About

We welcome experimental, creative and contemporary approaches to photography, including analogue, digital, historical, alternative, hybrid, expanded and interdisciplinary practices. There is no fixed theme and no single way of understanding experimental photography.

The Experimental Photo Festival 2027 marks the eighth edition of an international project that has spent the past eight years bringing together artists, photographers, curators, educators and photography professionals around experimental photography.

Since its first edition, the festival has grown as a meeting point for experimentation, exchange and community. Every year, Barcelona becomes a place to discover new approaches to photography, share processes and knowledge, and create connections between analogue and digital practices, historical techniques, alternative processes, expanded photography and new ways of producing and experiencing photographic images.

The festival is open to photographers, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and collectives from anywhere in the world. Your project can be finished, in progress, previously exhibited or still developing into an exhibition. There is no fixed theme and no single way of understanding experimental photography. We are looking for projects that explore, question or expand the possibilities of photography and that have the potential to become engaging exhibitions in Barcelona.

THIS OPEN CALL IS FOR YOU IF...

You are developing your first exhibition project.
You already have an established artistic practice.
Your project is finished or still in progress.
Your work has already been exhibited, published or awarded.
You work with analogue, digital, historical, alternative, hybrid or expanded photography.
You combine photography with installation, video, sound, sculpture, performance, science, technology or other disciplines.

Emerging and established artists are equally welcome. You do not need to fit a specific style or definition of experimental photography.

For 2027, the festival is focusing on stronger exhibitions and closer collaboration between artists, curators and the production team. The aim is to dedicate more attention to each selected proposal and to develop exhibitions that are visually strong, conceptually coherent and carefully adapted to their specific spaces.

The main selection of this Open Call will consist of 12 artists or projects selected for 12 solo exhibitions in Barcelona. Selected artists will work together with the festival's curatorial and production teams to develop their exhibitions in relation to the assigned space, scale, materials, technical requirements and context.

Some of the selected exhibitions will be installed in time for the IPFA Meeting, International Photography Festivals Association, taking place in Barcelona from 30 June to 4 July 2027. The meeting brings together directors and representatives of photography festivals from different countries, creating an additional opportunity for selected projects to be seen by international photography professionals and festival directors during their visit to Barcelona.

NOT SURE IF YOUR PROJECT FITS EXPERIMENTAL PHOTO FESTIVAL?

You do not need to identify as an experimental photographer to apply. We understand photography broadly and welcome experimental, creative and contemporary approaches to the medium. Experimentation can emerge through technique, concept, process, materials, technology, installation, narrative, space or the way an audience experiences an image. It can also begin with a strong photographic idea, an unexpected visual language or a new way of presenting an image. If your project makes us look at photography differently, we want to see it.

YOUR EXHIBITION DOES NOT NEED TO BE FULLY RESOLVED WHEN YOU APPLY.

We want to understand your project, its potential and what it could become in space. If selected, you will develop the final exhibition together with our curatorial and production teams. Scale, materials, installation and the relationship with the assigned venue can evolve through this process.

ONE APPLICATION. DIFFERENT WAYS TO BE SELECTED.

You submit your project only once. From the same Open Call, your project may be considered for different forms of recognition:

12 Solo Exhibitions in Barcelona
Collective Exhibition
20 Artists Featured in Analog Forever Magazine

You do not need to submit separate applications for each category. Just one application!

12 Solo Exhibitions in Barcelona

The VIII Experimental Photo Festival 2027 launches its international Open Call for photographers, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and collectives of all nationalities, ages and professional backgrounds. From this Open Call, 12 artists or projects will be selected for 12 solo exhibitions in Barcelona in July 2027.

These exhibitions will form part of the wider Experimental Photo Festival 2027 programme, alongside invited exhibitions, collaborations, collective projects and other initiatives developed through different programmes.

The exhibition programme is currently being developed across:

Centre Cívic Pati Llimona
MUHBA Porta de Mar
BORSÍ pel barri
Experimental HUB
Mont.BCN
Lab Nau Especial

Additional spaces may be incorporated as the programme develops. Artists do not apply for a specific venue. The allocation of spaces will be determined by the festival's curatorial and production teams according to the artistic, spatial and technical characteristics of each project.

The festival works across different types of spaces and formats, including indoor and outdoor areas, historical venues, courtyards, foyers, large-format installations, site-specific proposals and other unconventional exhibition contexts.

Selected projects will be developed together with the curatorial and production teams. Scale, materials, display systems, installation requirements and spatial relationships may be adapted according to the assigned venue while maintaining the conceptual and artistic integrity of the project.

