We live in an age of constant streams of images and information, where it seems as though photography and technology show us the full spectrum of reality. Yet some things remain silent: human beings, other living and non-living beings, and the past and future. Can images evoke these silent voices?

About

Information in Italian

GFI | Premio Luigi Ghirri (Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award) is a free-of-charge call for artists under the age of 35, promoting the discovery and showcase of emerging photography talents in Italy. An international commission selects the works that, receiving a financial reward, are produced and shown in a collective exhibition in the European Photography program in Reggio Emilia.

Artists are invited to submit a project fitting the main theme and including a series of images with a description and a setup proposal. The selection jury reserves its right to prefer recent or unpublished projects.

The exhibition layout will be defined together by artists and curators.

To be considered for the contest, candidates must be Italian - even if living abroad - or foreigners resident in Italy.

Each artist or collective can only submit one project. Artists who have already been selected in one of the last three editions of the call (ed. 2023, 2024, 2025) cannot apply.

For further information on the call https://gfi.comune.re.it/en

THE THEME: “VOICES”

"In her book When I Sing, Mountains Dance, Catalan writer Irene Solà tells the story of a small village in the Pyrenean mountains through a collective narrative that intertwines human and non-human voices: clouds, deer, a dog, mushrooms, as well as people who passed away, ghosts, spirits, and the mountain itself. Through constant shifts in perspective, Solà introduces us into a universe populated by invisible beings, leading us to the acknowledgment of loss and grief, and the perception of other ways of existing.

Since its origins, the photographic medium has been dealing with the invisible, capturing its traces through lights, marks, and presences that are not perceivable by the naked eye. Similarly to Solà's writing, Photography also intertwines the visible and the invisible, what emerges and what disappears, and often invites us to conceive other ways of existing. It is no coincidence that, in the eyes of its early witnesses, photography long seemed magical, in its ability to evoke images and to present what is not there.

Nowadays, we live submerged in a constant flow of images and information, and we might think that photography and its technological developments cover and reveal the entire spectrum of reality. Yet, a large part of our world remains voiceless and invisible: people, other living and non-living beings, those who came before us and those who will come in the future. Let us ask ourselves: are there images that are able to evoke such missing voices?"

(Ilaria Campioli, Daniele De Luigi)

What winners receive

Fee of 1500 € to the selected finalists covering the expenses for:

• production and transport of the works;

• artists' travel and stay in Reggio Emilia during the show's preparation and inauguration;

• potential insurance covering the transport of works.

Luigi Ghirri Award, worth 4000 €, to beawarded to one of the finalists by an international jury. The jury will take place during the opening days of Fotografia Europea (April 30 – May 3, 2026).

GFI #13: Luigi Ghirri Award 2026 exhibition
This exhibition will be held in the halls of Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia as part of the Fotografia Europea 2025 festival programme.

Nuove traiettorie. GFI a Stoccolma

Artist residency in Stockholm that will consist of a study and research period, during which the selected artist will produce an art project to be displayed in an exhibition curated by the Italian Culture Institute in Stockholm. The artist will be chosen by the IIC director, in consultation with the Luigi Ghirri Award jury.

Photo-Match

As part of Fotofestiwal Łódź, scheduled for June 2026, Fotofestiwal Łódź will invite one or more finalists to participate in the Photo-Match portfolio review programme, covering travel, accommodation and board expenses.

About Giovane Fotografia Italiana

Giovane Fotografia Italiana (Young Italian Photography) is a project born in 2012 and promoted by the Municipality of Reggio Emilia.

Since 2018, Giovane Fotografia Italiana provides for the awarding of a prize, which, starting from the 2022 and in collaboration with Luigi Ghirri's heirs, takes the name of Premio Luigi Ghirri. Thus enhancing the recognition of emerging talents of contemporary photography in Italy.

The project, curated by Ilaria Campioli and Daniele De Luigi, is in partnership with the Italian Culture Institute of Stockholm. In collaboration with GAI - Association for the Circuit of Young Italian Artists, Fotografia Europea, Reggio Emilia; Fotodok, Utrecht; Fotofestiwal Łódź in Poland, Photoworks, Brighton.

With the support of Reire srl and Gruppo Giovani Imprenditori Unindustria Reggio Emilia.

Through the network of partners, GFI aims at creating further opportunities of visibility for artists. The artists who apply for the call accept to exhibit their works in initiatives promoted in collaboration with project's partners and sponsors and at their venues (cultural institutions, companies, banks, etc.).

How to Enter

• Create your personal Picter account.

• On Picter, register for the "Open call GFI #13 | Premio Luigi Ghirri 2026" contest and start entering your data and information.

• Upload all the required material, including:

• selection of images (minimum 5 - maximum 15, 1500 px on the long edge);

• project description, in Italian and English, including any links to videos;

• CV;

• biography in English with up to 1500 characters;

• consent forms (in Italian or English) undersigned by the portrayed subjects if recognizable;

• sketch-work and/or description of a set-up proposal, assumed on a wall not exceeding 9 meters in length and 3 meters in height.

Through the network of partners, GFI aims to create further visibility opportunities for the artists. The artists submitting to the open call agree to have their works exhibited in events promoted in collaboration with partners and sponsors of the project and at their premises (cultural institutions, companies, banking institutions, etc.).

Judging Criteria

GFI supports the work of artists who use the medium of photography as a reflection on its role in today's visual culture and on contemporary issues. Projects accepted are photographic series or ones in which, while sitting next to other medias, photography maintains a prominent role. The jury will assess the overall quality of the works, considering the role of images in their relation to the concept of the project, as well as the presentation of a proposal for an exhibition display.