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FORMAT27 Open Call: PLAY offers photographers something more substantial than a brief online feature: the chance to develop and exhibit a complete project within the 2027 edition of FORMAT International Photography Festival. Artists, collectives, and curators worldwide can submit exhibition or event proposals until September 6, 2026. Up to five projects will be selected for presentation in Derby, UK, during FORMAT27, which runs from March 11 to April 11, 2027.
The theme is “PLAY”, interpreted in its widest sense. Proposals may explore experimentation, humor, games, performance, participation, sport, changing technologies, truth, authorship, identity, power, or the act of questioning photography itself. FORMAT welcomes work ranging from archives and long-term documentary projects to conceptual photography, moving image, virtual reality, publications, installations, online formats, and participatory events. Up to 250 shortlisted proposals will be presented to an international advisory jury after an initial review by the FORMAT Curatorial team.
Selected applicants receive a £1,000 artist fee, production support, travel reimbursement, accommodation during the opening weekend, festival access, publication and online features, and a second group exhibition at Photofusion in London. Further festival awards include production funding, professional printing credit, and exhibition opportunities in France and China. For readers comparing current photography competitions, this call is particularly relevant to photographers who are ready to translate a developed body of work into an exhibition proposal.
Prizes
FORMAT27 will select up to five artists, photographers, collectives, or curatorial projects for the festival program. The support package combines an exhibition opportunity with production funding, professional development, travel assistance, and international promotion.
- Up to five selected projects: Each successful proposal will be exhibited at FORMAT27 in Derby from March 11 to April 11, 2027.
- Artist payment and expenses: Each selected artist or project receives a £1,000 artist fee, reimbursement of travel costs up to £300, and accommodation during the festival’s opening weekend.
- Exhibition production: FORMAT covers the full agreed production costs for the festival exhibition and manages installation in the allocated venue.
- Photofusion exhibition: Selected artists will take part in a group exhibition at Photofusion Gallery in London in May 2027.
- Festival promotion: Selected work will be featured in the FORMAT27 festival guide, on the festival website, and through its social media channels. Each artist also receives a copy of the guide.
- Professional access: Successful applicants receive free admission to FORMAT27 events and a 20% reduction on the FORMAT27 International Portfolio Review fee.
FORMAT27 Open Call Awards:
- FORMAT27 Open Call Award: £2,500 toward exhibition production costs.
- Genesis Metro Award: £1,000 in credit for photographic printing and finishing services.
- GLAZ Photography Festival Exhibition Award: An opportunity for one selected artist to exhibit at the next GLAZ Festival in Rennes, France.
- Lishui Photography Festival Exhibition Award: An opportunity for one selected artist to attend and exhibit at the next Lishui Photography Festival in China.
The combination of production support and presentations in Derby, London, France, and China connects the call with international photography exhibition opportunities.
Related Photo Contests
Categories or Themes
There are no separate categories. Every proposal must respond to the festival theme, “PLAY”, but FORMAT deliberately leaves its interpretation open.
Play may appear as experimentation with photographic processes, the documentation of games or sport, engagement with artificial intelligence and other technologies, manipulation of truth and reality, humor, performance, participation, political critique, or resistance to established rules. The theme also allows work concerned with analogue processes, tactile materials, collaborative image-making, and environmentally responsible methods of production and display.
The call accepts proposals from all image-based genres and formats. These include long-term documentary photography projects, archival research, multimedia, virtual reality, moving image, installation, publications, online work, performance, and interactive or participatory projects. Its broad curatorial scope also makes it relevant to artists following experimental photography competitions.
Dates and Entry Fees
The selection process runs from the summer of 2026 through the opening of the festival in March 2027.