Some exhibitions will be installed in time for the IPFA Meeting from 30 June to 4 July 2027, allowing those projects to be seen by directors and representatives of photography festivals from different countries.

What Selected Artists Receive

A SOLO EXHIBITION IN BARCELONA

Develop your project together with our curatorial and production teams and present it as part of Experimental Photo Festival 2027.

€150 ARTIST FEE
Direct financial compensation for the selected artist or project.
UP TO €200 EXHIBITION PRODUCTION
A Festival-managed production budget for previously agreed exhibition and installation expenses.
ONE YEAR OF EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY EDUCATION
Access to the Ágora Diploma in Experimental Photography, valued at €999.
INTERNATIONAL VISIBILITY
Promotion through Experimental Photo Festival's communication channels and, for some projects, the opportunity to be presented during the IPFA Meeting to directors and representatives of international photography festivals.
CURATORIAL + PRODUCTION SUPPORT
Work together with the Festival team to adapt and develop your project for its assigned space.
FESTIVAL COMMUNITY
Festival access, lunches during the corresponding festival days, official merchandise, workshop exchange and opportunities to meet artists and photography professionals.
ACCOMMODATION PRIORITY
Priority access to official accommodation at Col·legi Major Penyafort-Montserrat. Accommodation costs are not included.

The €150 artist fee and the up to €200 production budget are separate. The €150 artist fee is paid directly to the selected artist. To receive this payment, the artist or collective must be able to issue a valid invoice. The production budget may be used for previously agreed expenses such as printing, exhibition materials, supports, graphic production, mounting systems and other production needs. The production budget is not transferred to the artist as cash, and any unused amount cannot be claimed as part of the artist fee.

The Ágora Diploma in Experimental Photography, School of Experimentation, valued at €999, is a 12-month educational programme in experimental photography, designed to accompany artists through a full year of learning, experimentation, and project development.

The programme is structured in three progressive stages:

8 months of Experimental Techniques, exploring a broad range of analogue, alternative, historical, digital and experimental photographic processes
2 months of Specialisation, allowing each participant to deepen their practice in a selected area
2 months of Mentorship and Final Project, dedicated to developing and presenting an individual photographic project with guidance and project reviews

The programme combines pre-recorded and live online learning, access to an international community of experimental photographers and direct contact with teachers. This is an educational benefit in kind. The €999 represents the value of access to the programme and cannot be exchanged for cash

Collective Exhibition Mention

In addition to the twelve solo exhibitions, the jury may select a small additional group of artists to participate together in one collective exhibition.

Artists selected for a Collective Exhibition Mention will receive:

Participation in the collective exhibition
A €150 artist fee
Access to the Ágora Diploma, School of Experimentation, valued at €999
Festival access
Official Experimental Photo Festival merchandise
Lunches during the corresponding festival days
Curatorial and production support
Promotion through the festival's communication channels
Access to the workshop exchange programme
Priority access to official accommodation at Col·legi Major Penyafort-Montserrat

20 Artists Featured in Analog Forever Magazine

A further 20 artists will be selected for an online article dedicated to experimental photography. Analog Forever Magazine Selection does not include an exhibition, artist fee, production budget, Ágora Diploma, festival access or other financial or in-kind benefits.

About Experimental Photo Festival

The Open Call is organised by the Experimentalphotofestival Association, the organisation behind Experimental Photo Festival, IPFA, and Ágora, School of Experimentation.

2027 marks the eighth edition of the Experimental Photo Festival. For eight years, the festival has been building an international community around experimental photography, connecting artists, educators, curators, cultural institutions and photography festivals through exhibitions, workshops, conferences, meetings and collaborative projects.

The Experimental Photo Festival is more than a programme of exhibitions and activities. It is a meeting point where experimentation creates connections, knowledge is shared and new artistic and professional relationships can emerge.

This international network is particularly visible through the IPFA Meeting, International Photography Festivals Association, which will take place in Barcelona from 30 June to 4 July 2027. During the meeting, directors and representatives of photography festivals from different countries come together in Barcelona to exchange ideas, build collaborations and discover new photographic practices. Some of the exhibitions selected through this Open Call will already be installed during the IPFA Meeting, offering those artists an additional opportunity for their work to be seen within the international photography festival community.

For eight years, Experimental Photo Festival has been creating a community around the desire to experiment, share and expand the possibilities of photography. We invite you to become part of its eighth edition.

Barcelona awaits you.

