Re[c]ount a Photographic Agora
- Apr 14, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 2, 2023
• Re[c]ount a Photographic Agora
• Deadline: June 30th, 2023
• Prize: International Exposure and Exhibition
• Theme: Counting (Numbers)
• Entry Fees: Free
• REGISTRATION: CLOSED, Click HERE For More Opportunities
The word "count" has a double meaning, referring both to storytelling and numerification. Quantification plays a crucial role in our daily lives, as we rely on numbers to organize our activities and make decisions. Our lives are quantified by governments, organizations, and markets, shaping our behaviors and values. This is done through scores, rankings, ratings, indicators, and grades that are used to determine the value of things and people. We are also increasingly relying on numbers to measure our bodies, such as counting our steps, heartbeats, and calories burned.
Quantification is used by societies and corporations to manage and govern from a distance. However, this process is inherently reductive and often results in concealing certain aspects of reality. Moreover, it is central to the politics of nature, as quantification is used to manage and govern our ecosystems, affecting both humans and non-human species. The development of digital technology has intensified this quantitative turn, making datafication and big data key features of contemporary societies.
The history of numbers is intertwined with all cultures, featuring in talismans, calligraphy, and painting, among other forms of art. This project invites photographic submissions that capture the ways in which contemporary humans and nature are entangled with quantification and numbers. The aim is to question the role of numbers in organizing human lives and their impact on humans and nature. All submissions will be reviewed by a curatorial board composed of artists, curators, and academics, and short-listed works will be showcased in an online exhibition and two physical exhibitions in Barcelona and Edinburgh. The selected works will also be used in a collective publication developed as part of this project.