Theme for Guest Room

Guest Room aims to spark collaboration. Simon Baker, Director of the MEP (Maison Européene de la Photographie, Paris), is teaming up with his colleague Aden Vincendeau.

Together, they have developed the following framework for your submissions: "Happy accidents: embracing mistakes".

An aesthetic effect for some, and proof of a lack of technical knowledge for others, the photographic mistakes are a compelling alternative way of understanding the medium in all its diverse aspects from making photographic images, to exhibiting and publishing them. Scarcely considered during the second half of the 19th century, photographic faults gradually acquired a certain notoriety at the beginning of the 20th century when surrealists like Man Ray found a new way of reading and using the ‘ghosts’ in Eugene Atget’s images of old Paris. From Man Ray’s Atget to Daido Moriyama’s epic collection of ‘errors’ Farewell Photography, accepting and embracing involuntary faults has long since established itself as a deliberate way of making new and surprising aesthetic effects. "Happy Accidents: Embracing Mistakes" is interested in all manner of new and original ways of accepting things that happened by accident to become the basis of new works.

Why submit to Guest Room?

• Get the chance to be awarded a 1.000 € Guest Room Scholarship sponsored by MPB
• Be discovered by two experts 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@dergreif.org to receive a voucher code which will allow you to enter for free.

About Simon Baker

Simon Baker has been Director of the MEP (Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris) since May 2018. He was formerly Senior Curator of International Art (Photography) at Tate, London, having been appointed Tate’s first curator of photography in 2009. Prior to this, he was an Associate Professor of Art History at Nottingham University. He has published widely on both photography and the history of art, including the monograph "George Condo: Painting Reconfigured" (Thames and Hudson, 2015), often specializing in surrealism and its legacies in contemporary practice.

About Aden Vincendeau

Aden Vincendeau works at the MEP (Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris), in close collaboration with Simon Baker and in the exhibitions department. In addition, she supports French emerging photographers and artists by giving regular portfolio reviews and providing professional guidance. Thanks to her previous experience at the Centre Photographique de Marseille, in galleries and in public collections, she has also acquired expertise in the conservation and display of photographic works. Aden Vincendeau graduated from the École du Louvre, Sciences Po – Paris, and Edinburgh University.

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.