PolaCon NYC

Polaroid Presents: PolaCon NYC - May 29 - 31, 2026

Ladies and gentleman and everyone above and beyond: We are thrilled to invite you to the FOURTH PolaCon to EVER be held in NYC! Instant Film Society, Brooklyn Film Camera, and Polaroid are joining forces to bring you the biggest and best PolaCon NYC yet. Please join us from May 29 - 31, 2026 for three days of instant film delight.

TICKETS AVAILABLE now!

PolaCon NYC Schedule

Day 0:

Instant Film Society is pleased to partner with the famous original NYC Ghostbusters to present a special Day Zero photowalk tour of iconic filming locations from the Ghostbusters movies. Attendees will be guided in style by the Big Apple’s most qualified paranormal investigators and eliminators and accompanied by Ecto-NYC, a replica of the 1983 Cadillac featured in 2016’s Ghostbusters: Answer the Call.

The photo walk will start at 11:00 at the NY Public Library on 5th Avenue. More specifics to come!

This tour is free for PolaCon NYC ticketholders, but will include subway trips. Attendees are responsible for their own subway fare.

Day 1:

Join us at 26 Bridge for Day 1 of PolaCon NYC! This day will feature a full schedule of workshops, expert-led demos, community, and even some surprises from our sponsor, Polaroid! More details soon.

• 11:30 AM - DOORS OPEN

• 11:45 AM - Sam Dole - Penumbra Foundation: Tintype Portraiture ALL DAY

• 12:00 PM - IFS Welcome Address

• 12:15 PM - Ben Cushwa - Experimental Overexposure on Instant Film

• 12:15 PM - Lou Noble - Polaroid Portraiture with Lou Noble

• 12:45 PM - Andrew Galvan - Instant Film Photo Throwdown: Round 1

• 1:00 PM - Kate Hailey - Lighting for Instant Film & Film Photography

• 1:00 PM - Sabrina Santiago - Artist Talk

• 1:45 PM - Andrew Galvan - Instant Film Photo Throwdown: Semifinalists Announced

• 2:00 PM - Ruben Oude-Nijhuis & Harriet Browse - Polaroid-led Reclaimed Purple Workshop Workshop

• 2:45 PM - Andrew Galvan - Instant Film Photo Throwdown: Round 2

• 3:00 PM - Will Malone - Double Exposures on Polaroid: A State of Mind

• 3:00 PM - Carlton Bright - Polaroid Stereography

• 3:45 PM - Andrew Galvan - Instant Film Photo Throwdown: Winners Announced

• 4:00 PM - Linus Johnson - Instant Photography in a Professional Workflow—SX-70R & More

• 4:00 PM - Cassidy Rose - Through the Lens: Polaroid Experiments in Live Music

• 5:00 PM - Sophie Wisdom - Crafting Peel-Apart Film from Scratch

• 6:30 PM - IFS Big Raffles

• 8:00 PM - DOORS CLOSE

Day 2:

• 10:00am - Join IFS and NYC Instant Photowalk for an Early Bird Bridge Walk, on the Brooklyn Bridge! Get some extra views of the city and community time with fellow early birds. Meet at 119 Elizabeth St. Once the walk is complete, we'll head over to 26 Bridge for Day 2 of PolaCon NYC.

• 11:30am - Join us at 26 Bridge for Day 2 of PolaCon NYC! This day will feature a full schedule of workshops, expert-led demos, community, and even some surprises from our sponsor, Polaroid!

  • 11:30 AM - DOORS OPEN

  • 11:45 AM - Sam Dole - Penumbra Foundation: Tintype Portraiture ALL DAY

  • 12:00 PM - Mario Machon & Bret Watkins - A New Photo Booth Format with the Cameradactyl 4" Roll Paper Back

  • 1:00 PM - Harriet Browse - SECRET ANNOUNCEMENT BY POLAROID

  • 2:00 PM - Nick Collingwood & Pete Madden Jr. - Polaroid 8x10: Gosaics & Big Transparencies

  • 2:00 PM - Thomas Tran - Meet the Polaroid Big Shot

  • 3:00 PM - Zane Pollard & Joaquin De Prada - OpenSX70 Announcement

  • 4:15 PM - Ben Fraternale - In An Instant Live! 2: Polatronic Boogaloo

  • 5:15 PM IFS Big Raffles & Auction

  • 6:00 AM Saturday IFS State of the Emulsion

  • 7:00 PM - Polly Vinylchloryd - Play Us Out, Polly!

  • 8:00 PM - DOORS CLOSE

Day 3:

Join Instant Film Society for a full day of photo walkin' NYC! Bond with your new PolaPals, or practice all the new techniques you picked up this weekend. Full detailed schedule and photo walk route for Sunday coming soon!

GET INVOLVED

Want to present or lead a workshop at PolaCon? Register today!

Have a zine to sell? Personal crafts or other products to sell? Sign up to be a vendor at our Zines & Things swap meet!

Want to help PolaCon? Want to attend for free? Sign up to volunteer for a single 3-hour volunteer shift! One volunteer shift = a 3-day pass!

What your 3-day pass gets you: Instant Film Society is a registered 501c3 dedicated to informing and promoting the art of instant film photography. Your pass supports our efforts AND supports the instant film community, supports the resources necessary to put on PolaCon NYC, and ensures the future of PolaCon. Thank you for your support!

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE: Are you a student? Are you facing financial hardship? Unable to volunteer? NO ONE should miss PolaCon due to not affording a ticket. Thanks to our sponsors, we have a limited number of scholarships available. Send us an email with "Scholarship" in the subject line and we'll be happy to work with you.

Posting social media content from PolaCon? Hashtag it so we can all see! #PolaConNYC

ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS

Instant Film Society (IFS) was founded in 2012 with the mission of increasing awareness, accessibility and understanding of analog instant photography. For over a decade now, IFS has been a community pillar for the instant film community in the US, hosting get-togethers, photo walks, and (of course) PolaCons!

Brooklyn Film Camera (BFC) was founded in 2015 by former employees of The Impossible Project (now Polaroid). BFC is one of just a few remaining institutions to specialize in the restoration of vintage Polaroid cameras. They teach classes and workshops, curate a gallery of film photography that rotates monthly, and design accessories and optics for vintage camera systems.

Thanks to our Polacon NYC Sponsors: Polaroid

Brooklyn Film Camera

NYC Ghostbusters

NYC Instant Photowalk Liquid Death

Image by Ben Fraternale