Belfast Photo Festival Lets Visitors Smash Cameras with Hammers

Belfast Photo Festival in Northern Ireland presents 'Camera Obsolete?', an interactive exhibition where participants can destroy cameras with hammers in rage rooms or disassemble them in designated areas. Alternatively, visitors may adopt and repair old cameras. The festival's theme examines photography's transition to digital and AI-driven culture, questioning what is lost or abandoned. Director of Development Toby Smith states the project confronts audiences with the contradiction of destroying physical cameras as many creatives silently choose to prompt images instead of making them. Alongside the participatory installation, exhibitions feature Thaddé Comar's 'How Was Your Dream?', a documentary series on the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and Vahram Aghasyan's 'Modality', capturing unfinished Soviet residences in Armenia. CEO Michael Weir emphasizes free, accessible exhibitions across the city. The festival runs June 4–30, supported by multiple organizations including Arts Council of Northern Ireland, British Council, and Ulster Museum.