About

The 57th Rencontres d'Arles unfolds under the theme Des mondes à relire (Worlds to Re-read), an invitation to revisit how photographs construct meaning, memory, and identity. "Read Against the Machine" responds to this framework by reclaiming the slow, unpredictable, fundamentally social act of looking at photographs together.

Increasingly, images are sorted, categorized, shadow-banned, interpreted, and circulated by automated systems before human eyes ever reach them. Algorithms decide what is visible, what is relevant, and what an image "means."

This open call, workshop, and Face-to-Face edition insist on the fact that the most meaningful readings of images happen not through computation but through conversation: when people with different histories, languages, and intuitions sit in front of the same picture and say what they see.

"Read Against the Machine" isn't about refusing the virtual, digital, technological instance now so highly intertwined with the photographic; it's about asserting that collaborative, social intelligence remains an asset to be trained and always re-staged. By choosing to look, think, and talk with one another, we move beyond automated interpretation and return to the unpredictable, essential act of seeing together, ultimately to better understand the limits and potentials of photographic works today.

We invite you to submit a project or body of work that engages with one or more of these questions:

• The image as a conversation starter: Work that is incomplete without a viewer's response. Photographs made to be discussed, debated, or misread. Projects where ambiguity is not a flaw but an invitation.
• Collective looking as method: Projects born from collaborative processes: community archives, workshop-generated images, co-authored narratives, or curatorial experiments where the group's intelligence shaped the outcome.
• What machines can't read: Images that resist or confound automated interpretation: atmosphere, irony, cultural subtext, spiritual weight, the uncanny, the intimate.

Important note before submitting to the open call

Please note that as a participant, you must already be attending the Les Rencontres d'Arles festival to apply, as we can not compensate for travel or accommodation costs.

You can submit works in the following categories (you can also apply to both, but you'll be selected only for one of the two initiatives):

Collaborative Workshop

The core of Read Against the Machine comes from the foundations of Der Greif and focuses on deconstructing images in a group setting. Selected participants (12-16 artists chosen via the open call) convene for a structured intensive built around reading images together, out loud, as a curatorial act.

The power of co-editing and collective curation lies in the transformation of a solitary image into a dynamic dialogue, shifting the focus from what a photograph is to what it does within a specific environment. When images are curated collectively, they are stripped of their singular, fixed intent and recontextualized through a shared lens, revealing how meaning is not inherent but fluid. This collaborative friction exposes the "connective tissue" between disparate works, demonstrating that an image's communicative power is entirely dependent on its neighbor and its stage. In this space, editing becomes an act of social translation; it proves that by reordering the visual sequence, we can amplify hidden narratives and challenge the viewer's perception, turning a passive viewing experience into an active investigation of how context dictates truth.

The morning is organised around séances de lecture - collective reading sessions where participants present work (their own or others') and the group practises the discipline of slow, shared interpretation.

From these sessions, the group collaboratively begins building connections, sequences, and tensions between the submitted works: the raw material of a curatorial proposal shaped by collective intelligence. We will collectively work on a special screening to be displayed on July 10, 2026 at MRO as part of our special community event.

Face-to-Face

Der Greif open call jury members and a special guest reviewer from MRO will each conduct one-on-one sessions with 5 participants. These meetings extend the workshop's ethos into a focused, individual exchange: attentive, human-paced conversations centered on work-in-progress and the questions shaping your practice.

Going beyond a traditional portfolio review, Face-to-Face sessions are designed to meet you where you are. Whether you are refining a series, developing a book dummy, preparing for exhibitions, or navigating the next steps in your career, each session offers tailored feedback that responds to your specific needs. Our team brings diverse perspectives across curatorial practice, publishing, education, and artistic production, allowing for a nuanced and constructive dialogue around both form and context.

Participants can expect practical insights alongside conceptual guidance. Discussions may touch on sequencing, editing, and presentation strategies, as well as positioning your work within broader photographic and cultural conversations. Equally important, these sessions create space for reflection, helping you articulate what you want your work to do and where it might go next.

At its core, Face-to-Face is about slowing down and creating a meaningful point of connection. It is an opportunity to think through your work in conversation with others, gain clarity, and leave with a stronger sense of direction for your practice moving forward.

Voluntary Donation

Der Greif is a registered non-profit. In these challenging economic times - especially for arts organizations and artists - we are convinced to provide a vital platform for our community. If you're in the position to support this mission, we value your support.

Since launching Guest Room in January 2015, we've invited a broad range of professionals (gallerists, editors, curators) to create opportunities for artists to share their work and get it in front of an international network they might not have access to otherwise. We are more committed than ever to continue this work.

We suggest a voluntary 15€ donation to help us sustain these efforts. If you'd like to support us further, we also accept regular donations via our Raisely page.

If you're unable to contribute financially, please email voucher-special@dergreif.org to receive a 50% or 100% discount code. Your artistic and financial contributions enable our continued growth.

About Der Greif

Der Greif is an award-winning organization for contemporary photography.

We unite diverse voices in the arts, providing a vital platform for talent at early stages in their career. Through monthly grants, a vibrant community, and increasing visibility, we create a springboard for emerging artists, image makers, and photographers, guiding their path into the art world.

Our initiatives are uniquely rooted in crowdsourcing. This consistent approach enables genuine participation for young artists who often lack the resources to join competitions, festivals, and exhibitions or to travel and expand their network.

With our accessible formats and global network, we're democratizing the art world. Our collaborators - guest curators, grant recipients, and featured artists - are among contemporary photography's most significant voices.

Since issue No. 10, Der Greif's annual print edition has been guest-edited by leading contemporary artists, including Jason Fulford, Broomberg & Chanarin, Penelope Umbrico, Sylvie Fleury, Shirin Neshat, Torbjørn Rødland, and Hank Willis Thomas. The first ten issues always featured poetry next to photographic images.

Der Greif collaborates with renowned cultural institutions worldwide, realizing projects with C/O Berlin, Pinakothek der Moderne, Haus der Kunst, Münchner Kammerspiele, FOAM, the Aperture Foundation, Fotomuseum Winterthur, and many others.

About MRO

Created in 2010, the Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation (MRO) supports committed artists whose work offers a unique perspective on the contemporary world. Through photography and documentary film, the Foundation supports projects that question social, cultural, political, and ecological realities on an international scale. By promoting rigorous documentary approaches, the Foundation works to highlight often marginalised narratives and foster a better understanding of the human dynamics at work in the world.