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WHAT CAN PHOTOGRAPHY BECOME?
Photography is not a fixed language. It can be altered, combined, dismantled, expanded and reconstructed through materials, technologies, histories, ideas and ways of working together. For us, experimental photography begins by questioning, testing and transforming the medium. What happens when we intervene in the image, the material, the device or the way photography is experienced?
Every year, Barcelona becomes a meeting point where artists share techniques, processes, research and different ways of understanding photography.
Workshops, conferences, exhibitions and informal encounters create a temporary space where knowledge circulates in multiple directions. An artist can be an author, researcher, teacher and learner at the same time. Historical processes intersect with digital tools, chemistry coexists with artificial intelligence, and individual research becomes a collective experience.
Experimental 2027 is an invitation to bring your practice into this exchange: share it, test it with others and discover how far it can go.
EXPERIMENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT A STYLE,
IT IS AN ATTITUDE.
WHAT SELECTED
ARTISTS
RECEIVE
Choose between two compensation options:
OPTION A
STAY AT THE FESTIVAL’S OFFICIAL ACCOMMODATION
6 nights at the festival’s official accommodation (€300 value)
+ €200 financial compensation
OPTION B
ARRANGE YOUR OWN ACCOMMODATION
€500 financial compensation
Arrange and pay for your own accommodation in Barcelona.
ALSO INCLUDED
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Agora Diploma in Experimental Photography valued at €999. 12 months of experimental photography, more than 60 techniques and processes, specialization, mentoring and the development of a final personal project.
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Meals during the festival
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Full artist accreditation
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Official Experimental Photo Festival 2027 merchandise
* Travel to and from Barcelona is not covered by Experimental Photo Festival.
Selected artists are responsible for organizing and paying for their own transportation.
*To make the payment, we require an invoice issued in your name. As shown on our financial transparency page, 94 people receive financial compensation through our festival (50 artists, 14 staff members and 30 volunteers), while 150 people pay a registration fee.
WHO CAN APPLY AND HOW TO APPLY?
The Open Call is international and is aimed at photographers, visual artists, multidisciplinary artists and collectives who explore, question or transform photography through technique, materials, concept, technology or interdisciplinary practice. There is no need to fit into a specific definition of experimental photography.
To participate, download and complete the proposal form. You must propose two workshops, one lasting 4 hours and another lasting 8 hours, as well as one additional activity: a conference, participation in a roundtable, or a presentation of a project or research.
MIX TECHNIQUES,
FIND THE MESSAGE,
WORKING IN COMMUNITY
Our approach to experimentation begins with the intersection of techniques, disciplines and ways of thinking about photography. We are interested in proposals that engage with other languages and practices such as photobooks, film, video, architecture, sculpture, performance, science or technology, always from an experimental perspective.
These three challenges run through the festival’s practice, and we look for them to be present in the proposals: combining knowledge and processes, building meaning beyond technique, and understanding creation as a space for exchange, learning and community.
A HOME FOR UNEXPECTED IMAGES
WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES
Selected artists develop a complete programme during the festival, opening up different aspects of their practice to the festival community.
They will lead two workshops: a 4-hour introductory workshop based on a technique, process or methodology they know well, and an 8-hour workshop that allows participants to explore a process, research or experimental approach in greater depth. The workshops create a space for participants to work directly with the proposed process, test ideas, produce their own outcomes and reflect on how those outcomes can be presented or displayed.
Each artist will also take part in a conference, round table, project presentation or research presentation, creating a space to share ideas, questions and experiences around experimental photography.
Conferences, round tables and presentations last between 20 and 40 minutes, depending on the final programme.
Throughout the week, artists from different generations, backgrounds and professional experiences share the same working space, contributing knowledge, questions and ways of working on equal terms. Experimental is built around horizontal exchange, where teaching, learning and collaboration move in multiple directions.
Selected artists must be available in Barcelona from July 20 to 26, 2027. July 20 is dedicated to workshop preparation, material review, technical checks and coordination before the festival begins.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE?
To submit a proposal, you must download and complete the Proposal Form and submit it through the online form together with your personal information, portfolio, images of your work and a portrait.
In the document, you should clearly explain the activities you are proposing, including workshops, discursive participation and, optionally, an exhibition proposal, as well as their methodology, materials, technical requirements and relationship to the festival’s three challenges.
Each workshop has a materials budget of up to €50, covered by the Experimentalphotofestival Association. Specific production conditions, materials and technical requirements are detailed directly in the form.
We are looking for clear and feasible proposals that allow us to understand what you want to share, how you want to do it and what you need to make it possible within the context of Experimental Photo Festival.
SELECTION
The Experimentalphotofestival Association team reviews applications according to three main criteria:
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Connection to the festival’s three challenges
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Contribution to gender balance within the programme
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Originality of the proposal
Applications are first reviewed individually and then considered collectively in relation to the full Experimental 2027 programme. The final selection takes into account the quality of each proposal together with the available spaces, schedules, technical requirements, diversity of practices and backgrounds, gender equality, and complementarity between activities. Each selected artist will receive a personalized notification by email.
Open call: October 12
Application deadline: November 7
Selected artists: December
You must download the form (1) and then submit the application (2) with the following information:
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Your biography text, with a maximum of 250 words in your language.
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A PDF dossier about your work.
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A selection of 10 images of your work in JPG format (maximum 10 MB).
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The proposal form in PDF format for the workshops (including the list and estimated cost of materials for 8 people), conferences and exhibition.
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A high-quality portrait in JPG format.
DISCOVER OTHER WAYS
TO PARTICIPATE
INTERNATIONAL
RESIDENCY
of Experimentation
Until
November 7
with the collaboration of
An intensive programme for artists who want to develop processes, exchange knowledge and work collaboratively before the festival.
GENERAL RULES
Selected artists must be available in Barcelona from July 20 to 26, 2027. On July 20, artists will take part in the preparation day, which includes workshop preparation, material review, technical checks, space coordination and a first meeting with the Experimental team and participating artists.
Once participation is confirmed, each selected artist will sign a mandatory agreement with the Experimentalphotofestival Association detailing the activities, compensation and payment conditions, workshop production, cancellation, image rights, audiovisual documentation, intellectual property and administrative requirements.
Artists retain copyright and ownership of their work. The agreement and the General Terms and Conditions specify the authorizations granted to the Experimentalphotofestival Association for the documentation, communication and promotion of the festival. Participation throughout the entire week is an essential part of the Experimental experience.
See you in Barcelona!
GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
THE FINE PRINT
By submitting an application, participants confirm that they have read and accepted the following conditions:
1. Artists grant the Experimentalphotofestival Association a non-exclusive right to distribute and reproduce the photographs submitted digitally, always crediting the photographer and indicating the title of the work, for promotional, exhibition, educational and commercial purposes related to the Association’s activities. The artist retains all copyright and ownership rights over the works.
2. By participating, artists authorize the Experimentalphotofestival Association to capture, reproduce and communicate still and moving images recorded during the festival for documentation and promotional purposes, in accordance with the conditions established in the participation agreement.
3. The Experimentalphotofestival Association reserves the right to exclude applications or participants who fail to comply with the conditions of participation, copyright, privacy rights or the values of the Association.
4. The Experimentalphotofestival Association organizes Experimental Photo Festival, IPFA (International Photography Festivals Association) and Ágora, School of Experimentation. Therefore, the authorized uses established in these conditions may apply to communication across both programmes.
5.The Experimentalphotofestival Association reserves the right to make changes to the programme when organizational, technical or production circumstances require it.