The organisers of the Organ Vida International Photography Festival have issued a call for entries for their sixth annual photography contest. Photographers have until 25th May to submit their work to the competition, whose central theme is Reflections. The jury will include leading Dutch educator Corinne Noordenbos, award-winning Swedish photographer Kent Klich, Financial Times Weekend Magazine photo editor Emma Bowkett, prominent British photographer George Georgiou, professor Irina Rozovsky and award winning local photographer and filmmaker Ana Opalić, The finalists will see their work displayed at the final exhibition during the festival week. As always, we recommend that you read the terms and conditions before entering your work.

Press Release

The contest for the 6th International festival of photography Organ Vida is open, and eminent jury members from the local and international scene will choose the finalists!

Zagreb, March 31, 2014 – The International festival of photography Organ Vida, which is set to launch its sixth edition this year, has initiated the annual contest for contemporary photography on the theme reflections. The contest will be open from March 30, 2014 to May 25, 2014, and the finalists will take part in a grand exhibition which serves as the centerpiece of the Organ Vida festival. Lauba – people and art house will be the central festival location and the exhibition venue. Unlike the previous week-long editions, this year's exhibition will be open for two weeks.

A particularly strong jury consisting of six eminent names from the local and international photography scene will choose the best projects. The jury will include leading Dutch educator Corinne Noordenbos, award-winning Swedish photographer and former member of the prestigious world photography agency Magnum Kent Klich, Financial Times Weekend Magazine photo editor Emma Bowkett, prominent British photographer George Georgiou, photographer and professor at New York’s International Center of Photography Irina Rozovsky and award winning local photographer and filmmaker Ana Opalić.

The theme of this year's sixth edition of International festival of photography Organ Vida is reflections. The theme encompasses the field of artistic documentary photography and will be problematized within the festival program. Reflections are a significant source of knowledge, cognition and understanding of oneself and the world. Since the world we live in today is facing tremendous changes along with ethical and economic challenges, we want to inspire photographers to face them and reflect upon them through the medium of photography. You can read more about the festival theme here.

The jury will announce the finalists in early July – ten finalists and five commended authors will display their works at the final exhibition during the festival week, and will be published in the festival catalogue.

Corinne Noordenbos is an influential educator and Head of the department of Photography at the Royal Academy of Art in Haag. Her photographic career begins in 1974, and since then her works have been exhibited in a large number of international exhibitions and published in a number of catalogues, books and magazines.

George Georgiou, prominent British photographer best known for his photographic projects on Eastern Europe, particularly Serbia, Greece and Turkey, will also join the jury. His works from this period have been awarded the British Journal of Photography award for his 2010 project. He's also the recipient of two World Press Photo awards from 2003 and 2005, and he won the Pictures of the Year International contest for his Istanbul Bombs project from 2004. In 2011 Georgiou was presented at the major international exhibition New Photography which is held every year at New York’s MOMA.

Irina Rozovsky, born in Moscow and raised in the USA, has won over 15 international awards for her work. Her photographs have been published in magazines such as The New York Times, American Photo Magazine, The New Yorker Photo Booth, Zeit Online and many others. She currently teaches at the International Center of Photography in New York.

Swedish photographer Kent Klich is the recipient of a number of awards for his works in film, photography, books and exhibitions, including projects in the field of human rights and social issues. He worked for the prestigious world photography agency Magnum from 1998 to 2002. His most notable projects include Children of Ceausescu, where he photographed the development of HIV among Romanian children and The book of Beth and Picture imperfect, a series of photographs about a Swedish prostitute and addict whom he photographed for ten years.

The local jury member of the 6th Organ Vida is photographer and filmmaker Ana Opalić, who has been holding solo exhibitions since 1991. She was awarded 'best new young photographer' at the Croatian photography 97' exhibition. She represented Croatia (together with Boris Cvjetanović) at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. Her photographs are a part of various local and international museum collections and a number of private collections.

Emma Bowkett, British photographer and educator, will also join the jury. She currently works as a photo editor at the Financial Times Weekend Magazine. After getting a diploma from the British Goldsmiths University (London), where she also gave lectures, she interned at the Victoria & Albert museum.

Complete biographies of the jury members can be found here. Detailed terms and conditions and the application form can be found on the Organ Vida website www.organvida.com

Organ Vida is an annual international festival of contemporary photography which has been promoting and researching modern photography disciplines in Croatia and on the international scene since its foundation in 2009. The platform through which Organ Vida connects artists, institutions, associations and collectives spans over 80 countries. So far, we have had over 150 artists showcase their work. Aside from a grand exhibition of the festival finalists, the festival also includes lectures, conferences, panels, artist talks, creative workshops, associate presentations and concerts.

Photo: Michelle Palazzi

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