The Open Society Institute (OSI) invites photographers to submit a body of work for consideration in the Moving Walls 17 group exhibition.
Moving Walls is an exhibition series that features in-depth and nuanced explorations of human rights and social issues. Thematically linked to OSI’s mission, Moving Walls is exhibited at OSI’s offices in New York and Washington, DC and includes 7 discrete bodies of work.Moving Walls recognizes the brave and difficult work that photographers undertake globally in their documentation of complex social and political issues. Their images provide the world with human rights evidence, put faces onto a conflict, document the struggles and defiance of marginalized people, reframe how issues are discussed publicly, and provide opportunities for reflection and discussion. Through Moving Walls, OSI honors this work while visually highlighting the mission of our foundation to staff and visitors.
For participating photographers, a key benefit of the program is to gain exposure for both the social justice or human rights issues they photograph, and for themselves as photographers. When the tour ends, photographers receive a professionally-produced exhibition which they may use however they wish.
To view images from our recent exhibitions, please visit: www.movingwalls.org.
Areas of Interest
Since its inception in 1998, Moving Walls has featured over 100 photographers whose work address a variety of social justice and human rights issues that coincide with OSI’s mission. Each Moving Walls exhibit includes seven distinct bodies of work that address issues or geographic regions where OSI is active. Priority is given to work whose subject has not been recently addressed in Moving Walls.
Listed below are some topics that are focus areas for OSI and about which we are interested in receiving submissions. Please note that photographers are welcome to submit their work for Moving Walls even if their subject area is not included on this list.
All work submitted will be considered for exhibition. In addition to the focus areas listed below, please visit our website (www.soros.org) for a complete listing of OSI priorities and programs.
• Statelessness
• Migration-related issues
• International LGBTQI issues
• Muslim communities in Europe
• Burma
• Women in post-conflict countries
• Pre-trial detention (international)
• Public health issues including access to essential medicines, palliative care, and
access to health care for marginalized groups including drug users, sex workers,
LGBTI, people with mental disabilities, Roma
• Climate change
• Economic downturn in the United States, including the foreclosure crisis
• Images that reframe mainstream media representations of African American men
and boys
• Transgender individuals in the United States
Who Can Apply
Any emerging or veteran photographer who has completed a body of work on a human rights or social justice issue may apply for Moving Walls. Work in progress may be submitted as long as a substantial portion of the work has been completed. We will accept any genre of photography that is documentary in nature and is not staged or manipulated. In addition, priority will be given to work that addresses issues and geographic regions of
concern to OSI.
Seven portfolios will be selected based on the quality of the images, the project’s relevance to OSI, and the photographer’s ability to portray a social justice or human rights issue in a visually compelling, unique, and respectful way. Moreover, Moving Walls values work by photographers who have a long-term investment in
a community or issue. Photographers working in their home countries, women, emerging artists, and people of color are also encouraged to apply.
OSI does not discriminate based on any status that may be protected by applicable law.
Emerging Photographer Travel Grant (new)
To support the professional advancement of photographers who have not received much exposure, an additional travel grant will be provided to select Moving Walls photographers to attend the opening in New York and meet with local photo editors and relevant NGO staff.
Recipients must apply for the travel grant after being chosen for inclusion in the Moving Walls exhibition. The grant is subject to the applicant obtaining the necessary visa to the travel to the U.S.
Recipients will be determined based on, among other things, prior international travel experience, prior attendance at workshops and seminars outside their home communities, publication and exhibition history, awards, and potential impact on their professional development.
Application Process:
Please submit the following materials:
1) application cover page
2) a one-page statement* (600 words maximum) describing the project you would
like to exhibit at OSI;
3) a short narrative bio (250 words maximum) summarizing your previous work and
experience;
4) your curriculum vitae;
5) 15-20 loose, un-mounted, and captioned gelatin silver or digital prints of the
work that you would like to exhibit. Work samples should be approximately 8 x 10
inches/US letter size/A3 (larger prints will not be accepted) and must have
descriptive captions either hand-written or adhered to the back of each print
6) a CD with the following items (items 1-5 mentioned above plus optional
materials):
a) application cover page
b) a one-page statement (Word document, 600 words maximum)
c) a short narrative bio (Word document, 250 words maximum)
d) your curriculum vitae (Word document)
e) 15-20 digital files of the same images (jpegs); files should be titled using the
following naming convention: Last name_First name_01, Last name_First
name_02, etc.
f) a corresponding caption list (Word document)
7) a self-addressed stamped mailer or FedEx or DHL shipping label with your credit
card or account number (if you do not include return postage, your work samples will
not be returned)
Optional materials:
8) Multimedia: Moving Walls has the capacity to exhibit multimedia in addition to (but not in place of) the print exhibition. A multimedia sample should be submitted
only if it complements or enhances, rather than duplicates, the other submitted materials. The sample will be judged on its ability to present complex issues through
compelling multimedia storytelling, and will not negatively impact the print submission. If you are submitting a multimedia piece for consideration, please
include the full piece on DVD for review. If the piece is longer than five minutes, include both the full piece and an excerpt under five minutes for review.
*NOTE: The one-page statement is intended to give the Selection Committee a better understanding of the project. Non-native English speakers should describe their projects as accurately as possible, but do need not be concerned with the quality of their English.
Complete submissions must be received at OSI-NY by 5pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday, October 23, 2009. Please do not send your work in leather portfolios or in tubes.
Applications that are submitted electronically will not be considered.
