EXCESS

International Open Call for analogue photography

Open Call Deadline: January 28th, 2024

Exhibition dates: March 22nd-May 10th, 2024

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Following the successful exhibition “Transition” in 2022, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain and analogueNOW! are pleased to announce their second curatorial collaboration, and invite film photographers and artists working with analogue techniques to participate in their upcoming international group exhibition on the theme “Excess”.

The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom – William Blake

In many instances, excess is viewed in a negative light: whether it’s overstepping boundaries like exceeding the speed limit and risking fines, recklessly consuming resources like we do through deforestation and facing severe environmental consequences, or, when associated with pleasure, it often goes hand in hand with feelings of guilt and the potential of peril, or even death.

In our personal lives, excess can manifest as a means of self-harm or self-expression through both the body and the mind. It can be observed in overindulgence in food and alcohol, substance abuse, and even in mental illnesses that are characterized by an excess of emotions that society deems should be “regulated”. Within the realm of analogue photography, excess in light, movement, or exposure time is often considered a hindrance to achieving optimal results, and is regarded as a mistake.

The concept of excess is inherently relative to a norm. While some instances of excess demand our attention to prevent harm, others warrant questioning: who or what determines what is excessive and what aligns with the norm? When should it be respected, and when and how should it be scrutinized or challenged?

Excess can be perceived as a deviation or a problem, but for some, it represents a means of breaking free from societal norms, a pivotal step in one’s life, or a demand for increased freedom. Is it something to be restrained, or could it be the “path to wisdom”?

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Participation in the Open Call: Projects and Application

For our upcoming exhibition, we invite artists to delve into the concept of “excess” that surrounds us, whether from a social, environmental, political or intimate perspective, or even within the applied framework of analogue photographic processes.

We give the topic free for interpretation and welcome other readings of the theme. The submitted projects should be recent: either ongoing or completed in the past 5 years maximum. Long-term projects started years ago and recently completed (within the past 5 years) or still ongoing are accepted. In this sense, works that are based on archival material can be submitted. For consideration, projects must involve the use of analogue photographic processes, either entirely or in part. Camera-less photography projects are accepted.

Exhibition dates
March 22, 2024 – May 10, 2024

Submission guidelines
Please follow the guidelines closely.

• Submit up to 15 images as jpgs (1600 pixels on the longest side each), file names should be: lastname-01.jpg, lastname-02.jpg, lastname-03.jpg, etc.
• A PDF document with your personal info (full name, location, email, website/instagram), a short bio (up to 50 words) and a brief artist statement on your contribution (up to 150 words)

Send all files and the pdf via Wetransfer to opencall@analoguenow.com

Selected photographers will be notified by February 18th.

• Payment: the participation to the open call costs 12 Euro per submitted project. There is an early bird price of 7 euro for projects submitted by December 31st. The submission fee must be paid via this website, by purchasing a ticket below. The payment takes place via PayPal.
• The entirety of the submission fee will solely be used to finance the selected artists’ fees.

If you have any questions or need clarification on the submission procedure please write us: opencall@analoguenow.com or fotogalerie@kulturring.berlin

Exhibition prints

To enter the exhibition, selected photographers can either:

• Ship or personally deliver the exhibition prints to Fotogalerie Friedrichshain. The expenses for shipping the prints to the gallery (and from the gallery back to the artist at the end of the exhibition) are the responsibility of the artists.
• Or have their images printed in Berlin by Fotogalerie Friedrichshain. Printing fees will be billed to the artists.

Selected photographers will receive instructions on shipping their images or on submitting their high-res digital files for printing. Framing options must be discussed before shipping. Fotogalerie Friedrichshain has a wide array of frames available.

Use rights

Photographers retain full rights to their own images. Photographers whose submission is selected grant Fotogalerie Friedrichshain and analogueNOW! the nonexclusive right to use, print, and reproduce their images for the purpose of promoting the artists, the exhibition and its related programs, and subsequent display on Fotogalerie Friedrichshain and analogueNOW!’s websites, social media and online exhibition channels. Image credits will be provided with any use.

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About Fotogalerie Friedrichshain

Founded in 1985, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain is the oldest gallery dedicated to photography in East Germany, and one of the first in Berlin. Alongside exhibitions of famous German photographers, such as Helga Paris, Arno Fischer, Sybille Bergemann, Harald Hauswald, Ute Mahler, Fotogalerie Friedrichshain has shown the works of internationally acclaimed photographers Gordon Parks, Sebastiao Salgado, Tina Modotti, Cecil Beaton, and Imogen Cunningham. Around 5000-10000 people visit its exhibitions yearly. Fotogalerie Friedrichshain is a non-profit institution fostering social and educational programs.

About analogueNOW!

Founded in 2013, analogueNOW! (AN!) is a nonprofit organization for the flourishment of contemporary analogue photography.  From the curation of exhibitions to darkroom and photography workshops AN! creates learning and exhibition opportunities for artists and photographers from beginner to professional levels. AN! collaborates with a wide range of partners and partner institutions in Berlin, Germany and internationally. The main event is the analogueNOW! PhotoWeekend which takes place every second year in Berlin. Together with other European partner festivals, we build a network of analogue photography across borders.