KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Award until 30 July 2020

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Deadline: 30 July 2020. KAUNAS PHOTO festival announces an Open Call for its 17th edition, inviting photographers to propose their works and offering exhibiting opportunities as well as participation at New KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Award, consisting of a solo exhibition at the largest photography gallery in the Baltic States, Kaunas Photography Gallery and a 2500 EUR monetary prize. Open Call provides opportunities to be selected to the festival exhibition and projection program. All exhibiting artists, selected via KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Open Call will be offered artist fees.

KAUNAS PHOTO festival opening events will start on September 3, 2020 with KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Exhibition. Festival’s events and outdoor exhibitions will run until the end of October.

⦁ Topic of the year: Peripheral Visions

In 2020, KAUNAS PHOTO festival was planned to celebrate the periphery, the province, the outback, l’arrière-pays, the background of metropolis in a state of uncertainty, balancing between possibilities and neglect, prospering vistas for transiting commuters and struggling agriculture, remnants of local identities and the global odor spread by passing-by intercontinental flights.

Ever since image-making became possible, photographers were those who would disclose new territories and bring back images to the „civilised world“. In the 21st century, spaces, places, areas outside the big cities, countries of power, once unknown, now become either simply forgotten or are targets for visual investigation inspired by transformations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the fight against it imposed new rules and conceptions of space for living or/and work, perceptions of spacious places we’d rather go, if we could leave the city, imposed limits and borders which were absent for decades. Unable to leave home, leave our own community limits, travel abroad, we are are internet users who are allowed to or would only agree to travel a small distance, remaining within our home country, rediscovering the niche pecularities or contemplating places that „normally“ would be unimportant, uninteresting simply because they’re just around the corner, and not in a reach of a long-haul flight.

KAUNAS PHOTO festival’s topic aims to look at what is on the margin, just across the window or the border that we can or cannot cross, to discover the spaces, places, lands, areas that usually were in the periphery of the vision. The thematic scope includes self-isolation and things it changed in our habits, attitudes, undermined topics around obvious things, trends beyond mainstream. The festival invites to rethink what in 2020 became important, what was less so, what was taken for granted or simply undermined until now. Both documentary and constructed, geography – based and idea-driven works, works produced during pandemic and in the recent years are welcome.

Let us rethink what in 2020 became important, what was less so, taken for granted or simply undermined until now.

⦁ Who can submit?

All Photographers/Artists, regardless of their age, nationality and place of residence are invited to submit work. KAUNAS PHOTO festival is known for its focus on documentary, but all styles, genres and approaches to photography are accepted and exhibited. Both completed works and those in progress can are welcomed.

Photographers/Artists with KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Award in focus, should ask themselves – “is my work ready for a space of 200 square metres?”.

Prizes:

Photographers/Artists submitting works to Open Call can be enrolled in Kaunas Photo 2020 in the following ways:

– works can be included into KAUNAS PHOTO festival program, its indoor and outdoor exhibitions, presented in squares in Kaunas;
– Projection events;
– KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Award – Finalist’s and Winner’s exhibitions.

The July panel of decision-making curators on the Jury panel, who will review all entries and eventually are potential providers of opportunities through their platforms, institutions and networks.

KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Award consists of a solo exhibition at the largest photography gallery in the Baltic States, Kaunas Photography Gallery, and a 2500 EUR monetary prize. The joint exhibition of KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Finalists across the venues of Kaunas old town and the Winner’s exhibition at Kaunas Photography Gallery will open on September 3, 2020. The Winner will be disclosed at the opening of the doors of Kaunas Photography Gallery.

Open Call provides opportunities to be selected to the festival exhibition and projection program. All exhibiting artists, selected via KAUNAS PHOTO STAR Open Call will be offered artist fees.

Photo Contest Website: http://festival.kaunasphoto.com/kaunas-photo-star-2020-open-call/