Submit Applications To:
Quito Ziegler
Documentary Photography Project
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
Review and Selection Process:
Phase 1: Applications will be reviewed and selections made by a committee of foundation staff and the exhibit curators, Susan Meiselas and Stuart Alexander. In evaluating the work, the committee considers the quality of the photographs and their relevance to OSI’s overall mission and activities. In addition, the committee aims to select a diversity of issues and geographic areas in order to avoid repetition of topics shown in recent exhibitions. To view images from our recent exhibitions, please visit: www.movingwalls.org.We tend to receive between 125-150 submissions each round. For Moving Walls 17, we
plan to select seven bodies of work.
Phase 2: The selected photographers will be designated wall space and encouraged to visit OSI’s offices in New York in order to meet with our curators and prepare installation plans. Please note that travel to OSI is not part of Moving Walls payment and is not a requirement. Photographers who are unable to travel to OSI may correspond with our curators by e-mail or fax and submit their installation plans electronically. While curators work closely with photographers to determine an installation plan, final curatorial decisions are at the discretion of the Moving Walls curators and selection committee.
During this time, the selected photographers will be invited to apply for the Emerging Photographer Travel Grant.
Time Frame:
Applications are due by 5pm E.S.T. on Friday, October 23, 2009. To participate, you must be available to follow the exhibition schedule detailed below. Moving Walls 17 is scheduled to open in June 2010. The approximate duration of the exhibition in New York is nine months. After the New York exhibition closes, OSI will select (at its discretion) a portion of the exhibition to travel to its Washington, D.C. office for an additional nine months.
Please note that, in connection with prior Moving Walls exhibitions, certain photographers have been asked to participate in subsequent exhibitions in Baltimore, Maryland (in conjunction with the OSI office located there) and in New York City (at the Columbia University School of Social Work and John Jay College of Criminal Justice). Should you be selected, the decision to participate would be entirely yours and a separate agreement would be executed.
Exhibition Schedule:
Participating photographers must be able to commit to the following exhibition schedule:
October 23, 2009 Deadline for submissions.
Late December 2009 Notification of participants begins.
January 2010 Selected photographers meet with curators to plan their shows.
Selected photographers invited to apply for the Emerging Photographer Travel Grant.
February 2010 Deadline for selected photographers to submit detailed budgets and installation plans.
March 2010 Deadline for submission of the following:
o artist’s statement, bio, captions, and other wall texts
o 400 dpi (at 8 x 10 inches) jpeg files of each exhibition image for use in exhibition-related printed materials and for inclusion on our website.
Recipients of the Emerging Photographer Travel Grants notified.
April 2010 Deadline for photographers to have their completed prints delivered to the framer. Photographers are responsible for making these arrangements.
June 2010 Opening reception
Payment:
Upon selection, photographers must submit a budget application for printing, drymounting and other production costs. Once the budget is approved, participants will be responsible for working within this budget and must use OSI-approved labs. OSI will then pay for standard framing and window matting or back-mounting. In addition, selected photographers will receive a $2,000 royalty payment. When the exhibition tour is completed, photographers will receive the framed and matted work. OSI will cover the costs of returning work up to $750 for photographers based in the United States and $1250 internationally. Any shipping
costs that exceed these amounts will be the responsibility of the photographer.
Beginning with Moving Walls 17, OSI will offer travel grants to emerging Moving Walls photographers to attend the opening in New York and meet with local photo editors and NGOs. Applying for this grant is optional. Recipients will be determined at OSI’s discretion.
Licensing:
By participating in the exhibit, you grant OSI a nonexclusive, irrevocable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, and worldwide license in perpetuity to reproduce, distribute, publish, make derivative works from, and publicly display the work for purposes relating to the OSI Documentary Photography Project, including, but not limited to, the following formats:
• exhibition invitation
• exhibition wall texts
• exhibition catalog
• educational or promotional material for the exhibition
• OSI’s website or any successor or comparable medium of display
In addition, you grant to OSI a nonexclusive, irrevocable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, and worldwide license in perpetuity to reproduce and publicly display the work on OSI’s website, or any successor or comparable medium of display, solely for OSI’s non-commercial advocacy or educational purposes. In any and all uses, OSI shall provide a photographer’s credit and identify it as related to Moving Walls # 17.
If you have any questions, please contact Quito Ziegler at (212) 547-6909 or qziegler@sorosny.org.
Open Society Institute Documentary Photography Project
Moving Walls 17
Application – Cover Page
Name:
Address:
Email:
Phone:
One sentence summary of proposed body of work:
How long have you been working on the issue and the country/region where your project takes place?
Has this work been published/exhibited before? If so, where?
If accepted into Moving Walls, would you apply for the Emerging Photographer Travel Grant?
�� Please check here if you would like to be added to our mailing list.
Application checklist:
�� Application cover page
�� One-page statement (600 words maximum)
�� Short narrative bio (250 words maximum)
�� Curriculum vitae
�� 15-20 loose, un-mounted, and captioned gelatin silver or digital prints
�� CD with the following items (items 1-5 mentioned above plus optional
materials:
o application cover page
o a one-page statement (Word document, 600 words maximum)
o a short narrative bio (Word document, 250 words maximum)
o your curriculum vitae (Word document)
o 15-20 digital files of the same images (jpegs); files should be titled using the
following naming convention: Last name_First name_01, Last name_First
name_02, etc.
o a corresponding caption list (Word document)
o multi-media (optional)
�� Self-addressed stamped mailer
�� Multimedia (Optional)
Complete submissions must be received at OSI-NY by 5pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday, October 23, 2009. Please do not send your work in leather portfolios or in tubes.
Applications that are submitted electronically will not be considered.
Submit Applications To:
Quito Ziegler
Documentary Photography Project
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019
