New Talents 2025

ORGANISER

The eighth edition of Belgrade Photo Month Photography Festival will be organized in May 2024, with photography exhibitions, lectures, workshops, portfolio reviews, etc., taking place in various venues around Belgrade, Serbia.

CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY

The open call is open to anyone of any nationality, professional or amateur, born after 1st January 2000. However, an entry may be rejected should the sponsoring organisation or its agent find that the entry does not conform to the exhibition rules and conditions. There are no restrictions as to the topic except as outlined in the rules and definitions of specific sections, or otherwise stipulated by the laws of the Republic of Serbia.

Entries must be in the form of photographs (image-captures of objects via light sensitivity) made by the entrant on photographic emulsion or digitally. By virtue of submitting an entry, the entrant declares the work as their own (pseudonyms are not permitted). The entrant thus permits the sponsors to reproduce all or part of the submitted material free of charge for publication and/or display in media related to the exhibition. This also may include low-resolution posting of the material on a website.

The organisers of the exhibition assume no liability for any misuse of copyright. Images may be altered, either electronically or otherwise, by the author.

THEME
Postconflict is a term that resonates with numerous connotations and interpretations, encompassing the aftermath of political, social, personal, and environmental struggles. We encourage submissions that reflect on the following dimensions of postconflict:

Political postconflict: Documenting the aftermath of wars, revolutions, and political upheavals or capturing the reconstruction of societies, the challenges of peacebuilding, and the restoration of civil order. Social postconflict: Exploring the impact on communities and the efforts to rebuild social fabrics or highlighting stories of reconciliation, healing, and the re-establishment of trust among individuals and groups. Personal postconflict: Showcasing personal journeys of overcoming trauma, loss, and hardshipor depicting the resilience and strength of individuals in the face of adversity. Environmental postconflict: Addressing the recovery and restoration of ecosystems after natural disasters or human-induced damage or visualizing the efforts to heal the environment and the return of natural balance. Economic postconflict: Illustrating the revival of economies and livelihoods after financial crises or destructive events or examining the role of innovation, adaptation, and community support in economic recovery… and many more options.

ENTRY FEE

Free

THE EXHIBITION CALENDAR

Submission closing date 16/2/2025 23.30h Belgrade time

Successful authors notified 2/3/2025

The exhibition will be held during 8/5/2025 in Belgrade, Serbia.

The results will be published on the festival website

www.belgradephotomonth.org

SUBMISSION OF WORKS

The works have to be sent by email to 

newtalents2025@belgradephotomonth.org

Authors can apply with colour or black and white photos for the Belgrade Photo Month – New Talents exhibition.

Entries are limited to one project per entrant comprised of 8 to 15 photographs. Maximum dimension for individual photos is 1920 pixels (longer side), 72 dpi, format jpg in best compression quality.

The proposal needs to be titled and each photo must have the project title and be numbered according to the order in which the photos will be viewed in the project.

AI photographs are not accepted.

Photographs should be accompanied by an artist’s statement and a short curriculum vitae/biography (including birth date), along with a text about the proposal, not exceeding 3,000 characters in English.

Proposals submitted in previous editions cannot be resubmitted.

Further information about the form or submitting entries may be obtained via info@belgradephotomonth.org or phone number +381638006371

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR THE THREE FINALISTS AND THE BEST LOCAL PROPOSAL

Photographers nominated for the finalist exhibition will be requested to send selected photographs as high-resolution images no later than 5 days after the date of nomination. Otherwise, there is no obligation on the part of the organisers to print their work for the exhibition.

JURY

The jury will evaluate submitted work on the basis of creativity, originality, technical quality of submitted work and other criteria typically used at such assessments.

Members of the festival are not allowed to participate in the competition.

Jury members:

Dušan Kochol founded and now directs and curates a festival of contemporary photography OFF Bratislava (founded in 2010) and a gallery of contemporary photography FOG Bratislava (founded in 2020). The mission of the festival is to provide a large-scale platform for the presentation and promotion of fresh talents in the field of photography and new media. The focus of the gallery is centred on the promotion, valuation and sale of contemporary artworks created by a remarkable community of artists in the field of photography and new media.