No Perfect Project Required.

NEW PROJECT? YES.
WORK IN PROGRESS? YES.
PREVIOUSLY EXHIBITED? YES.
EMERGING ARTIST? YES.
ESTABLISHED ARTIST? YES.
COLLECTIVE? YES.
ANALOGUE? DIGITAL? HYBRID? YES.

What matters is the strength of the idea, the project and its potential to become an exhibition.

How to Participate

Applications are submitted through Picter. Participating is simple:

Create or access your Picter account
Complete your personal and professional information
Upload your artist portrait
Complete the information about your project
Upload up to 10 project images
Provide the requested technical, production and installation information
Pay the application fee of €20 per project
Submit your application

Each applicant may submit more than one project, but every project must be submitted as a separate application and requires payment of a separate €20 application fee. Once an application has been submitted, the documents and information provided cannot be modified. The application fee is non-refundable.

Still wondering if your project fits? Apply.

You do not need to match a specific aesthetic, technique or professional profile. Show us the project, tell us what matters about it and help us imagine what it could become in space. We look forward to discovering your project and welcoming new voices, practices and ways of experimenting with photography into the Experimental Photo Festival community.

Judging Criteria

The Experimental Photo Festival does not establish a specific theme for this Open Call. We understand experimentation broadly.

Experimental photography is not limited to historical or alternative photographic processes. Experimentation can emerge through technique, concept, materiality, support, installation, narrative, spatial relationships, interaction with the audience or the combination of photography with other media and disciplines.

Projects may work with analogue, digital, historical, alternative or hybrid processes, as well as video, sound, sculpture, architecture, performance, science, technology and expanded photographic practices.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?

The jury will consider five main areas:

Artistic strength
Experimental approach
Originality and conceptual clarity
Potential to become an engaging exhibition
Openness to dialogue, adaptation and collaboration
We are interested in the potential of the project, not in whether every technical or production detail has already been solved.

Projects of any subject are welcome, including projects that have already been exhibited, published or awarded. We welcome ambitious ideas. Projects do not need to arrive with every technical or production detail resolved.

If selected, feasibility, scale, materials and installation will be developed in dialogue with the festival's curatorial and production teams according to the assigned venue and available resources. We are interested in what your project could become, not only in how completely resolved it is when you apply.

Participation Commitments

Selected exhibition artists must be available to participate actively in the development and presentation of their exhibition in Barcelona. Artists are responsible for the installation and dismantling of their own exhibitions. The Experimental Photo Festival production team will assist artists throughout both processes, coordinating access to the venue, available technical resources, production materials and the agreed installation plan. The technical and production team will support the installation and dismantling processes, although final responsibility for the exhibition remains with the artist.

Selected artists must be present in Barcelona for:

Installation of their exhibition
The exhibition opening
Participation in Experimental Photo Festival 2027
Dismantling of their exhibition

Individual installation, opening and dismantling dates will depend on the assigned venue and exhibition calendar. Some exhibitions will be installed earlier in connection with the IPFA Meeting, taking place from 30 June to 4 July 2027. Artists whose exhibitions form part of this programme will receive their specific installation, opening, attendance and dismantling schedule in advance. The current dates for the VIII Experimental Photo Festival are 21 to 25 July 2027.

The project submitted through Picter is considered an exhibition proposal. Following selection, the artist will work with the festival's curatorial and production teams to adapt the proposal to the assigned venue, available production resources and technical requirements.

Following selection, a mandatory participation agreement will be sent to the selected artist. Participation is considered fully confirmed once the required agreement has been signed. This agreement will detail the conditions established in this Open Call together with matters related to: Payment and invoicing, Production budget, Benefits, Installation and dismantling, Attendance requirements, Transport, Use of artwork images, Artist image rights, Intellectual property rights, Photographic and audiovisual documentation, Responsibilities of the artist, Responsibilities of Experimental Photo Festival, Cancellation and withdrawal conditions

Selected artists must be able to issue a valid invoice to receive the €150 artist fee. Registration for the Open Call is final. Submitted documents cannot be modified and the application fee will not be refunded under any circumstances.

In addition to their exhibitions, selected artists may indicate their interest in sharing a workshop. An exhibition artist who teaches one workshop may attend two festival workshops in exchange. Artists who teach two workshops become part of the separate Artists: Workshops + Conferences programme and the conditions of that programme will apply.

Works presented within the festival exhibitions will not be offered for sale by Experimental Photo Festival during the event. The results of the selection will be communicated individually by email in January 2027.