Theme for Guest Room

Guest Room aims to spark collaboration. Dutch, Beijing-based photographer and curator Ruben Lundgren has chosen to collaborate with Yining He, a curator, researcher, and writer focusing on decolonial art practices in contemporary Chinese art. Together, they have developed the following framework for your submissions: "Domestic Miracle".

There is a well-known Chinese poem with the lines, "Tomorrow after tomorrow, how many of them in a row? If all my life I count on tomorrow, everything will end up being idle." It reminds us to cherish each day, live in the present, and not waste precious time waiting for tomorrow. The poem advises those lost in busy lives to value the present moment and avoid procrastination that leads to wasted time. Inspired by this, Ruben Lundgren and Yining He propose the theme "Domestic Miracle", inviting you to explore and depict the often overlooked magical moments in everyday life.

A Song of Tomorrow
[Ming Dynasty] Qian Fu, Translated by Fuolao

Tomorrow after tomorrow,
How many of them in a row?
If all my life I count on tomorrow,
Everything will end up being idle.
People are all fazed by tomorrow,
Year after year - soon they are old.
The morning water runs to the east,
And the dusky sun sets in the west.
How many tomorrows do you have in a hundred years?
Please listen to this Tomorrow Song with all your ears.

明日歌
（明）钱福

明日复明日，明日何其多。
我生待明日，万事成蹉跎。
世人苦被明日累，春去秋来老将至。
朝看水东流，暮看日西坠。
百年明日能几何？请君听我明日歌。
明日复明日，明日何其多！
日日待明日，万事成蹉跎。
世人皆被明日累，明日无穷老将至。
晨昏滚滚水东流，今古悠悠日西坠。

百年明日能几何？请君听我明日歌。

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 8€
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

After over a decade of serving the international photography community Der Greif is now finally a registered non-profit. We believe this organizational structure best reflects our artistic and cultural mission. As always, your artistic contribution makes our work on Der Greif possible.

Since starting Guest Room in January 2015, we’ve been working hard to invite a broad range of practitioners, from gallerists to editors and curators. We are convinced that this format is an interesting and low-barrier approach to help artists get their work in front of people who might be interested in working with them. For this reason, we are asking you to consider making a financial contribution as well. That’s why we’re suggesting a voluntary donation of 8€ as a submission fee. 100% of the funds we collect from your donations will go towards helping us continue providing interesting opportunities for the photography community through Guest Room, and thus expand Der Greif.

We believe in inclusivity. We don’t want this suggested donation to stand in the way of your submission. If you are unable to contribute financially, please send an email to voucher-guestroom@dergreif.org to receive a voucher code which will allow you to enter for free.

About Ruben Lundgren

Ruben Lundgren, born in 1983, is a Dutch photographer and curator based in Beijing. He is renowned for his work within the conceptual photography duo WassinkLundgren and gained significant attention with publications such as 'Empty Bottles' (2007) and 'Tokyo Tokyo' (2010). As a photojournalist, Lundgren works for the Dutch newspaper 'De Volkskrant' and published in the book 'Real Dreams' (2021). He has made notable contributions as a curator, including 'China Imagined' (2022) for BredaPhoto together with curator He Yining.

About Yining He

Yining He is a curator, writer, and researcher based in the UK and China. She has curated over 50 themed exhibitions for museums, art institutions, and photography festivals across Eurasia, including ‘Photographic Geomancy,’ 'Imaging the Future,' 'China Imagined,' 'Between Mountains, Hills, and Lakes,' 'The Adobe of Anamnesis,' and the 'Ports and Images' projects. Her work has been widely published in Chinese and English in journals, book chapters, and exhibition publications. She is also the founder of 'Floating Island: Journal of Photography and Visual Studies.'

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.