Projects and Submissions for Exhibitions

submissions | projects | recommendations
As well as the advisors that we have for curating the Festival, we are also dependent upon the photographic community for the submissions of ideas, recommended work, projects and exhibitions. We prefer to show work that has not had significant exposure in the UK before, or new work that is being prepared in time for the festival.

All suggestions should be work that addresses human social and cultural issues. We are interested in all genres of photography, from documentary and photojournalism to conceptual work, and all technical production methods. We are as interested in submissions from other countries as from the UK, particularly where the work addresses cultural issues. The standard of work from both a technical and creative point of view needs to be very high.

Submissions

Submissions of exhibitions can be either fully worked up or work in progress. For projects that are not yet started please see the Projects and Commissions section below. The work should form a complete set of images on a clear theme, and not be a collation of images in your particular style - the images need to work as a story or complete presentation of the subject.

Please send us a statement of the background to the particular piece of work proposed for exhibition and not less than 5 images, as either working prints, digital prints or slides. A full CV should accompany submissions. State the number, final mode and quality of presentation and size of the images as they are expected to be exhibited. Please do not send submissions by email with image files attached as we cannot assess the presentation in that form.

The Submissions Selection Panel meets in February and March each year for a two stage selection process. You would be notified of the selection by the end of April. All presentations for those not selected will be returned complete provided that sufficient postage and packaging for return is sent with the submission.

Selected exhibitors are expected to arrange for the work to be prepared to exhibition standard. As we always have to mount and frame exhibitions from abroad, we prefer not to have to do this for UK based photographers, but can in some cases use our stocks of frames for UK photographers.

You will be provided with a venue, exhibition layout, hanging, text materials and return shipment by the festival. The festival will arrange all publicity materials and provide copies of the Catalogue and Opening Reception invitations to the selected photographers. There are no charges for any of these activities by the festival.

Depending on the levels of sponsorship it may be possible in some cases for the festival to support the printing and preparation of work, and this would be the subject of discussions with the Festival Director prior to any commitments on either side.

The Closing Date for the Submission of Exhibitions for the 2004 Festival is Thursday 31st January 2004[top of page]

Projects and Commissions

We are keen to develop new work and to commission a limited number of photographers to produce new work to be shown in the Festival. We are interested in local, regional and national photographers and also in Project Leaders who would be interested to develop Community based projects with us.

As a registered arts charity we have access to certain funding sources for the creation of new work, but this procedure takes longer. We need to look at projects much earlier than submissions if we are to assist with working up and funding the project. Photographers who have started to research a project that covers a subject in the Festival's area of interest should contact us as soon as possible - don't wait for the deadlines please.

If you have a project in mind please write to the Festival Director at the Festival office in the first instance, with an outline of the idea, information on your background and examples of the type of work that you have done before. There is a Selection Panel which looks at proposals to determine those that we will follow up.

The Closing date for the suggestion of Projects for the 2005 Festival is June 30th 2004 [top of page]

Recommendations

If you are aware of a strong piece of work that has recently been produced in the UK or another country and would be of interest to festival audiences, please let us know as soon as possible, with contact details if you have them.