PROJECTS – INTERNATIONAL
Deadline: October 4, 2026
Submission fee: €29 per entry if submitted before 7 September 2026, 11:59 PM CET (Early Bird). After this deadline, the standard fee of €35 per entry.
Part of the Rotterdam Photo 2027 Open Call programme. Photographers may apply to multiple categories. Each submission is reviewed separately by the selection committee.
Submit your application
Submission fee: €29 per entry if submitted before 7 September 2026, 11:59 PM CET (Early Bird). After this deadline, the standard fee of €35 per entry.
Part of the Rotterdam Photo 2027 Open Call programme. Photographers may apply to multiple categories. Each submission is reviewed separately by the selection committee.
Submit your application
Theme 2027: VIBRANCE – The Pulse of a Living World
Vibrance is an exploration of energy in its many forms – from the intimate to the collective, from physical presence to digital intensity.
In a time where narratives are often shaped by crisis and fragmentation, this theme turns toward what continues to move, connect, and generate meaning. Vibrance is not only movement, but tension, rhythm, resistance, and transformation. It exists in bodies coming together, in cities in flux, in cultural expression, and in the invisible forces that shape everyday life.
We invite photographers to interpret Vibrance freely – as a social condition, emotional state, visual rhythm, or conceptual framework.
What selected photographers receive
Selected photographers will be invited to present their projects as part of Rotterdam Photo 2027. Each artist receives a dedicated exhibition space within the festival’s container village in the heart of Rotterdam, where their work becomes part of a large-scale public exhibition.
Alongside the exhibition, participants gain direct access to an international audience of collectors, curators, gallerists, and press. Artists are free to present and sell their work during the festival, and Rotterdam Photo does not charge any commission on sales.
Alongside the exhibition, participants gain direct access to an international audience of collectors, curators, gallerists, and press. Artists are free to present and sell their work during the festival, and Rotterdam Photo does not charge any commission on sales.
Opportunities for photographers
-Professional review of submissions by experts in the field of photography
-International visibility through festival and partner platforms (including LensCulture, Dodho Magazine, All About Photo)
-Development of a personal exhibition project at Rotterdam Photo 2027 with curatorial freedom
-Participation in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events
-Inclusion in the official festival programme and publications
-International press exposure and media reach
-Exposure to an audience of 10,000+ visitors in the centre of Rotterdam during Art Week
-Opportunities for international exhibition exchange
-International visibility through festival and partner platforms (including LensCulture, Dodho Magazine, All About Photo)
-Development of a personal exhibition project at Rotterdam Photo 2027 with curatorial freedom
-Participation in Rotterdam Photo Talks and networking events
-Inclusion in the official festival programme and publications
-International press exposure and media reach
-Exposure to an audience of 10,000+ visitors in the centre of Rotterdam during Art Week
-Opportunities for international exhibition exchange
Who can apply
The Projects category is open to photographers, artists, and visual storytellers from around the world. We welcome both emerging and established practitioners working across documentary, conceptual, experimental, and interdisciplinary image-based practices. Entrants must be at least 16 years of age as of the date of entry.
Selection
Applications are reviewed by a professional selection committee of photographers, curators, and industry experts.
Projects are evaluated on:
-Artistic strength and originality
-Conceptual depth
-Relevance to the theme
-Suitability for spatial presentation in public space
Meet the Selection Committee
-Conceptual depth
-Relevance to the theme
-Suitability for spatial presentation in public space
Meet the Selection Committee