FUTURES Baltic Talents 2027

ISSP invites photographers and artists working with photography from Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania to join the FUTURES Photography Platform, offering a €500 participation grant, international networking, and access to exhibitions and residencies.

Overview

Three artists from the Baltic countries will be selected to join the FUTURES platform, which brings together the experience of 20 photography institutions across Europe.

Selected artists will receive a participation grant of €500 and an invitation to take part in the FUTURES Annual Event in autumn 2027, with travel costs and accommodation covered. They will have access to an online learning programme with Magnum Photos, conversations with international professionals both online and in person, and the possibility to apply to the internal open call for the Annual Exhibition that travels to member institutions across Europe. Artists may also apply for a funded FUTURES residency and a tutoring session.

All FUTURES artists are featured on the platform website and promoted via FUTURES social media and annual publication. In the following years, selected artists continue to have access to the online learning programme, can participate in FUTURES Conversations, apply for the Annual Exhibition, and apply for funded residencies and tutoring sessions.

Practical Info

The submission is open to photographers and artists working with photography who are currently based in or coming from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Applicants must be a citizen or have an official residency status in one of the three countries. Applicants must demonstrate dedication and continuity in their artistic practice for a duration of at least three years, including participation in at least one exhibition, and can submit a strong photographic work developed during the last three years.

Application is free of charge. Applicants must fill in the application form, including a PDF with one recent project. Those who applied in the past are invited to apply this year.

The selection committee consists of four members: photographer and ISSP Programme director Iveta Gabaliņa, ISSP Managing Director Jūlija Berkoviča, and Estonian and Lithuanian colleagues, artists and educators Paul Kuimet and Geiste Kincinaityte. Selected candidates will be notified by 20 December and must be ready to submit additional materials (CV, portrait, 15 low and high-resolution images) by 1 January.

About ISSP

ISSP is a platform for contemporary photography, art and education based in Riga. Since its establishment in 2006, ISSP has annually organised the International Summer School of Photography, initiated local and international education and exchange programmes, produced exhibitions, publications and events, and, most importantly, gathered a thriving community of artists in Latvia and abroad.

About FUTURES Photography Platform

Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union, FUTURES Photography Platform is focused on amplifying emerging talents in photography in Europe. Since 2017, the platform pools the resources and talent programmes of leading photography institutions across Europe to increase the capacity, mobility and visibility of its selected artists. The FUTURES Photography Platform has grown as a collaborative network of 23 prominent institutions operating in the field of photography around Europe, including Bienal Fotografia do Porto, CAMERA, Centre de la photographie Genève, Foto Arsenal Wien, FOTODOK, Fotofestiwal Lodz, PhotoIreland, and others.