Organizer Information
weissraum. Atelier für Fotografie is a photography studio and exhibition space in Eltville am Rhein, Germany, founded by photographer Petra van Husen. Van Husen studied at the Prager Fotoschule in Austria with a focus on narrative and conceptual photography, and her own work has been exhibited in Germany, Austria, and South Africa. Since opening, weissraum has hosted a program of curated exhibitions, workshops, and events centered on conceptual photography, including dialogues pairing photography with painting and sculpture by other regional artists. Im Dickicht is the studio's first open call.
Title & Description
IM DICKICHT — The First weissraum Open Call
Im Dickicht (In the Thicket) is an open call for conceptual and narrative photography that treats the impenetrable thicket not as a subject to document, but as a stage for storytelling — a backdrop, a setting, an inner landscape. The call seeks works that do not depict the thicket documentarily, but instead track down what can be found within it, or what is only conceivable there: works that tell stories without explaining them, resisting the idea of a natural idyll in favor of a constructed setting. The prompting question behind the call is what becomes visible in the thicket to someone who looks closely.
Theme
The thicket as a narrative stage rather than a natural motif — conceptual and narrative photography exploring the impenetrable as backdrop, setting, or inner landscape.
Categories
- Photography
- Visual Arts
Eligibility
- Open internationally to all applicants
- All photographic techniques and approaches are welcome, from documentary to staged, and from analogue to digital
- AI-assisted editing is permitted but must be flagged at the time of submission
- Purely AI-generated images without a photographic basis are not permitted
Program Benefits & Awards
- Selected works are printed and professionally presented as part of a curated group exhibition at weissraum
- Exhibition runs for over two months (6 September – 22 November 2026) in a dedicated photography exhibition space
- Jury members will also present their own work as part of the exhibition, situating selected artists alongside established practitioners
- Sales of exhibited works are facilitated on a commission basis
Application Fee
Participation in the open call itself is free of charge. If a work is selected for the exhibition, the artist bears the printing cost of EUR 35 per selected print. Sales made during the exhibition are on commission, with weissraum retaining a 50% commission; all other rights remain with the artists.
Application Requirements
- Up to 3 individual images, or a series of a maximum of 7 images
- JPG file format, minimum 2000px on the long side, maximum 10 MB per file
- Submission via WeTransfer or SwissTransfer
How to Apply?
Submit via WeTransfer or SwissTransfer to mail@weissraum.art, with the subject line "OpenCall."
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 16 August 2026
- Exhibition Period: 6 September – 22 November 2026
Location
Eltville am Rhein, Germany
Additional Details
- Jury: Petra van Husen, Andreas Koridass, and Thomas Weikert
- By submitting, participants confirm they are the sole authors of the submitted works and hold all necessary rights, particularly regarding any people and places depicted
- weissraum receives a non-exclusive right to use submitted and selected works for the exhibition, as well as for documentation and communication (print, online, social media); any further use requires explicit agreement
- Participant data will be used solely for processing the open call and will not be shared with third parties