaped our collective visual understanding of power, responsibility, and humanity. PEOPLE POWER presents Platon’s work as a multifaceted exploration of authority and empathy, consistently placing the human being at the center of the photographic encounter.
The exhibition marks one of the highlights of the 25 YEARS OF WESTLICHT anniversary program, taking place from May 28 to 31, 2026, underscoring the institution’s significance within the international photographic landscape:
May 28, 2026: Camera and special photo auction at OstLicht, where highlights from 25 years of WestLicht exhibition history will be up for auction
May 29, 2026: Gala reception at WestLicht with photographers, long-term collaborators, and supporters
May 30, 2026: Opening party PLATON. PEOPLE POWER
May 31, 2026: Open house at WestLicht (free admission)
Additionally, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of photography, WestLicht is presenting a state-of-the-art expansion of its camera museum. For the digital counterpart of the legendary collection, more than 100 historical camera exhibits have been meticulously scanned and made available to collectors around the world in high-resolution 3D views – including the Le Daguerréotype Susse Frères from 1839, the world’s first commercially produced camera.
Since its founding in 2001, WestLicht has established itself as one of Europe’s leading institutions for artistic, documentary, and historical photography. Through its ambitious exhibition program, its internationally renowned collection of historical cameras, and its ongoing engagement with contemporary photographic practices, WestLicht has become a vital point of reference within the European photography scene.
With Platon and PEOPLE POWER, WestLicht’s anniversary does not merely look back, but deliberately forward: towards photography as a socially relevant art form, as a visual language of our time, and as a medium capable of revealing, questioning, and renegotiating structures of power.
Pussy Riot
© Platon
Platon
© Platon
As part of its anniversary program, WestLicht is also presenting the exhibitions UNDER WATER, WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2026, and FALSCHE WAHRHEITEN, a show dedicated to photographic manipulation from the beginnings of the medium to artificial intelligence. The fall edition of the OstLicht photo and camera auction is planned for November 2026.
As part of its anniversary program, WestLicht is also presenting the exhibitions UNDER WATER, WORLD PRESS PHOTO 2026, and FALSCHE WAHRHEITEN, a show dedicated to photographic manipulation from the beginnings of the medium to artificial intelligence. The fall edition of the OstLicht photo and camera auction is planned for November 2026.
PLATON. PEOPLE POWER
31. Mai bis 9. August 2026
Öffnungszeiten:
DI, MI, FR: 14–19 Uhr
DO: 14–21 Uhr
SA, SO, FEI: 11–19 Uhr
MO: geschlossen
PLATON. PEOPLE POWER
31. Mai bis 9. August 2026
Öffnungszeiten:
DI, MI, FR: 14–19 Uhr
DO: 14–21 Uhr
SA, SO, FEI: 11–19 Uhr
MO: geschlossen