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OPEN CALL

We are very pleased to announce Photo|Frome’s first ever Open Call. 

Submissions are invited on the 2025 theme of inEquality from both UK and international photographers and collectives. Photo|Frome is seeking distinguished examples of photography on this theme, which may be a single photograph or a series of photographs that may have been created over time. There is no entry fee.

Winners and honourable mentions will be printed by Photo|Frome and exhibited at the April 2025 festival. There will also be an award for photographers from Frome and the surrounding area. Selected work will be featured in Photo|Frome online streams. The organisers will consider digitally displaying other submitted work at the festival depending on number of entries.

Images can be taken on any camera, including phone cameras or non-lens based approaches.

The organisers are committed to Photo|Frome being a platform to explore timely and important issues from a diverse set of viewpoints. This year’s theme inEquality is informed by facts:

    • Despite rising living standards, economic inequality remains stark, with the wealthiest 1% owning about 45% of global wealth, compared to 33% in 1995
    • The UK gender pay gap was still over 13% in 2024
    • Life expectancy varies by 10 years between rich and poor areas of England
    • Globally, 108 million people today are displaced by conflict, compared to 33 million in the 1990s
    • In 2022, about 30 million were displaced by climate events, with the World Bank estimating that 200 million could be forced to migrate by 2050, fuelling immigration concerns
    • The Economist notes a continual decline in democracy across the globe. Though around half of the world’s population live in a democracy of some sort, only 8% reside in a full democracy, and almost 40% live in autocratic regimes

Judging is by the Photo|Frome curatorial team. There will be an overall winner, two runners-up, and a special award for images taken by a photographer from the  Frome area. There will also be a number of honourable mentions at curators’ discretion.

  • Your winning work printed and exhibited at Photo|Frome 2025.
  • Winners and shortlisted submissions will be featured on Photo|Frome’s website.
  • Winners will be featured on Photo|Frome’s social media streams.

Is there a fee?

There is no fee to submit your work.

Copyright

All photographers retain full copyright in their own work, though grant Photo|Frome a non-exclusive licence to use submitted items as they judge appropriate in the execution of our programmes, including cropping to fit formats as appropriate.

Entries assume your agreement to our statement on artist rights. 

Can I sell my work?

No. But contact details, website and social media, etc, can be shared if alongside their printed work at the exhibition if required.

Can I submit more than one entry?

You may only submit one entry for consideration.

T&C / Data Protection

Please see Photo|Frome’s terms & conditions statement. Entrant’s email address will automatically be added to our mailing list unless we are specifically requested not to do so. Please also see Photo|Frome’s policy on the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence).

The submissions should be in JPG format, and take the form of a single image or short series (max 5). Initial submissions are with JPG files at 300 DPI and maximum of 2400px on the long side.

Each series will be reviewed as one entry, and should work as a group, thematically and aesthetically. Each entry should be accompanied by no more than 80 words about the work from the photographer.

Each image should be titled [surname]-[photo title]-[location]-[year taken] (e.g. Yates-Angkor-UnfinishedStories-2018). The order that any series is to be presented should clearly be Indicated.

Judging is by the Photo|Frome curatorial team. Decisions are final, and correspondence will be limited to finalists, winners, runners up, and commended artists.  

There will be an overall winner, two runners up, and a special award for images taken by photographers from Frome and the surrounding area. There will also be a number of honourable mentions at the curators’ discretion. 

Open Call announced w/c 3 November.

Submissions close 10 January 2025.

Finalists notified by 20 January 2025.

Hi-res, printable files submitted by 3 February 2025. Missing this deadline will mean finalists will not be printed and exhibited.

The Photo|Frome team will install the work for exhibition during the festival (5–27 April 2025).

Deadline Friday, 10 January, 2025

ENTRIES CLOSED

MPB is Photo|Frome’s Official Sponsor, the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear.

Arts Council England Photo|Frome is supported using public funding by the National lottery through Arts Council England.

Frome Town Council is Photo|Frome’s Local partner.