plus a 40-image collective installation, free applicants pass, and more
After the great success of the first edition, our International Photo Festival is back from 23 September to 2 October 2022 in Bologna, Italy. With this open call you can become part of it and claim your free daily pass to come to visit us.
The theme of this edition is Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow, meant as an occasion to reflect on the strong moment of change we are living. The eternal return of history; the need to live the present while recognizing the power of actions and how the future depends on our decisions today; the different points of view we share and the speculative interpretation of reality.
There are many angles to interpret this theme. This is why we invite you to send yours and join this open call that represents the main channel through which become part of our festival. We are selecting indeed at least 3 works for individual shows, up to 40 images for a collective installation, and up to 20 projects for the projections. Plus, as an applicant you can claim your free daily pass to attend the festival!
We look forward to reviewing your applications - together with a jury comprising photographers who were the protagonist of last year's edition - and to welcoming you to Bologna this September.
It is very hard for an emerging artist to get their first solo show, so to have that opportunity at PhMusuem's first festival was very special. During our first online meeting, I was genuinely amazed at how well the curatorial team had understood the work on a thematic, spatial and material level. We spoke about how to use the space to further these ideas in my work, and I had the opportunity to propose relevant installations that I had wanted to do for a long time. Samuel Fordham, Awardee PhMuseum Days 2021 Open Call
Assigned by the Main Jury
The panel composed of Silvia Rosi, Alejandro Chaskielberg, Ligia Popławska, and the PhMuseum Team will select at least 3 projects from all the submissions to be granted an individual exhibition within the main program of the festival. Each of the selected photographers will receive a production budget, plus travel and accomodation expenses to attend the main weekend on 22-25 September.
Eligible for the prize are complete or ongoing projects that interprete the theme of the festival, which is Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow.
Assigned by the Main Jury
The panel composed of Silvia Rosi, Alejandro Chaskielberg, Ligia Popławska, and the PhMuseum Team will select up to 40 images for a collective installation that will challenge the main theme of the festival: Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow.
Eligible for this exhibition are both applicants presenting a structured body of work and those applying with a selection of images on the festival theme.
Assigned by the PhMuseum Team
The panel composed of Silvia Rosi, Alejandro Chaskielberg, Ligia Popławska, and the PhMuseum Team will select up to 20 projects among all of the submissions to take parte in a collective video projection that will be included in the festival's main program.
We hope you will join us in a few months in Bologna! This is why we liked the idea to offer a free daily pass to all the open call participants. To claim it, you'll just need to present your work and confirm your attendance in a second moment.
Photographer
Alejandro Chaskielberg is an independent photographer, videographer and teacher, who has established a worldwide reputation for his innovative vision and sensibility that crosses the boundaries between document and art. His working method is the “slow documentary”. He has lived in the islands of the Paraná River Delta for three years, far away from the city and inside the community of islanders, in order to his first book La Creciente, work that was awarded as Photographer of the Year at the Sony World Photography Awards in 2011.
He has exhibited his work in many photographic festivals worldwide including Brighton Biennial curated by Martin Parr, Daegu Photo Biennial in South Korea and the Ballarat Photo Biennial in Australia. He has been one of the tutors of the First Latin American Masterclass organised by the World Press Photo and Master at the ISSP - International Summer School of Photography in Latvia. Chaskielberg is currently creating video installations and murals for theatre and opera, while also working as a cinematographer. Recently he gave his first TED talk at the prestigious Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Artist
Silvia Rosi is an artist who lives and works between London and Modena. She graduated from the London College of Communication (2016) with a BA in photography. Her work traces her own personal history, drawing on the Togolese heritage and the idea of origins. The theme is explored through self-portraits in which she plays her parents, narrating their experience of migration from Togo to Italy.
