Reviews Fotofest Meeting Place 2026

Beatriz Polo and Yago Soria participate in the Fotofest Meeting Place 2026 portfolio reviews in Houston, USA.

Thanks to an agreement between the Balearic Institute of Photography (IEB) and the organizers of the Fotofest photography biennial, which takes place in Houston, USA, from March 12 to 16, Balearic photographers Beatriz Polo and Yago Soria are participating in the Fotofest Meeting Place portfolio reviews, which the festival organizes as part of the biennial's program. The two photographers were selected through an open call launched by the IEB, with the aim of enabling professional photographers from the Balearic Islands to participate in one of the most important specialized events in the United States. The festival directors, Sarah Ansell and Steven Ewans, were responsible for selecting the Balearic participants.

Fotofest Meeting Place is awarding two scholarships to participants, which partially cover the registration fee. The IEB covers the remaining registration fees, as well as managing and covering travel and accommodation expenses in Houston.

The Meeting Place FotoFest portfolio reviews are the most important photography project review program in the United States, and participation is highly sought after by photographers. Meeting Place's mission is to offer talented artists new development and professional opportunities. Each participating photographer is guaranteed 16 individual reviews, each lasting 20 minutes.

Meeting Place FotoFest runs concurrently with the exhibitions of the 2026 Biennial, Global Visions – FotoFest at 40, which marks four decades of photographic arts programming and education in Houston, Texas. It presents key works and themes from the 20 previous biennials between 1986 and 2024, with more than 450 artists from the United States and 58 countries represented. Curated by FotoFest co-founder and former artistic director Wendy Watriss and FotoFest executive director Steven Evans, with co-curators Annick Dekiouk and Madi Murphy, the 2026 Biennial reconstitutes the citywide photographic and mixed-media exhibitions and presentations that have defined FotoFest's history. Past biennial programs have explored themes of geography, identity, war, ecology, and social change, demonstrating FotoFest's global reach and impact.

Photographer bios

Beatriz Polo (Palma, 1976)

The overarching concept that articulates her artistic practice is the construction of identity through personal experience, the body, and interaction with the landscape, objects, and society in which we live. Coming from a family in which many members have experienced migration, her work reflects a strong interest in how migratory movements shape individuals, endowing them with multiple layers that contribute to a composite identity. This condition allows individuals to feel a sense of belonging to various places and to define themselves as multicultural beings. Closely linked to this interest is their concern for historical memory and the transmission of lived and inherited experiences. In recent years, their research has increasingly focused on the interaction between technology and artistic practice. She holds a Master's degree from PhotoEspaña in Artistic Theories and Projects and a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the University of Granada.

Grants and Competitions

2019 Those Who Come and Go, Fotolimo, France.

2018 Special Mention, 4th Felanitx City Visual Arts Competition, Mallorca.

2017 First Prize, 39th Vila de Binissalem Visual Arts Competition.

2016 Selected to participate in the Islas de Arte 2 Artistic Creation Residency, Menorca. 2016 Finalist, 38th Villa de Binissalem Visual Arts Competition, Mallorca.

2015 Selected to participate in the Photobook Week mock-up viewing, La Fábrica, Madrid.

2015 Selected to participate in the PhotoEspaña Discoveries viewings.

2014 Special Mention, 36th Vila de Binissalem Visual Arts Competition.

2011 Second Prize, 32nd Vila de Binissalem Visual Arts Competition.

2008 Winner, 8th Balearic Women's Institute Color Photography Competition.

2002 Finalist, Art Jove Cultural Program Photography Competition.

2002 Finalist, Art Jove Cultural Program Visual Arts Competition.

2000 Paradores de Turismo de España Grant at the Sigüenza Parador. Solo Exhibitions

2019 The Island, Cortona On The Move Documentary Photography Festival, Italy; Casa de la Cultura, Felanitx, Spain.

2017 The Island, Royal Photographic Society, Madrid, Spain.

2011 The Sleeping Ones, Can Gelabert Center, Binissalem, Spain.

Yago Soria (Mallorca, 1996)

Settled in El Valle, Samaná (Dominican Republic) in 2016, where he develops a long-term practice rooted in everyday proximity rather than in work or research. He received early recognition through the Art Jove awards (2016 and 2017; finalist in 2021) and has exhibited his work in Spain and the Dominican Republic, before completing a Master in Contemporary Documentary Photography at LABASAD (2024). In 2025 he won the Gran Proyector de Foto Colectania with Chasing Dragons and received a Bronze at the ADCE Student Awards. He is currently preparing his first photobook while consolidating Monte y Culebra and Fukú No Unagi. Selected for Descubrimientos PHotoESPAÑA 2026, he has returned to Mallorca this year to rejoin the local scene and expand his network throughout Spain and Europe, while continuing with freelance assignments.

2026 Selected for Descubrimientos PHotoESPAÑA.

2025 Winner of El Gran Proyector 2025 (Foto Colectania) for Chasing Dragons.

2025 Bronze Award — ADCE Student Awards (for Chasing Dragons).

2025 Selected for the IEFC Barcelona workshop "From the model to the wall" with Enric Montes (culminating in an exhibition).

2024 Master, LABASAD — Contemporary Documentary Photography.

2022 Online exhibition, "Festival of Experimental Photography 2022".

2021 Exhibition, "La Mascarilla" (finalists of Art Jove 2021).

2021 Finalist, Art Jove 2021. 2020 "SAMANA" Photography Exhibition Art Muntana. Volunteer Photography

2017 Award, “Photography Competition — Cultural Program Art Jove 2017”.

2016, “Cooperart Photography Competition” (Art Jove 2016).

2016 “Thailand” Photography Exhibition. General Treasury of Social Security.

2014 CEF Award 2014. Palma Fotogràfica.

2013 Finalist, Foto Jove 2013. Palma City Council.