Organizer Information
Copenhagen Photo Festival (CPF) is an annual photography festival based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with programming extending to collaborating galleries, museums, and cultural institutions across Copenhagen and southern Sweden. The festival is directed by Maja Dyrehauge Gregersen and works with a programme committee drawing on expertise in curation, photojournalism, and art. CPF's recent editions have centered on major solo exhibitions at venues including The Royal Danish Theatre, alongside networking programs, workshops, talks, and a photobook market. The festival is also known for its FUTURES Nordic Talents programme, which supports early-career Nordic photographers, and for building bridges between fine art and documentary photography traditions. Past featured solo artists have included Martin Parr, Roger Ballen, Carolyn Drake, and Maja Daniels, among others exhibited in central Copenhagen locations such as Kongens Nytorv and the Royal Danish Theatre.
Title & Description
Open Call for Solo Artists 2027
Copenhagen Photo Festival's 2027 Open Call for Solo Artists invites artists and photographers working with lens-based media to submit a project for consideration for a solo exhibition at the festival. The call is aimed at those who want to challenge the idea of what photography is and can be, engaging with "unknown agendas and unpredictable terrains" and giving space to serendipity, playfulness, and imperfection in their practice.
In total, 10 projects will be selected: 3–5 as full solo exhibitions and the remainder as Selectees. All ten shortlisted artists/photographers will be invited to an interview with CPF in the fall of 2026 as a final selection round before the jury decides on the 2027 lineup. Selected solo artists work in close collaboration with the CPF curatorial team on the planning of their exhibition, and are expected to participate in an activity program built around their work (workshops, guided tours, and/or talks). The festival places particular emphasis on the materiality and sustainability of how the work is presented, produced, or designed, and expects artists to think creatively about the hanging or installation of their work in dialogue with the festival's theme and physical surroundings.
Theme
'Frie hænder | Free Hands' — the theme explores what it means to have the freedom to act and shape one's own path at a time of widening inequality, technological upheaval, authoritarian currents, and violent conflict, and considers both political freedom and artistic freedom, including the human hand and imprint in image-making as automated image production becomes more prevalent.
Categories
- Photography
- Video/Film
- Visual Arts
- Curatorial
- Multimedia
- Media Arts
Eligibility
- Open to visual artists and photographers working with lens-based media (no nationality restriction stated)
- Applications accepted in English or Danish
- Projects that have few works already exhibited in Denmark are accepted, but not if the project as a whole has already been shown there
- Artists selected as a CPF solo artist within the last three years are asked to wait until a later year to reapply
- Projects previously shortlisted for CPF in earlier years will not be considered again
- Applicants must be open to dialogue with CPF regarding presentation of their work and surrounding program activities
- CPF states it encourages applicants of all ethnic backgrounds, races, religions, ages, genders, disabilities, sexual orientations, and social statuses
Program Benefits & Awards
For Solo Artists:
- Solo exhibition at the festival centre in the heart of Copenhagen, covered by Copenhagen Photo Festival
- € 537 fee as a festival participant
- € 400 support for travel to and accommodation in Copenhagen (for international photographers)
- € 134 support for food and local transport
- Permanent feature on the CPF website
- Targeted PR and marketing strategy on CPF's communication platforms
- Opportunity to meet and network with other exhibitors, curators, and professionals during the stay in Copenhagen
For Selectees:
- Digital screening of the project at the festival centre, organized by CPF
- € 200 fee as a Selectee
- Permanent feature on the CPF website
- Free access to the festival's opening days
Application Fee
215 DKK
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 1 September 2026
- Selectees Announced: 1 March 2027
- Grand Opening: 15 November 2027
- Last Day of Festival: 21 November 2027
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Additional Details
- Final selection follows a two-stage process: all 10 shortlisted artists/photographers are first invited to an interview with CPF in fall 2026, after which the jury/programme committee decides the final 2027 lineup
- The festival asks selected artists to consider themselves ambassadors of CPF and to take part in activities before and during the festival, both online and in person, including participating in or offering a public presentation related to their exhibition
- Examples of past open-call winners' exhibitions can be viewed in CPF's online artist archive