Barcelona Experimental Photo Festival 2027 Open Call

The Experimental Photo Festival selects 12 artists for solo exhibitions in Barcelona, Spain, each receiving €150 artist fee, up to €200 production budget, and a €999 Ágora Diploma in Experimental Photography.

Overview

The Experimental Photo Festival 2027 marks the eighth edition of an international project bringing together artists, photographers, curators, educators and photography professionals around experimental photography. The festival is open to photographers, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and collectives from anywhere in the world working with analogue, digital, historical, alternative, hybrid, expanded and interdisciplinary practices.

From this open call, 12 artists or projects will be selected for 12 solo exhibitions in Barcelona, Spain, in July 2027. Selected artists will work together with the festival's curatorial and production teams to develop their exhibitions in relation to the assigned space, scale, materials, technical requirements and context. Some exhibitions will be installed in time for the IPFA Meeting, International Photography Festivals Association, taking place in Barcelona from 30 June to 4 July 2027.

Selected artists receive a €150 artist fee, up to €200 exhibition production budget managed by the festival for previously agreed expenses, and access to the Ágora Diploma in Experimental Photography valued at €999. The diploma is a 12-month educational programme structured in three stages: eight months of experimental techniques, two months of specialisation, and two months of mentorship and final project development. Additional benefits include international visibility through the festival's communication channels, curatorial and production support, festival access, lunches during festival days, official merchandise, workshop exchange opportunities, and priority access to official accommodation at Col·legi Major Penyafort-Montserrat.

The jury may also select a small additional group of artists to participate in one collective exhibition, who will receive a €150 artist fee, access to the Ágora Diploma, and festival benefits. A further 20 artists will be selected for an online article in Analog Forever Magazine, which does not include exhibition, fees or other benefits.

Practical Info

The open call welcomes photographers, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and collectives of all nationalities, ages and professional backgrounds. Projects can be finished, in progress, previously exhibited or still developing into an exhibition. There is no fixed theme. Experimentation can emerge through technique, concept, process, materials, technology, installation, narrative, space or the way an audience experiences an image. Applications must consist of up to 10 project images, an artist portrait, and technical, production, and installation information.

The jury will consider artistic strength, experimental approach, originality and conceptual clarity, potential to become an engaging exhibition, and openness to dialogue, adaptation and collaboration. Projects of any subject are welcome, including those already exhibited, published or awarded.

Exhibitions will be presented across Centre Cívic Pati Llimona, MUHBA Porta de Mar, BORSÍ pel barri, Experimental HUB, Mont.BCN, Lab Nau Especial and potentially additional spaces. Artists do not apply for a specific venue; allocation is determined by the curatorial and production teams according to each project's artistic, spatial and technical characteristics.

Selected artists must be present in Barcelona for installation, opening, festival participation and dismantling of their exhibitions. Artists are responsible for installation and dismantling, with support from the festival's production team. To receive the €150 artist fee, artists must be able to issue a valid invoice.

About Barcelona Experimental Photo Festival

The Experimental Photo Festival is organised by the Experimentalphotofestival Association, the organisation behind Experimental Photo Festival, IPFA and Ágora, School of Experimentation. For eight years, the festival has been building an international community around experimental photography, connecting artists, educators, curators, cultural institutions and photography festivals through exhibitions, workshops, conferences, meetings and collaborative projects.