“Common Places” is the chosen theme for the 32nd edition of Encontros da Imagem, happening between the 16th of September and the 30th of October 2022.

Normally, a theme is something that will confine and define our actions, but, through Common Places, we’re able to dissolve those harsh barriers and make room for expansion, guided by each of our own unique outlooks. From the physical places we share with others, to the mental space that is experienced individually, but felt universally. Whether it’s born out of generational memories, or from the experiences that accompany all human experience - or even from global events - the common place unites instead of dividing.

We search for ourselves in the reflections of our own identity, culture, and history. Through each step taken, we transform novelty into comfort, the unknown into something familiar. Whatever paths might these be, in which we wander in search of our dreams and happiness? Common Places of self-realization or survival?

How do we shape what surrounds us in order to find our home? Our place?

What winners receive

• The finalists will have their work produced and exhibited at the 2022 edition;
• The finalists will have their work published in the catalog of the 2022 edition;

About the organization

Encontros da Imagem, with more than thirty years of existence, is a non-profit cultural association that promotes annually an International Photography and Visual Arts Festival in the city of Braga, Portugal. The festival celebrates classic and contemporary photography and visual arts in general by showcasing emerging and established artists. Every year Encontros da Imagem promotes 3 open calls. First the Discovery Awards, where the winners have the opportunity to exhibit their work during the festival. Second the Photobook Awards, where the best photobooks are selected to be exhibited at the festival and third Emergentes - International Photography Award Encontros da Imagem, this prize is awarded after the Portfolio Review, which gives photographers the opportunity to show their work to an international jury, composed by commissioners, gallery owners and expert editors, thus establishing solid foundations for the promotion of their work. The festival has developed an eclectic programme. This year the theme is Common Places, where numerous artists emerging and established, national and international will be shown in several public and private spaces (historical and monumental buildings, museums, galleries and others). Encontros da Imagem is a cultural photographic reference in Portugal, and has reached a prominent position in the international panorama, being one of the oldest photography festivals in Europe.

Cindy Sissokho

Cindy Sissokho (France) is a curator, cultural producer and writer with a specific interest in intellectual, political and artistic aspects of decoloniality within the arts, and culture. Her curatorial practice is nurtured by the urgency to broaden and disseminate epistemologies and cultural production from racialized and systemically marginalized perspectives.

Recent exhibition projects include this is a love poem, (2021) curated at EXILE Gallery, Vienna for the international contemporary arts festival Curatedby (Austria) and Breaking Translation(s) (2021) an online exhibition for HANGAR, Lisbon (Portugal). Upcoming exhibition projects will be the curation of Black Tales, a multimedia sound installation by artists Mónica De Miranda and Xullaji for Refuge, the 4th edition of the Lagos Biennale 2023 (Nigeria).

Her practice is also informed through multiple formats of engagement such as talks and pedagogical workshops. Most recent activities were How to Articulate (A) Collective Gaze(s)? in collaboration with Fabián Villegas in 2020 for both Les Rencontres d'Arles (France) and HANGAR, Lisbon (Portugal). 

She articulates and brings curatorial and theoretical reflections through writings including art reviews and interviews for Ocula, Terremoto, The Sole Adventurer, The Kitchen, NYC and Nka: The Contemporary African Art Journal, and publication commissions.

She also has a great interest in artist development and artistic consultancy that translate into frequent mentoring roles and portfolio reviews. The most recent being with the PhMuseum, Bologna (Italy) and the annual FORMAT Photography Festival, Derby (UK).

She currently works as a Curator and Special Projects Producer at the New Art Exchange in Nottingham (UK).

Claartje van Dijk

Claartje van Dijk is head of exhibitions at Foam Photography Museum in Amsterdam since 2020. She curated various exhibitions including Laia Abril - On Rape: A History of Misogyny, Chapter Two, Foam 3h: Karolina Wojtas - We can't live -- without each other and Liz Johnson Artur - of life of love of sex of movement of hope, among others. Previously, Claartje worked at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York as Assistant Curator, Collections. At ICP she managed the museum's collection and was a curator on numerous exhibitions, including Perpetual Revolutions: The Image and Social Change (2017), Elliott Erwitt: Pittsburgh (2018) and Your Mirror: Portraits from the ICP Collection (2019). Claartje has juried a number of awards including PDN: The Curator Award, Critical Mass and the Lucie Scholarship Program for The Lucie Foundation.

Hideko Kataoka

Hideko Kataoka is based in Tokyo, Japan. She has been director of photography at Newsweek Japan since 2001. In 2004, She launched the Picture Power section in the magazine, a weekly photo essay that captures underreported topics around the world. Published for the last 18 years, Picture Power continues to provide a printed showcase for contemporary photographers' work. Hideko is a lecturer in photojournalism and documentary photography at Tokyo Polytechnic University, does portfolio reviews and has served as a juror at international photography festivals and competitions, such as World Press Photo, Sony World Photography Awards, FotoFest and others. She has been External Review Committee Member of Tokyo Photographic Art Museum since 2017.

Jon Uriarte

Born in Hondarribia in 1980, he studied photography at the Institut d'Estudis Fotogràfics de Catalunya and the International Center of Photography of New York, he also holds a master in Projects and Artistic Theories by PhotoEspaña and the European University of Madrid. His work has been exhibited in collective and individual exhibitions at different galleries and centers such as La Casa Encendida in Madrid, Koldo Mitxelena in Donostia, Studio 304 of New York, HBC center in Berlin and Sala d'Art Jove in Barcelona. Founder of Widephoto, independent platform dedicated to curating activities about contemporary photography. He also conceptualized and coordinated DONE for three years, a project about reflection and visual creation promoted by Foto Colectania. He is currently living in London, where he works as digital curator of The Photographers' Gallery.

Carlos Fontes

Carlos Fontes is one of the co-founders of Encontros da Imagem, and since 2017 he as become the Director of the festival. He has been a reviewer at numerous national and international photography festivals. During fourteen years he worked for the cultural department in the Municipality of Braga