Currently in its 10th edition, the Open Call invites artists under 35 years of age to submit photographic series in line with the theme Contaminations: is the contemporary image able to show new possible interactions between humans and the rest of the living beings, based on relations that are not founded on superiority and domination?

The climate emergency is increasingly pushing contemporary thoughts towards questioning the anthropocentric paradigm that has characterised recent centuries. We are moving away from the belief that nature is a space of otherness made for mankind, at our service, a pristine place of goodness and beauty, a refuge to escape to, or a resource to exploit and adapt. What is emerging though is the idea that nature does not exist as a biologically-determined primordial condition, and that the entire planet is the result of a transformative process carried out by a multitude of subjects, each of whom should be recognized as having configurative ability and will. Are there images that can help us go beyond the binary reductionism of city and nature, control and anarchy, normal and different, useful and useless, taking us to the intermediate space where things are ambiguous, uncertain, shifting and differing?

Practical Info

The candidates must be Italian - even if living abroad - or foreigners resident in Italy. Applications consist of 5 up to 15 images; project description including any links to videos; CV; biography; consent forms; sketchwork and/or description of a set-up proposal.

An international commission selects the works that, receiving a financial reward of 1500€, are produced and shown in a collective exhibition in the Fotografia Europea Festival in Reggio Emilia. The selection jury reserves its right to prefer recent or unpublished projects.

Prizes include the Luigi Ghirri Award (4,000 € + a solo exhibition), 3 artist residencies, and the participation of 3 artists in a portfolio review programme.