What is Open Call #10 about?

In collaboration with Alternative Processes, Ephemere invites you to submit work that explores what happens when photography embraces transformation. We welcome works that are sculptural, vulnerable, and subject to change, decomposition, and loss.

Eroding Forms seeks a photographic language of impermanence, where materials, processes, and environments leave their own traces. It proposes photography as an evolving collaboration between light, chemistry, organic matter, and time.

Who can submit?

Photographers and image-based artists worldwide, regardless of style or genre, including collectives.

Why should you submit?

By participating in Ephemere's Open Call #10, you gain the opportunity for:

Group Publication: Be featured in a special group publication, Eroding Forms, launching at the Ephemere Photo Fest in Tokyo.
Curatorial Spotlight: Selected works may be highlighted and discussed during the curator’s presentation at the Ephemere Photo Fest in Tokyo.
Global Network Feature: Showcase your work across Ephemere and Alternative Processes’ international communities.

How can you participate?

This open call accepts paid submissions only. Your submission fee directly supports the production of this open call, covering essential costs such as design fees, printing expenses for the publication, project management, and various logistical expenditures.

Cost: $15 USD per submission of 4 to 8 images.
Perk: Receive 1 complimentary copy of the publication if selected.
Limit: Multiple submissions allowed (each requires a separate fee).

Payment Link: https://www.ephemere.tokyo/miscellaneous/p/open-call-10

How are submissions selected?

All submissions will be reviewed by Chiara Salvi, Founder & Director of Alternative Processes, based on the following criteria:

Material Vulnerability: Works that embrace impermanence, fragility, and transformation—where materials are allowed to fade, decompose, or evolve in dialogue with their environment.
Process as Concept: Practices that foreground process over permanence, treating the photographic act as an event of becoming and un-becoming rather than a fixed outcome.
Temporal and Ecological Awareness: Works that situate photographic materials within cycles of growth, decay, erosion, and transformation—acknowledging the image as matter in flux and as an active participant in broader ecological systems and temporal processes.
While this open call centers on analogue, alternative, and process-driven practices, we also invite submissions that employ traditional or hybrid techniques—so long as they engage critically and intentionally with the core concerns of this call. We are drawn to works that move beyond conventional notions of permanence and representation.

What else should you know?

Image Specs & Submission: Submit PNG, TIFF, or high-quality JPEG (min. compression); minimum 3000px long side, 300 dpi. For photo objects, high-res scans or quality photos (even lighting, neutral background) are accepted. Images not meeting specs may be disqualified.
Required Written Content: Provide a Title for your image and/or a brief image Description (max 150 words), outlining your concept and how it relates to "Eroding Forms." An Artist Statement (max 150 words) about your practice and vision is also required. Texts may be used across all platforms.
Guidelines & Discretion: Your work must be original. Strict adherence to file naming is required (failure may lead to disqualification). No borders, watermarks, AI-generated content, or inappropriate/offensive content. Final selection at curator's discretion.

When is it happening?

Open Call Duration: July 23rd — August 13th, 2025 (23:59 Japan Standard Time)
Selected Photographers’ Announcement: September 2025
Group Exhibition: October 1st – 12th, 2025 at the Ephemere Photo Fest

Full Guidelines