As a contemporary artist, his projects have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. In 2016 he was presented with the Photographer of the Year award for the significant contribution to the quality, development and promotion of Slovak photography at home and abroad and in 2017 Kochol became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

For more information, please check:  

www.offbratislava.sk

www.fogbratislava.sk

Isabel Lazaro, Art Historian and Cultural Manager, director and founder of Art Photo Bcn, a photography festival and fair in Barcelona. The aim of Art Photo Bcn is the activation of the photographic circuit with an annual event since 2014 that includes an exhibition circuit, a specialised fair, portfolio review, workshops and activities, as well as a photobook market. She has collaborated as a critic of Catalonia in the Cultural publication of the ABC newspaper from September 2018 to the present day. She participates in the national and international photographic circuit in various portfolio reviews as well as collaborating as a teacher in centres specialising in photography and artistic production on the art market.

For more information, please check:  

https://artphotobcn.com/en/inicio-en/

Jelena Jankovic is a photographer and visual artist from Belgrade with a strong creative vision. She explores human nature and the psychological aspects of relationships through a wide spectrum of photographic genres. These include documentary, theater, fashion, portrait, and experimental photography, in which she combines different techniques and media.

For the past 13 years, she has been one of the leading artists exploring and capturing the life of the theater, having photographed over 200 theater productions across Europe. 

Since 2023, she has been working as the program director of the Sarajevo Photography Festival, which celebrates contemporary photography from around the world. Jelena is deeply committed to opening dialogue and bringing different perspectives into the photography world by fostering the community and creating opportunities for artists, curators, and audiences to connect.

Currently, Jelena has an art studio with 6 artists in Zagreb. She has won numerous international awards for her work. Her work has been published in multiple renowned publications and exhibited worldwide. 

For more information, please check:  

https://www.instagram.com/bitefzena

https://sarajevophotofest.com/

Simone Azzoni. (Asola, 1972) He is an art critic and lecturer in History of Contemporary Art at IUSVE. He teaches Visual Arts Aesthetics at the Santa Giulia Academy of Fine Arts. He teaches Critical Reading of the Image and History of Art at the Palladio Institute of Design. He has curated numerous exhibitions in unconventional venues in Italy and abroad. He is the creator and artistic director of Grenze – Arsenali Fotografici. He has published for Universitaria, Lazy Dog and Mimesis.

For more information, please check:  

www.simoneazzoni.net

www.imeccannico.org

www.grenzearsenalifotografici.com

Špela Pipan is a curator and project manager at Photon Gallery (Ljubljana, Vienna) and specialises in modern and contemporary photography. She completed her Master’s degree in Curation at Central Saint Martins (2016) and has been working in the field of photography ever since. In addition to curating several notable exhibitions of contemporary photographic artists from the Central Eastern European region, she has also curated several photo exhibitions on the history of photography in Slovenia. In her work, she often collaborates with young and emerging photo artists from Slovenia and abroad to develop their projects at the beginning of their careers. She was also a co-organiser of the Photon Gallery’s educational programme aimed at young photographers and their introduction to the international art market. In addition to her curatorial work, she has written for several photo monographs and journals.

For more information, please check: 

https://photongallery.at/

https://photon.si/drustvo-photon/

AWARDS

The organisers will choose three best proposals, including the best local proposal (Serbian) from all the work submitted.

From three selected proposals, the organisers will choose the best one, and will 
also award the prizes for the 2nd and 3rd  places, as well as for the best local proposal.

All four projects will be part of the Belgrade Photo Month exhibition under the title: New Talents 2025.

COPYRIGHT AND THE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Copyright and all other author’s rights belong to the photographer. In case of violation of these rights the organisers will take necessary legal measures.

Photographers will be credited on all official festival publications and during the exhibition of their work. All contestants accept that the organisers and general sponsors can use submitted photographs for marketing and promotional purposes, including announcements in the media (press, TV, digital) and exhibitions in connection with Belgrade Photo Month Festival.

All nominated and winning photographs will be part of the Belgrade Photo Month festival collection. The festival will be administering the collection according to the established professional rules and principles with the intention to promote the concept of the festival and individual photographers.