About

Rotterdam Photo 2026: Echoes of Silence – War in the Artist's Soul

What does conflict do to an artist when they are not an eyewitness, but become a bearer of its emotional resonance? How does violence – whether geopolitical, social, environmental or deeply personal – echo in the minds of those who survive, flee, inherit, imagine or simply sense it from afar?

In "Echoes of Silence", we explore how war, tension and collective or intimate trauma reverberate in the work of photographers who choose not to use the lens as a recording device, but as a mirror of their inner landscape. At a time when images of crisis circulate endlessly through media and screens, Rotterdam Photo 2026 calls for another approach: introspective, subjective and visually layered perspectives on conflict in all its forms.

This is not a platform for reportage or direct registration of violence. Instead, we seek autonomous photographic work that departs from personal resonance, psychological processing and symbolic representation. Conflict here is not a spectacle, but a condition – something that may take place in memory, family history, migration experiences, ecological change, cultural tension or quiet personal unrest. The lens does not capture an explosion, but the echo of it: silence, emptiness, repetition, fragmentation, friction, or transformation.

We welcome artists for whom conflict is visible or invisible, distant or intimate, historical or unfolding, collective or deeply individual. Whether your work stems from war, displacement, identity struggles, environmental upheaval, intergenerational trauma, social injustice, or internal change, this edition makes space for layered experiences rather than singular narratives.

What We're Looking For

Works that move beyond documentation and instead reveal conflict through memory, metaphor, mood or conceptual exploration. This may include:

• Series exploring loss, grief, resilience or healing after displacement, migration or personal transformation.

• Portraits or environmental images reflecting social tension, cultural shifts, identity negotiation or communal change.

• Landscapes or urban scenes capturing ecological disruption, environmental degradation or the shifting relationship between people and place.

• Abstract, symbolic, staged or experimental work that evokes inner unrest, psychological weight or the quiet forms of conflict that shape everyday life.

• Still lifes, analogue distortions, double exposures, poetic imagery or any visual language that expresses an emotional truth rather than a literal event.

Cultural and Social Urgency

Across the world, artists are connected – directly or indirectly – to histories of violence, displacement, inequality and transformation. These experiences are universal and multi-layered, and deserve a platform that values nuance over spectacle. Rotterdam, as a city marked by trauma, migration and continuous rebuilding, provides a resonant backdrop where visible and invisible traces of conflict coexist.

We aim for an internationally diverse selection – with particular attention to voices shaped by (post)conflict contexts, diaspora, marginalization or environmental change – and we seek work that surprises, disrupts and quiets, revealing the inner echoes that too often go unspoken.

Working method / selection:

With an Open Project Call, we make a global call to submit autonomously produced photographic projects around a chosen theme. This theme can be seen as a keyword that indicates in general terms a current social issue that serves as an umbrella for the overall programming of an edition. In addition, a number of artists are approached directly because of their consistent, relevant body of work. Curatorial selection is made for artistic quality, social urgency and originality in visual language.

What winners receive

Selected photographers will be invited to showcase their projects and create their exhibition in the container during Rotterdam Photo 2026. As part of the prize, winners will be given dedicated exhibition space to present their work.They will also have the chance to sell their pieces, network with gallerists, potential buyers, and international art press. Rotterdam Photo does not charge any commission on sales made during the festival.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS:

• Submission review by professionals from the photography field 
• Featuring across festival/partner social networks and websites (LensCulture, Dodho magazine, All About Photo)
• Personal exhibition project at the Rotterdam Photo 2026 (you can directly curate and craft your project) 
• Special categories awards and cash prizes
• Opportunity to participate in the Rotterdam Photo Talks and RP networking events
• Publication and Inclusion in the Festival program
• International press exposure 
• Be part of the event with 10.000 + visitors in the centre of Rotterdam
• Opportunity to exhibit in Barcelona (June) in the gallery of the International Photo Festival Association
• Opportunity to exhibit in Tampere, Finland during the Backlight festival (September)
• Opportunity to exhibit in Switzerland during Photo Schweiz with the Directors Choice
• Opportunity to win a Young Talent Award (cash prize and gear)

About Rotterdam Photo

Rotterdam Photo is an annual photography fair with a festival flair, celebrating the full spectrum of contemporary photography in all its diversity. Founded in 2016, it has grown into an accessible, innovative platform for both emerging and established photographers. Each year, Rotterdam Photo invites independent photographers to exhibit projects through an open call connected to the festival theme. The fair provides an affordable and direct exhibition space, reducing the barriers often associated with art and photography fairs. With its distinctive container village at the heart of Rotterdam's Art Axis, the festival blends the energy of a fair with the creativity and community spirit of a festival - attracting over 10,000 visitors every year.

Judging Criteria

The selection process for the Rotterdam Photo contests consists of three rounds of evaluation. In each round, the photography experts panel will individually review entries and select a group of entries in each category to proceed to the following round.

Entries will be judged based on creativity, photographic quality, and effectiveness in expressing the contest theme. Winners will be announced on this website as well as on social media channels