Organizer Information
Rotterdam Photo is an annual photography festival and photo fair in Rotterdam, Netherlands, known for presenting contemporary photography in an accessible public setting. The festival brings together photographers, collectors, curators, gallerists, art professionals, and the wider public, attracting around 10,000 visitors. Its programme emphasizes diverse photographic practices and provides artists with opportunities to present work outside conventional gallery spaces.
For its 2027 edition, Rotterdam Photo is organizing an international open-call programme connected to the theme “Vibrance – The Pulse of a Living World.” The programme includes separate calls for photographic projects and individual images.
Title & Description
Rotterdam Photo 2027 Open Call: Vibrance - The Pulse of a Living World
Rotterdam Photo 2027 – Projects – International invites photographers, artists, and visual storytellers worldwide to submit a photographic project or series responding to the theme “Vibrance – The Pulse of a Living World.”
The theme explores energy in its many forms, from intimate and emotional experiences to collective, social, physical, cultural, and digital forms of intensity. Artists are encouraged to interpret vibrance freely—as a social condition, emotional state, visual rhythm, conceptual framework, or force connected to movement, resistance, transformation, connection, and everyday life.
Selected projects will be presented in dedicated exhibition spaces within Rotterdam Photo’s container village, bringing photographic work into a large-scale public environment in the heart of Rotterdam.
Categories
- Photography
- Contemporary Photography
- Documentary Photography
- Conceptual Photography
- Experimental Photography
- Visual Art, Image-Based Art
- Interdisciplinary Practices
Eligibility
The opportunity is international and open to photographers, artists, and visual storytellers from around the world. Both emerging and established practitioners are eligible.
Applicants may work in documentary, conceptual, experimental, or interdisciplinary image-based practices. Entrants must be at least 16 years old on the date of entry.
Program Benefits & Awards
- Present their project in a dedicated exhibition space at Rotterdam Photo 2027.
- Exhibit within the festival’s container village and public environment.
- Receive professional review of their submission by photography experts.
- Gain visibility through Rotterdam Photo and partner platforms, including LensCulture, Dodho Magazine, and All About Photo.
- Have the opportunity to develop a personal exhibition project with curatorial freedom.
- Participate in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events.
- Be included in the official festival programme and publications.
- Receive international press and media exposure.
- Reach an audience of 10,000+ visitors in central Rotterdam during Art Week.
- Potentially participate in international exhibition exchanges.
- Present and sell their work during the festival without Rotterdam Photo charging a commission on sales.
No cash prize is specified for this Projects category.
Application Fee
The submission fee is €29 per entry for submissions made before 7 September 2026 at 11:59 PM CET under the Early Bird rate. After that date, the standard fee is €35 per entry.
How to Apply?
Online Application
Key Dates
- Early Bird Deadline: 7 September 2026
- Final Application Deadline: 4 October 2026
- Festival: Rotterdam Photo 2027; the precise 2027 festival dates are not specified on the current Projects call page.
Location
Rotterdam, Netherlands
Additional Details
Submissions are evaluated by a professional selection committee comprising photographers, curators, and industry experts. The main criteria are artistic strength and originality, conceptual depth, relevance to the theme, and suitability for spatial presentation in public space.
The broader 2027 theme, “Vibrance,” emphasizes energy, connection, identity, collective expression, digital presence, vulnerability, renewal, and inner intensity. Rotterdam Photo describes the theme as intentionally open, allowing artists to approach it through documentary, experimental, analogue, digital, photographic, or installation-based practices.