The ShowOFF Section is one of the most important parts of the Krakow Photomonth Festival. Every year, out of over 600 submissions, the section’s jury selects eight artists. ShowOFF gives you the opportunity to showcase your work before acclaimed photography and visual arts experts, as well the festival’s international audience. Additionally, the eight selected newcomer artists will work on the final shape of their exhibitions under the watchful eye of four curators. They will also attend a one-day workshop at the Lablab photography laboratory, where a team of professionals will introduce them to the most important technical aspects of producing art exhibitions. A newcomer is an artist who has not yet had a solo exhibition at an authoritative art institution,i.e. a museum or an art gallery actively involved with promoting artists, who has not yet received a prize at a festival or another photography-oriented event. We’d like to receive submissions from photographers as well as artists involved with interdisciplinary projects. The submissions can tackle any subject you like—no restrictions apply.

What winners receive

The winners’ original projects will be exhibited during the ShowOFF Section in the form of an exhibition. The winning projects will be displayed at a collective exhibition in a specially arranged area during the Krakow Photomonth Festival, so that viewers will be able to experience the various projects.

About Krakow Photomonth ShowOFF

The Foundation for Visual Arts is a non-profit organisation established in 2001 in Krakow. Dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of visual arts in Poland, with an emphasis on photography, the Foundation has sought out new definitions of what photography is within the context of contemporary art, history, and social sciences. This mission is pursued during the Foundation’s key project—the annual Krakow Photomonth Festival. The Foundation for Visual Arts organises other cultural events in cooperation with many partners like Facebook or Vogue, publishes books, promotes young artists and new initiatives, as well as digitalises photographic archives, including documentary photographs of Wojciech Plewiński and Zofia Rydet’s Sociological Record.

How to enter

Entrant must be a debutant. A debutant is an artist who has not yet had a solo exhibition at an authoritative art institution,i.e. a museum or an art gallery actively involved with promoting artists, who has not yet received a prize at a festival or another photography-oriented event.
Please provide bio and CV in English.

Anrea Copetti, Bookshop owner
The founder of Tipi Bookshop, a Brussels-based bookshop active for six years, whose main purpose is to promote self-published photobooks and bring awareness to different ways of telling a story.

Joanna Kinowska, Art historian specialising in photography, curator
She has curated about 100 monographic and collective exhibitions. Works at the Służewski Dom Kultury (Culture Centre) as head of cultural education. Photo-editor of photobooks and juror of photographic contests. Co-organiser of the Photographic Publication of the Year contest (Polish photobook prize). She writes for Przekrój, Digital Camera Polskaand Fotopolis.pl. Lecturer at the Academy of Photography. Founder of the blog “Miejsce Fotografii” (Place of/for Photography).

Joanna Rzepka-Dziedzic, Artist, curator, educator
Graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts (now the University of the Arts) in Poznań and the Institute of Creative Photography at the Silesian University in Opava. Recipient of a Ministry of Culture and National Heritage scholarship. Her artistic work is intertwined with curatorial activity and initiating creative spaces that promote cooperation. Together with her husband she runs Galeria Szara in Katowice (located in Cieszyn until 2016), an independent, non-commercial cultural institution that has played a significant role on the artistic map of Poland for the last 17 years.

Mateusz Sarełło, Photographer, author and editor of photo books.
Resident of Citédes Arts in Paris in the framework of the City of Paris Grant. His book Swellwas chosen as a finalist in Pictures of the Year International and also earned an honourable mention in the Best Photography Book from Central and Eastern Europe contest. The recipient of awards and distinctions in numerous competitions: Prix Photo La Quatrième Image, Center Santa Fe Awards, Lucie Foundation Scholarship, Celeste Prize, FotoVisura Grant, Photolucida Critical Mass. Previously associated with the Instytut Kultury Wizualnej in Warsaw. Juror of competitions, including Grand Press Photo.

FAQ

Is it possible to submit more than one project?
Yes, you can submit 1 or 2 projects.

Is there an age limit?
No, there is no limit. If you are under 18, you must send a signed scan of a consent of the legal guardian to showoff@photomonth.com.

Do I have to pay for the application to the competition?
Yes, the application ShowOFF Section is 15 euro for 1 project and 25 euro for 2 projects.

Is it possible to submit drafts of the video?
Yes. If you wish to enter a video, please upload the video on Vimeo, protect it with a password and provide us with both, the link and the password. Please enter link and password in the project description of your submission.

Can I apply to the ShowOFF Section in a different way than by Picter.com platform?
No, you need to create an account on Picter.com.

Who is a debutant?
A debutant is an artist who has not yet had a solo exhibition at an authoritative art institution,i.e. a museum or an art gallery actively involved with promoting artists, who has not yet received a prize at a festival or another photography-oriented event.