Open Call: The Truth

PHOTO 2020 International Festival of Photography is seeking expressions of interest from artists and photographers to exhibit as part of the festival’s outdoor program in Melbourne, Australia, from April 23 to May 10, 2020. Situated alongside the exhibition program taking place across over 25 cultural institutions, museum and galleries, PHOTO 2020’s outdoor program will feature a series of large scale commissions—hoardings, billboards, paste-ups and free standing artworks—that will transform the city’s streets and laneways. The open call invites artists and photographers to submit proposals to work with PHOTO 2020 in the delivery of new work at an ambitious scale.

PHOTO 2020 Creative Theme: The Truth
PHOTO 2020 will navigate the contemporary era of social media, fake news, artificial intelligence and augmented reality to explore how photography is both implicit in, and critical of, shifting notions of truth. Artists and photographers are invited to respond to this theme to interrogate the complexities of truth in the post-internet age, addressing questions such as:

What power does photography have in revealing social and political truths in the digital age? How are new methods of making, sharing and viewing photography changing our understanding of reality? How can photographic images re-shape perception and alter preconceived beliefs? What role does fiction, deceit and manipulation play in photographic discourse?

PHOTO believes in providing equal opportunities regardless of race, colour, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability. We are committed to making our activities inclusive and celebrating diversity in our programming, personnel and audiences, including supporting First Nations and diaspora communities.

PHOTO 2020’s outdoor program is being delivered in collaboration with the City of Melbourne and Metro Tunnel Creative Program. 

Apply now
Deadline 5pm, May 31, 2019 (AEST)

About
PHOTO is a major new biennial of photography delivered in collaboration with over 25 cultural institutions, museums, galleries and universities. It will activate Melbourne and sites across Regional Victoria with the most inspiring work from Australia and around the world. Each edition of the festival will address the major issues of our time in a program of free exhibitions, outdoor displays and artist commissions across the city, as well as talks, film screenings, masterclasses, education programs and awards.

Presenting ideas critical to contemporary photographic discourse, PHOTO encourages the public to engage with and think about photography and visual culture in new and inspiring ways. The inaugural festival, PHOTO 2020, will run from April 23 to May 10, 2020.

Exhibition and program partners
Arts Centre Melbourne / Asia-Pacific Photobook Archive / Australian Centre for Photography / Bendigo Art Gallery / Bunjil Place / Buxton Contemporary / Centre for Contemporary Photography / Footscray Community Arts Centre / Geelong Gallery / Gertrude Contemporary / Heide Museum of Modern Art / Immigration Museum / Koorie Heritage Trust / La Trobe Institute / Margaret Lawrence Gallery / Melbourne Museum / Metro Tunnel Creative Program / Monash Gallery of Art / Murray Art Museum Albury / National Gallery of Victoria / Parliament of Victoria / Perimeter / Photography Studies College / RMIT Gallery / RMIT School of Art / Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria / State Library Victoria / The SUBSTATION / Victorian College of the Arts / West Space