Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2015 – OPEN CALL
14/09/2014

Open call for Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2015 is announced! Deadline for submissions is 1st of December 2014. Prizes are: main prize of 10,000 PLN (about 2300 EUR), exhibition during 14th edition of the Fotofestiwal in Lodz, slideshows and a thrilling new prize – free participation in portfolio review.

The jury of international curators will choose one winner and eight finalists from the submitted work. The winner will receive the prize of 10,000 PLN and his/her works will be displayed during the exhibition. The prize for nine finalists is the participation in the exhibition. All selected projects will be exhibited during the 14th edition of the Fotofestiwal in May and June 2015.

Grand Prix Fotofestiwal is a competition organized every year, during which prizes are awarded to those artists who present cohesive ideas and brave visions as well as excellent photographic technique and who use photographic language in a conscious manner. We want to present interesting personalities and new trends of contemporary photography. This invitation is directed at individual photographers. The formula of the competition is open and there are no thematic, age or geographical restrictions.


AWARDS
- 10.000 PLN (≈2300 euro) – MAIN PRIZE,
- the exhibition of all finalists in frame of International Festival of Photography (over 20.000 viewers),
- slideshow promoting all finalists during international photography festivals,
- Fotofestiwal wants to invite 50 authors of the best projects submitted to the Grand Prix competition to free participation in Portfolio Review 2015 in Lodz.

JURY
•   Alison Nordström – independent curator, former curator of photographs at George Eastman House, USA
•    Henriette Hinz – Triennale of Photography in Hamburg, Germany
•    Peggy Sue Amison – Artistic Director for the East Wing Dubai, United Arab Emirates
•  Krzysztof Candrowicz – director of FOTOFESTIWAL International Festival of Photography in Lodz, Poland
•    Alessandra Copadacqua – Fondazione Studio Maragoni, Italy
•    Anna-Kaisa Rastenberger – Finnish Museum of Photography, Finland
•    Bill Kouwenhoven – independent photography critic and curator, Great Britain
•    Erik Vroons – Chief Editor of „GUP” magazine, The Netherlands
•    Adam Mazur – curator, chief editor of „SZUM” magazine, Poland
•    Rafał Milach – photographer, co-funder of Sputnik Photos, Poland
•    Marta Szymańska – The Archeology of Photography Foundation, Poland
•    Jakub Śwircz – curator and lecturer, Poland

JURY BIOGRAPHIES


RULES OF PARTICIPATION

1. A complete application of the project shall be submitted:
- via e-mail to gp@fotofestiwal.com (GRAND PRIX in the title of the message, file size up to 5MB)
or
- in person / by post to:

FUNDACJA EDUKACJI WIZUALNEJ
ul. Tymienieckiego 3
90-365 Lodz, Poland

The project application should be sent in an envelope or packed in any other way that reduces the possibility of damage to the work. Packaging should be labelled “GRAND PRIX”.

If the application is sent by post, the date of registration is the postmark date.

2. Each application should include:
- a completed application form,
- all the works included in the project,
- payment confirmation (scan, photocopy).

The GRAND PRIX program is the result of crowd-funding activity structured by non-profit organization.

3. Registration payment
The registration fee is PLN 100 (≈ 25Euro, ≈35USD; the currency is converted automatically). Bank transfer title “Grand Prix 2015 – name and surname“. It should be paid:

- TO THE ORGANIZER’S BANK ACCOUNT
The registration fee is PLN 100 (or USD 35 or EUR 25)
PL 11 1050 1461 1000 0022 7202 7042
Nr BIC (SWIFT) INGBPLPW

- PAY PAL or CREDIT CARD PAY NOW

Detailed rules of participation can be found in the terms and conditions of the competition.

4. Documents:
- application form
- rules and regulations
- jury biographies
- Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2015 open call


WHY SHOULD YOU SEND PHOTOS FOR GRAND PRIX FOTOFESTIWAL 2015?
I decided to submit my project to Lodz because of the open theme, the calibre of the submitted work in previous years and the reputation of the Fotofestiwal. I felt very privileged to be shortlisted and very surprised and honoured to be selected as the Grand Prix winner. It was the first time I had won a photographic award and I feel that this recognition was an important milestone in my career as a photographer, and an important assistance in maintaining the momentum to create new work. It was a great opportunity to connect with, learn from and be inspired by international practitioners and curators, see very high quality work and was a very positive and enjoyable experience overall. (Karl Burke, the Winner of Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2013)

I was awarded with the Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2012 in the same year, I got World Press Photos and the prize for Polish photojournalists – BWZWBK Press Photo. It was an important year for me. It really helped me in my photography development and enabled to work on new projects. The festival was also a great opportunity to meet people working with photography. (Tomasz Lazar, the Winner of Grand Prix Fotofestiwal 2012)

PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO HAVE WON GRAND PRIX AWARD IN PREVIOUS YEARS:
2014 David Favrod “Gaijin”
2013 Karl Burke “The Harvest of Death, vol.1”
2012 Tomasz Lazar “Dreamline”
2010 Katrin Trautner “Morning Love”
2009 Christien Jaspars “Do“
2008 Eric Vazzoler “Face me“
2007 Arja Hyytiainen “Distance-Now”
2006 Andreas Pein “Wading“, Kai Bornhöft “True Colours“


FOTOFESTIWAL – International Festival of Photography in Lodz – meetings and exhibitions in the whole city, discussions about photography, exceptional people, unique industrial spaces. FOTOFESTIWAL is the meeting place for anyone for whom the photography is a way of life.

FOTOFESTIWAL is one of the most important photographic events in Central and Eastern Europe. Over 50 exhibitions in different parts of the city, meetings, portfolio overview, workshops and slide shows- all that attracts to Lodz nearly 20,000 visitors from all over the world every year.

We invite the most important curators from the world of art to co-operate with FOTOFESTIWAL. They prepare the exhibitions, determining the most interesting subjects of contemporary photography for the order of the festival. Apart from the curators’ interpretations, individual exhibitions as well as the annual presentation of Grand Prix Fotofestiwal finalists can be seen. FOTOFESTIWAL owes its unique character to accompanying events, the festival centre and especially to the audience that is looking for new inspirations and experience each year. During FOTOFESTIWAL we are talking about photography, we are looking for alternative means of its presentation and we are creating a meeting space.

FOTOFESTIWAL is the initiator and the leader of the Photo Festival Union – the union of European photo festivals, as well as a member of the international association the Festival of Light, through which it co-operates with the most important photographic events in the world.