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Submissions open | June 24, 2026 |
| Early bird fee ends | July 24, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. BST |
| Standard fee begins | July 25, 2026, at 12:00 a.m. BST |
| Submission deadline | September 6, 2026 |
| Artists notified | November 2026 |
| Public announcement | December 2026 |
| Exhibition installation | February to March 10, 2027 |
| FORMAT27 opening weekend | March 11 to 14, 2027 |
| Festival closes | April 11, 2027, although some exhibitions may continue longer |
| Photofusion group exhibition | May 2027 |
Entry fees:
- Early bird application: €22 until July 24, 2026.
- Standard application: €27 from July 25.
How to Enter
Applications are submitted through the official Picter platform. The entry should present an exhibition or event proposal that responds clearly to “PLAY” and is suitable for the FORMAT27 festival context. Artists may apply individually, as part of a collective, or through a curatorial proposal.
Applicants should provide the requested project information and visual material, including sufficient installation notes and supporting imagery to show how the work could operate in an exhibition or event setting. FORMAT allocates the final venue, which may be a gallery, factory building, empty shop, non-gallery location, or public space.
About the Jury
The FORMAT Curatorial team reviews every submission and may shortlist up to 250 projects for consideration by an international advisory jury. The announced panel brings together festival directors, curators, editors, picture editors, and photography-sector professionals:
- Jean-Christophe Godet: Founder and Artistic Director of Guernsey Photography Festival and GLAZ Festival.
- Diane Smyth: Editor of the British Journal of Photography and Photoworks Annual.
- Caroline Hunter: Picture Editor at The Guardian’s Saturday magazine.
- Alex Kahl: Online Editor at WePresent.
- João Kulcsár: Founder and Director of São Paulo Photography Festival and Paranapiacaba Photo Festival.
- Jenni Grainger: Director of Photofusion.
- Yining He: Independent curator and visual arts researcher.
- Wang Peiquan: Director of Lishui Photography Festival and a Director of the China Photographers Association.
Why Enter FORMAT27 Open Call: PLAY?
FORMAT27 Open Call: PLAY is designed around complete projects and exhibition proposals, giving selected photographers the resources to move work from a portfolio or concept into a public installation. Production costs, an artist fee, travel support, accommodation, professional promotion, and festival access are included in the main selection package.
FORMAT was established in 2004 and presents a biennial program of contemporary photography and related media in Derby. The selected projects will therefore appear within a wider festival that includes exhibitions, commissions, talks, collaborations, professional programs, and work by both emerging and established practitioners.
For photographers evaluating the best photography contest for a developed series, the main distinction is that selection can lead to several connected opportunities: an exhibition at FORMAT27, a group show in London, publication and online promotion, and eligibility for awards linked to partner organizations in Europe and Asia.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the FORMAT27 Open Call: PLAY has been generated automatically. If you are interested in participating in this contest we suggest you review the complete rules provided by the contest.
Rules
- Applicants must have created the submitted work or hold the authorization required to use it. Co-authors and relevant original sources must be credited.
- Entrants are responsible for securing releases and permissions involving people, third-party material, or other protected elements appearing in the work.
- The decision of the FORMAT and QUAD selection panel and curators is final.
- Entries may be rejected when they are incomplete, fraudulent, illegible, improperly referenced, or not original.
- FORMAT may decline to exhibit work that does not meet the required standard of production and presentation.
- Partners, sponsors, and funders associated with FORMAT or QUAD may not enter.
- Selected artists must prepare their work for exhibition and meet the installation schedule agreed with the festival.
- Artists exhibiting existing original works are responsible for arranging their delivery, transportation, collection, and return unless otherwise agreed.
Copyright and Image Usage
Copyright remains with the artist at all times. Selected applicants permit FORMAT, QUAD, and affiliated sponsors, funders, and partners to reproduce submitted work for festival-related promotion, publicity, news, education, and awareness.
Images may appear in books, magazines, newsletters, websites, social media, press materials, and other festival communications before, during, and after the event. No additional payment or approval is required for these stated uses, and artists will be credited wherever their work appears.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
