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.
Feature in a Global Network: Showcase your work across Ephemere and Alternative Processes’ international communities.

How can you participate?

Choose the option that fits you:

Free Submission ($0)
- Image Limit: Submit 1 to 3 images.
- Limit: One submission per photographer.
Paid Submission ($15)
- Image Limit: Submit 4 to 10 images.
- Perk (if selected): 10% discount on publication purchase.
- Limit: Multiple submissions allowed (each requires a separate fee).

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?

Submission Focus & Image Quantity: This call centers on images demonstrating material vulnerability/transformation, primarily through alternative/experimental processes. Submit 1-10 images (1-3 free, 4-10 paid). Submissions are for single images, not photo essays.
Image & Written Specs: 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. Provide optional Title, Image Description (max 150 words), and Artist Statement (max 150 words). AI writing tools welcome. You must be the original creator.
Guidelines & Discretion: Strict file naming required (FirstName_LastName_01.jpeg etc.).

When is it happening?

Open Call Duration: July 21st — August 21st, 2025 (23:59 Japan Standard Time)
Selected Photographers’ Announcement: September 2025
Group Exhibition: October 1st – 12th, 2025 at the Ephemere Photo Fest

Full Guidelines