• PHoto ESPAÑA •
• Deadline: April 20th, 2022 •
• Prize: Publication + Exposure •
• Theme: Photo Book •
• Entry Fees: FREE •
• REGISTRATION: CLOSED, Click HERE For More Opportunities •
PHotoESPAÑA was born in June 1998 with the aim of being a photography festival carried out by society. Promoted by Fundación Contemporánea and organized by La Fábrica, PHotoESPAÑA turns Madrid and Spain into a meeting point for the world of Photography every year. A festival conceived and made in Spain, which has become an international reference thanks to the work and involvement of specialists and agents from the artistic, cultural, and political spheres, the collaboration of institutions, and the participation of the public.
The Festival has always had an international vision, directing its gaze to large artistic territories: Europe, North America, Latin America, the Far East, etc. However, Spanish photography has always played a relevant role in PHotoESPAÑA, whose intention is to present an overview that accounts for its richness, energy, and plurality. The XVII edition, in 2014, was devoted entirely to the evolution of Spanish photography from the 20th century to the present, highlighting the work of young creators who are contributing new ways of looking at photography and who enjoy an important international echo.
The Festival was born in Madrid, but throughout its journey it has had a presence in: Albacete, Badajoz, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Santander, Segovia, Toledo, Zaragoza and Castilla la Mancha. Also in international offices in different countries such as Slovakia, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Turkey. Among them, centers such as Le Jeu de Paume in Paris or the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam.
In the 24 years of the Festival, more than 1,300 exhibitions (individual and collective) have been presented to show the work of more than 3,000 national and international artists such as Helena Almeida, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Bae Bien-U, Karl Blossfeldt, Edward Burtynsky, Javier Campano, Ana Casas Broda, Francesc Català-Roca, Tony Catany, Matías Costa, Mario Cravo Neto, Gabriel Cualladó, Ricky Dávila, Philip- Lorca diCorcia, Rineke Dijkstra, William Eggleston, Olafur Eliasson, Elliot Erwitt, Joan Fontcuberta, William Henry Fox Talbot, Robert Frank, Alberto García-Alix, Daniel García Andujar, Cristina García Rodero, Pablo Genovés, Nan Goldin, Pierre Gonnord, Luis González Palma, Paul Graham, Andreas Gursky, Cristobal Hara, Kimsooja, Josef Koudelka, Sol LeWitt, Chema Madoz, Man Ray, Sally Mann, Ramón Masats, Oriol Maspons, Susan Meiselas, Enrique Metinides, Helmut Newton, José Ortiz Echague, Max Pam, Martin Parr, Irving Penn, Humberto Rivas, Sebastião Salgado, August Sander, Antonio Saura, Andrés Serrano, Stephen Shore,Malick Sidibé, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Wolfgang Tillmans, Miguel Trillo, Joel-Peter Witkin and Francesca Woodman.
The Festival guides published over these 19 years have become a collector's item for visitors. In 2007 a 'Dictionary of photographers' was published. 1998-2007' that brought together the more than 200 authors who had had individual exhibitions in the official section of the first 10 years. La Fábrica has also published more than 100 exhibition catalogs, both collective and monographic, which give the Festival a continuous presence in other media and which reach an innumerable public through our distribution networks, both national and international.
The PHotoESPAÑA awards reward artists, specialists, and entities linked to the world of photography. The Festival recognizes professional excellence and contributions to the environment. The highest award of the Festival, the PHE Award, recognizes the career of an international figure in photography. The Bartolomé Ros Award indicates the contribution of a Spanish personality to the world of photography in any of its areas. Revelation Photographer Award: chosen by nomination, it assesses the Spanish photographer under 35 years of age who stands out the most during the year prior to the Festival. Discoveries Award: An international jury made up of specialists in photography chooses the best of the works presented to the portfolio review of Discoveries PHE. Audience Award: visitors choose which, in their opinion, is the best sample of the Festival. Festival Off Award: rewards one of the Festival Off galleries for the approach of the exhibition, the artistic value of the authors and the works exhibited, as well as the effort of the gallery to present a specific project for PHotoEspaña. The Festival wants to recognize the important role that the publishing industry has as a means of disseminating photography. Since 1998, PHotoEspaña has distinguished the most outstanding photography book of the year. As of 2007, voting is done in three different categories: Best Book of the Year in national and international category and Outstanding Publisher of the Year. In 2015 a new category was added: Best Self-Published Photography Book Award. From 2008 to 2014, PHotoEspaña and the photography magazine OjodePez came together to award the PHotoEspaña OjodePez Prize for Human Values.
Throughout its history, PHotoESPAÑA has collaborated with institutions, public administrations, foundations, companies, museums, art centers, and practically all the art galleries in Madrid. The more than 400 institutions and centers with which the Festival has collaborated culturally can be consulted in the History of sponsors section of our website.
PHotoESPAÑA is, above all, a festival made by and for society. Along with the exhibitions, various activities open to the general public are organized, which make the Festival a total event. Workshops, seminars, portfolio reviews, meetings, conferences, photography screenings, film series, and even marathons complete the Festival's content.
For the professional photography sector, PHotoESPAÑA has become an essential meeting point. Since 2003, the Festival has been a platform for professional exchange and debate around photography in contemporary art, approached by outstanding artists and professionals from each field, both nationally and internationally. The activities for professionals that are organized each year are the PHE Campus and Discoveries in terms of professional initiatives, PHotoESPAÑA also has Trasatlántica, a photography and visual arts forum in America that emerged in 2008, and the PHE Master and PIC. A School.
In 2014, the Ministry of Culture recognized with the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts the importance of a festival that, in recent years, has become a true benchmark for the world of international photography. This Gold Medal not only recognizes a collective effort, but it is also a magnificent award for the photography sector and for all image lovers. This award also recognizes the Festival's ability to turn photography into a real event and transmit it to the whole of society.
The 20th Anniversary celebration took place in 2017 and 2018. This anniversary was recognized by the Government of Spain as an event of exceptional public interest.
PHotoESPAÑA looks to the past, to the present, and to what is emerging as the future. The national in continuous coexistence with the international. Totally consecrated names along with others hitherto unknown. A sum of points of view that, from each one of them in particular, contributes a vision, a unique, different and new version of the Festival.
OPEN CALL
Participation Requirements
The call for this XXV edition of the Festival will be open until March 31, 2022. Authors and publishers of all nationalities who present photography books published between March 1, 2021, and March 1, 2022, may attend.
To participate, it is essential to fill out the registration form that you will find below. Once you have registered online, you must print the form received by e-mail and send it, along with two copies of each publication in the competition, to the following address:
Award for Best Photography Book of the Year C/ Verónica, 13 28014 Madrid Spain
The book reception will remain open until April 20, 2022. All submissions made up to the day of the closing of the call will be accepted. The participant will have to pay the shipping cost in full and with delivery to the indicated address. The organization will not be responsible for any shipping costs and will not receive any book with expenses to pay.
selection of books
During the month of May 2022, a pre-selection committee made up of professionals from the publishing world will be in charge of selecting the finalist books that will be exhibited at PHE Gallery during the months of the Festival. The list of selected books is on the PHotoESPAÑA website.
The books selected for the exhibition will not be returned. Those not selected may be collected, at the offices of PHotoESPAÑA, from the communication of the shortlisted and until May 25, 2022. Once this period has elapsed, the publications will be sent to libraries and cultural centers, where they will become part of your funds.