FORMAT International Photography Festival is one of the UK’s leading international contemporary festivals of photography and related media. FORMAT organises a year round programme of international commissions, open calls, residencies, conferences and collaborations in the UK and Internationally. The 2013 festival welcomed over 100,000 visitors from all over the world.
The FORMAT International Photography Festival has for its theme this year: Evidence. Their open call states: “Photography was once considered the most accurate way to record truth. The photograph acted as a solid piece of evidence; indisputable proof of something, someone or somewhere. Since its discovery, photography has been employed as a silent witness to ideas, capturing events and representing a trace of the world. Today, every two minutes, we take as many photos as the entirety of humanity took during the 1800s. On a daily basis, we use photography to evidence our lives; routines, friends, meals, encounters. Millions of seemingly insignificant moments are recorded and shared online, creating inconclusive portraits of individuals, places and events. We can no longer consider a photograph an evidential document in every case. It can equally misrepresent reality as much as it reveals truths; questioning the historic phrase ‘the camera never lies’.”
FORMAT is interested in the evidence of your ideas, your lives and the lives of others, today and throughout history. They are inviting submissions which explore the boundaries of photography and its connection to our festival theme, EVIDENCE, in original and genuine ways. They are looking for submissions from across the medium of photography and beyond for the next edition of FORMAT International Photography Festival, taking place from 13th March – 12th April 2015, in Derby, UK. Submissions are welcome from artists/photographers, curators, collectives, archives, independent publishers and performers. There are opportunities to show different kinds of works: wall based, installation, public space, screen based, interactive, digital, participatory, workshop and event based. They are open to broad interpretations of the theme.
FORMAT has invited a panel of international experts from the field of photography to assist in the short-listing and selection of EXPOSURE artists. The Jury for FORMAT15 consists of:
W.M. Hunt – Photography Consultant & Collector, New York, USA
Brian Griffin – Photographer & FORMAT Patron, UK
Erik Kessels – Curator, Director at KesselsKramer Publishing, Netherlands
Wang Baoguo – Chief Editor, Chinese Photography Magazine, China
Aaron Schuman – Photographer, Curator, Writer, Lecturer and Editor of SEESAW Magazine, UK
Tim Clark – Chief Editor of 1000 Words Photography Magazine, UK
Peggy Sue Amison – Artistic Director of East Wing, Dubai, UAE
Joanne Junga Yang – Director of Y&G Art, Seoul Photo Festival, Korea
Enrico Bossan – Head of Photography at Fabrica, Editor of Colors Magazine, Italy
Louise Clements – Artistic Director of FORMAT/QUAD, UK
FORMAT has partnered with a selection of great organisations to offer awards. These include:
Clifton Cameras Award – Canon Camera, EOS 70D EF-S 18-55mm IS STM Lens Kit*
FORMAT EXPOSURE Award – £1000
Ideas Tap Award – £1000
Paul Hill FORMAT Award – £1000
Genesis and Fujifilm Production Award – £1000 worth of framing and printing (on Fujifilm Crystal Archive paper)
The Photography Show Award – £500
SHOW ME PICTURES Award – £250
The Photocaptionist Award – £250 towards the production of a special image-text commission for the platform
*Prize value £999. No cash alternative.
