Theme for Guest Room

Guest Room aims to inspire collaboration and creative exchange. In this edition, Jo. Trujillo Argüelles, former Director of the Centro de la Imagen, partners with María Santoyo, director of PHotoESPAÑA.

Together, they introduce the theme for your submissions:

"What (Dis)Appears"

"What is the blind spot in your gaze?
And in our collective gaze?
Why can't we see it?

As in the darkroom, between developer and fixer, photography is a space for manifesting the latent and fixing imaginaries and narratives. We propose this edition of Guest Room as a field of visibility that reveals something previously unseen or unconscious – a blind spot, whether personal or social – or that allows what was latent or hidden to emerge.

In this sense, our proposal seeks to explore the nature of the image from its margins, memory, time, and collective imaginaries. This opens up the possibility of exploring the relationship between image and text, the visible and the invisible, different strategies for concealing or revealing layers of reality, as well as reinterpretations of archives."

"Face-to-Face" Portfolio Feedback Session Prize

In addition to being considered for publication, 10 selected artists under 30 will be invited to participate in a special edition of Der Greif’s portfolio review program, "Face-to-Face."

Led by guest reviewer Jo, each selected artist will receive a 20-minute one-on-one feedback session focused on ongoing projects and future development.

Please note: Der Greif will select the 10 participants for this session based on the open call submissions. Priority will be given to emerging artists under 30 who are currently working on a body of work.

Why submit to Guest Room?

• Be discovered by an expert in contemporary art and photography
• Get published in an online showcase on Der Greif alongside emerging artists from all over the world
• Submit for free or pay a voluntary donation of 10€
• Please note: Images which have been selected for a previous Der Greif opportunity are not eligible for re-submission. We want to support the broadest range of photographers possible and therefore encourage you to submit work that has not yet been selected by our past Guest Curators. Any images which do not comply with these terms will be removed from the selection process.

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 commited than ever to continue this work.

We suggest a voluntary 10€ 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-guestroom-2@dergreif.org to receive a 50% or 100% discount code. Your artistic and financial contributions enable our continued growth.

Jo. Trujillo Argüelles

Jo. Trujillo Argüelles is a cultural manager, educator, and image theorist. She served as Director of the Centro de la Imagen from 2020 to 2024. Her work explores the image as an affective and sensory experience, deeply influenced by the legacy of blind photographer Gerardo Nigenda, whose practice she has examined through exhibitions, writings, and public lectures. She is the author of "Triálogo" (2023), a photobook shortlisted for the Prix du Livre at Les Rencontres d’Arles 2024. Trujillo Argüelles has contributed to the international photography community as a jury member, award nominator, and portfolio reviewer at festivals in Mexico and abroad.

María Santoyo

María Santoyo is a cultural entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in curating and managing exhibitions, teaching, art criticism, and promoting visual culture. Since 2023, she has served as the Director of PHotoESPAÑA. She is also a founding partner of Curiosa, a consultancy specializing in innovative educational and corporate narratives. Formerly the director of the International Master’s Program in Photography at EFTI, Santoyo has curated more than 20 exhibitions across the globe.

About Der Greif Guest Room

Guest Room is a monthly online exhibition with open submissions curated in real-time by personalities from the international photography scene. Der Greif is an award-winning organization for contemporary photography. It is print-publication, online-publication, curatorial team and joint project all at once. Der Greif connects the digital and the analogue, exploring and expanding the borders and limits of image-distribution and -reception in the digital era.