By clicking "Start Submission", you agree to be contacted by the host regarding this opportunity.
We are delighted to announce an international Open Call for submissions from artists who use analog processes in the creation of contemporary photographic works. Out of these submissions, a jury will select 10 artists to exhibit at the Finnish Museum of Photography during the Helsinki Darkroom Festival 2022. The purpose of this inclusive, forward-looking festival is to bring together various institutions, researchers and artists working with analog photography.
The festival consists of an exhibition that is both invitational and juried at the newly renovated Finnish Museum of Photography with screenings and events at their centrally located K1 gallery; a symposium about artistic research on analog photography organised together with Aalto University; workshops, professional get-togethers and events open for the public organised in collaboration with Helsinki-based artistic organisations and galleries.
Inclusion in an exhibition at the Finnish Museum of Photography during the Helsinki Darkroom Festival from January to April, 2022.
An artist's fee of 500 euros paid by the Finnish Museum of Photography and an expense allowance of up to 1,000 euros paid by The Finnish Darkroom Association.
An invitation to join the festival's Grand Opening as a special guest.
The Finnish Museum of Photography is Finland's national museum for photography. Through exhibitions, collection management, education, research, and a wide range of public and community programmes, the museum strives to promote and foster photographic art and culture in Finland. Founded on the initiative of Finnish photography organisations, the museum opened its doors in 1969 and is the oldest photography museum in Europe.
The Finnish Darkroom Association is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 with the purpose of ensuring the preservation of analog photography. The mission of the association is to share and develop the skills and craft of darkroom printing in Finland, to support the network of individuals and organisations in the field and to create international cooperation. The association has built and continues to maintain Mörk, a fully equipped, professional black and white darkroom. The association actively organises courses of all levels in black and white printing and special techniques, such as wet plate collodion process and daguerreotype.
Helsinki Darkroom Festival 2022 is supported by The Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Read the Terms and Conditions of the Open Call. All submissions are found to be in agreement of the Open Call's Terms and Conditions.
Proposed artworks must be produced using analog photographic processes. This includes for example silver gelatin prints, C-prints, daguerreotypes, collodion wet plates, etc. The image production process can have digital stages, but the finished work must rely largely on analog production.
Provide background information on how the works are created.
Submitted projects must be created recently (projects older than 5 years will not be accepted).
The mission of Helsinki Darkroom Festival is to bring to light the various reasons and methods of doing analog photography. In this Open Call, we are looking for artists who are passionate about their analog practice in today’s digitalised world. In jurying, the emphasis is on the artistic vision. We want to see self-awareness and ambition in producing contemporary photographic works. There are no limitations as to the theme of the submissions.
We welcome original thinking and out-of-the-ordinary visions in both the works themselves and in the project descriptions. These textual descriptions do not need to be long or complicated. We are excited to hear the motivations and reasons for staying or going analog in the 2020s.
Profile
Address
Biography with up to 1500 characters
Nationality
Country of residence
CV with up to 2000 characters (or PDF file)
Birthday
First name
Last name
Phone
Upload
1 project per submission
1 to 15 files per project
Allowed file types: JPG
At least 3000px on the long edge
Descriptions
Project description
Project title
Project year
Project country
Image title
Image date (year)
Background Information About Production Process
Kristoffer Albrecht (b. 1961) is a photographer and Doctor of Arts. He lives and works in Inkoo. Black and white photography as well as book art are his main means of expression. Albrecht has been exhibiting in Finland and abroad since the 1980s. He has also published more than thirty photo books. His work is represented in several international collections. Albrecht also has an extensive career as a teacher of photography.
Maria Faarinen (b. 1981) is Curator at The Finnish Museum of Photography, one of the leading and oldest photography museums in Europe. Faarinen holds an MA in Art History. She has been employed in The Finnish Museum of Photography since she graduated in 2007. She has worked extensively on exhibitions, book projects and museum collections. She is passionate about the history of photography and art.
Tuukka Kaila (b. 1975) is a Helsinki-based artist and educator working with photography, knowledge and publishing. He is a co-founder of the artist-run publishing initiative Rooftop Press (2017) and the founder of the nomadic artist's book gathering Bookies (2012). He regularly lectures on independent publishing at the Academy of Fine Arts and Aalto University and maintains the open-access colour darkroom at Värinä co-op.
Natalia Kopkina (b. 1984) is a photographer living and working in Helsinki. Kopkina is a co-founder and executive director of the Finnish Darkroom Association. Kopkina graduated with an MA in Photography from Aalto University in 2015. She has also studied theoretical philosophy in the University of Helsinki and photography in SVA in New York. In 2018, she founded a non-profit publishing house I am not Publishing to publish artist books and publications with an emphasis on photography.
Helen Korpak (b. 1989) is an art critic, photographer and curator with an MA in photography from Aalto University. In 2015 she co-founded the art collective Kosminen, which runs a gallery by the same name in Helsinki and publishes zines. For the past decade, she has written extensively about photography, both as a regular critic for the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet as well as for international media such as Kunstkritikk and YET magazine. In 2019, she worked as an editor for ISSP in Latvia, where she also hosted portfolio reviews. She is interested in exploring ways of building solidarity between art workers, and in working towards a more ethical field of arts.
How much is the entry fee?
The entry fee for the Open Call is 25€ per submission entered. The entry fee is non-refundable. Payments are made by credit card payment via Stripe. For those in need of financial support in paying the fee, please contact info@pimiotaiteilijat.fi
I would like to send prints to the Open Call instead of submitting digital images. Is that possible?
No, we do not accept entries that are not submitted digitally. All judging will be carried out online through Picter.
If selected, is it possible to send prints to Finland and frame them in Finland?
Selected artists are responsible for framing their prints. If you want to frame your works in Finland, the festival team can connect you with our partners. Please note that artists need to take into account the overall aesthetic quality of the exhibition. Festival team reserves the right to reject delivered prints of photographs or artworks for inclusion in the exhibition for any reason, including print or frame quality.
My work must be installed in a specific way, using special equipment. Can the museum accommodate this?
Yes, to an extent. It is very important that, if your work requires installation beyond hanging a simple framed or unframed print, you mention this in the project or image description section. It is also up to you to provide any special equipment needed for viewing your work (i.e., a slide projector, analog television, etc.).
Why are works older than 5 years not accepted?
In this Open Call we are looking for recently produced, fresh works.
By clicking "Start Submission", you agree to be contacted by the host regarding this opportunity.