Call for Photobook Exhibition

Open Call for Photobook Exhibition

Photography and the Everyday

In a time when the global publishing industry is in dire straits and the book in its physical form is threatened by digits the photobook seems to be going through a revival. That is partly due to the very technologies that initially appeared to be threatening the physical existence of the photo book; digital technologies which provided unprecedented possibilities/opportunities for self or commercial publishing. Laying out and producing zines, photobook dummies, home-made photobooks, print-per-order publications and the like have never been easier. As a result the photobook is currently flourishing and remains central as home to photography. At the same time the photobook many times comes through as one of the most democratic and accessible arts mediums as it allows ownership of art in a physical form by a wide and varied audience.

Acknowledging and responding to the expanding impulse of creating, disseminating and owing photobooks, as well as to its potential as a democratic medium, NiMAC (Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre – Associated with the Pierides Foundation) and IAPT (International Association of Photography and Theory) are pleased to announce a special themed photobook exhibition as part of the 4th International Conference of Photography and Theory (ICPT2016).

We invite submissions of photobooks whose content falls within this year’s ICPT theme, Photography and the Everyday. Content, in other words, that touches upon, but is not limited to, the ways that vernacular photography shapes and is being shaped by digital or other media, art practices, memory, individual and collective identities, historical and other narratives, the social fabric, private and public life.

Both self-published and commercially published photobooks are eligible for submission.

The selected books will be exhibited at NiMAC during the 4th International Conference of Photography and Theory (ICPT2016) which will be held between 2&4 December, 2016. The exhibition will be curated by Nicos Philippou, Despo Pasia, Nicolas Lambouris and Yiannis Toumazis.

Submission Guidelines:

  • Fill in your details in the application form and upload there:
    • a short description of the project/photobook (300 words) in English
    • A 250 word short bio in English
  • You may submit your book as an artist, photographer, or publisher
  • Submitted books must have been produced/published, within the last five years (2011-2016)
  • A physical copy of the book must be submitted, as the materiality of the production will be taken into consideration for the final selection
  • You may submit more than one book. Each entry must be submitted with its own completed submission form, description and bio.

Please fill-in the online entry form and post your book to the following address:

Marika Ioannou
Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre [NiMAC]
Palias Ilektrikis 19, 1016
Nicosia, CYPRUS

Submission deadline: All entries must be postmarked by 14 October, 2016.
Photo book submissions must be shipped and prepaid. There is no fee for submitting your book.

Please note that submitted books will not be returned, and will be housed at NiMAC’s library as a resource for research and for future displays.