Feedback (working title)
What does it mean to encounter images and to look beyond what you actually see? That means opening ourselves up . . . to the other ways that images touch us, make contact with us, and resonate with us.
– Tina Campt, 2018¹
In 2025, FOTODOKS will once again take place in Munich (DE), with a group exhibition and a four-day accompanying programme. Through an engagement with photography on multiple levels, the emotional, historical, and cultural layers of images are not only seen but also 'felt' – a notion advanced by Tina Campt, a Black feminist theorist who specializes in visual culture and contemporary art. FOTODOKS is launching an open call on 15 October 2024 that builds on this idea.
Taking as its overarching theme the term Feedback, FOTODOKS invites professional lens-based artists and photographers, regardless of their geographical location, to submit work that resonates with the thought-provoking focus of its forthcoming festival edition.
Initially used as a technical term in early communication models, the term 'feedback' derives from the combination of 'feed', meaning to supply or to nourish, and 'back', implying a return or reflection. However, the concept of feedback also applies to our daily interaction with images and visual media. In what ways does photography facilitate or even complicate this exchange of information?
From viral social media feeds to reinforcing echo chambers, every image now generates a response, often influenced by algorithmic control, shaping how ideas are shared and ultimately leading to a confirmation of preexisting biases and norms. In this context, the 2025 edition will explore the ongoing complexities of an increasingly interconnected world, where the concept of 'feedback' not only speaks to affection, empathy, resistance, and a sense of belonging but also addresses the political and ecological tensions surrounding power and resources. Images are no longer just tools for capturing our lives and environment; they have evolved into a circulating fabric that derives meaning from how we interact and think with them.
In view of today's global polarizations, ongoing wars, and rightward political shifts, Feedback embraces FOTODOKS' dedication to fostering ongoing conversations about the expanding responsibility of photography. The open call thus invites artists and photographers to question the many conflicting facets of image production, circulation, and consumption. In this way, FOTODOKS 2025 seeks to bring together emerging and existing projects in documentary photography that broadly explore the multiple implications of feedback under debate today – be it in social interactions, reflections on the medium itself, or strategies for shaping and controlling identity.
Independently of the open-call submissions, the FOTODOKS curatorial team will also extend direct invitations to selected artists and photographers. FOTODOKS encourages people of all ethnic backgrounds, religions, ages, genders, disabilities, sexual orientations, and social statuses to apply. You can submit your application in either English or German. Submissions can be made by individuals, collectives, or groups.
For more information, please visit https://www.fotodoks.de or contact us directly at opencall@fotodoks.de with any questions regarding our call for submissions.
What winners receive
Artist fee of 500,–€ for single artists/photographers, 800,–€ for duos and up to 1200,–€ for collectives, depending on the amount of members.
- Travel budget to and from Munich, Germany: up to 150,–€ for travel inside of Germany up to 300,–€ for travel inside of the EU/Europe up to 500,–€ for travel outside of EU/Europe
- as well as accommodation to be part of the festival’s 4-day opening week.
- Production of your project for the group exhibition in agreement with FOTODOKS, as well as in the festival's catalogue and receipt of further promotional items by FOTODOKS.
- Presentation and international exposure of the artist/photographer and their project on the FOTODOKS website.
[1] Tina Campt, interview by Cathy Hannabach, Imagine Otherwise Podcast, May 16, 2018 (https://ideasonfire.net/63-tina-campt).