Her work has been published, among others, by Foam and the British Journal of Photography and selected for international residencies such as YGBI Research Residency (Florence, 2021) and Thread Cultural Center and Residency (Sinthian, 2020). Her portraits have been awarded the Jerwood / Photoworks Awards and have been included in the BJP's Portrait of Britain (2020) project.
Photographer
Ligia Popławska (Gdańsk, 1994) is a photographer and art historian who lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. She graduated with MFA in photography from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (2020) and a BA in Art History from the University of Gdańsk (2016). Her work focuses on the topics of environmental change and sensory ecology. She researches the parallels between senses, memory and emotional states, in the changing conditions of the (Post) Anthropocene.
Ligia was awarded a solo exhibition at PhMuseum Days 2021 and won the Photography Prize funded by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (2020) for the best diploma. She was selected by FOMU Antwerp for .tiff 2022 - Emerging Belgian Photography and joined the Futures platform. She exhibited at FOMU (Antwerp), Photo Open Up (Padua), B-Part Gallery (Berlin), St. Vincents (Antwerp), among others. Ligia works as a photographer, she is also a photo editor of Intimate Structures photography magazine, and a guest professor teaching photography at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Department Jewellery Design & Gold- and silversmithing.
Curatorial Team
Giuseppe Oliverio (Bologna, 1985) is an Italian cultural entrepreneur. In 2012 he launched phmuseum.com, an international platform dedicated to contemporary photography He has been in the jury of international awards like Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward, Gomma Grant, United Photo Industry’s The Fence, San Jose Foto Award, and Happiness On the move. He regularly works as a portfolio reviewer at international festivals like Photo Vogue Festival, Unseen, and Visa pour l’Image, gives talks and writes for TIME magazine and L'Uomo Vogue. His first documentary, A Conscious Dream, has been selected to 12 film festivals and awarded the best documentary short at 2016 Manchester International Film Festival. Recently he opened the PhMuseum Lab, an exhibition and education venue in Bologna, Italy.
Rocco Venezia (Bari, 1991) is a visual artist and works as a curator for PhMuseum. Venezia has exhibited his personal work in solo shows at VOID and JEST, while he was displayed in group exhibitions at Fondazione Fabbri, Capa Photography Center, ISSP Gallery and Gallery Image. His monograph Nekyia was published by Witty Books in 2017. In 2018 he has been one of the emerging artist of Parallel Platform. He has been nominated by VOID as one of the Futures Talents of 2021. Next to his personal practice, Venezia works as a curator and producer for PhMuseum since 2017 where he develops educational programs, the editorial line and the curatorial activities of the online community. Lately, he has worked on the concept and editing of the two books by PhMuseum - Familiar Stranger (2020) and Inside (2021) and has been the curator of photography during the PhMuseum Days 2021 International Photo Festival. He is one of the 3 co-founders of PhMuseum Lab.
Being able to have a solo show at the PhMuseum Days festival was something important for me as a photographer, but it was also enriching for the project. I received many comments from people who attended, they shared with me through messages on social networks and emails. Also, I live in Ecuador so it was great to show my work in another continent and expand my network. Fabiola Cedillo, Awardee PhMuseum Days 2021 Open Call
The festival will have its headquarters DumBO, a project of urban re-generation that is transforming a former railways deposit into a multifunctional space for the new generations. Plus, we are working for free installations in key areas of the city.
Spazio Bianco is one of DumBO's main pavilions, characterised by a post-industrial charm, which develops over 1600 sqm and three modules, communicating with each other.
Beyond the festival headquarters, we will present installations across the city of Bologna to invite you to discover its iconic historical center and the vibes of the new neighborhoods.
It was an incredible honour to exhibit ‘Fading Senses’ at the very first edition of PhMuseum Days among such great photographers. I am very thankful to the judges for this prestigious prize and opportunity. Showing my work in Bologna, allowed me to reach a broad audience and introduce my work to photography specialists, artists, editors and curators from the Italian art scene. Ligia Popławska, Awardee PhMuseum Days 2021 Open Call
