Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre is calling for artists and other exhibitors for gallery and lobby gallery exhibitions in 2024 and 2025. Deadline for applications is 4 June 2023 at 23:59. Artists invited to exhibit their works will be selected by Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s exhibition committee.
Two (2) gallery exhibition slots and five (5) lobby exhibition slots are open for 2024. For 2025, four (4) gallery exhibition slots and five (5) lobby exhibition slots are available. The overall aim is to co-ordinate the exhibitions in the two exhibition spaces to form a programme where the different exhibitions complement each other.
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s 2024 exhibition programme is strongly defined by the ongoing More-than-Planet project and its main exhibition in autumn 2024. Suggested thematic focus for exhibition proposals for 2024 is change.
Exhibition spaces
Main gallery
The main gallery of Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre is located on the first floor of Cultural Centre Valve in downtown Oulu. The gallery receives over 35,000 visitors annually and is open daily from 10 am to 8 pm. The gallery has seven rooms and a total surface area of approximately 135 m2. The rooms have stone walls and red brick floors. Two of the rooms have a screen and a video projector for video works. The gallery is also ideal for group exhibitions.
Check out the gallery in 3D: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=4CTRKh1PA2U
Gallery floor plan.
Lobby gallery
The lobby gallery is located next to the Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre office by the Ojakatu entrance of the Cultural Centre. The Images of the Month series showcases debut exhibitions of emerging photographers using lightweight, low-threshold set-ups. The Images of the Month programme is part of collaboration between Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre and Fotonordic. Lobby gallery’s floorplan.
Call for artists
Artists invited to exhibit their works will be selected by the exhibition committee from applications received. The application process is open for all professional artists and all forms of contemporary art. The lobby gallery is intended for debut exhibitions of emerging photographers using lightweight, low-threshold set-ups. Workgroups and curators with existing exhibition concepts are also invited to apply. The exhibition proposals should have a connection to photography or lens-based art in general. Applications are submitted using an online form.
The duration of each exhibition period is eight (8) weeks. The hanging of each exhibition will be done during the opening week of the exhibition. The opening is usually held on the Friday before the first day of the public exhibition (Saturday). Each exhibition will be taken down on the Monday after the last public opening day of the exhibition (Sunday). In July the gallery is closed.
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre does not charge rent for exhibitions. NPC will pay the exhibitor a per-exhibition fee equivalent to the median salary, made possible in 2022–2025 by a special grant from the Kone Foundation. Northern Photographic Centre also covers/arranges transportation of works exhibited to and from Oulu, insures the works during transport and the exhibition, covers the travel and accommodation expenses of artists participating in the opening, and organises exhibition publicity and the opening night. Costs of exhibitions in the lobby gallery will be covered up to €150 per exhibition in 2024–2025.
To apply for an exhibition slot, please fill in the online form via Google Forms. You can apply for either the main gallery or the lobby gallery with a single application. It is not possible to apply for both galleries with one application.
How to apply
Prepare a well-defined, free-form exhibition application to be sent as a single file attachment to the online form that features the following sections:
– Applicant’s contact information: name, telephone number and email address
– Exhibition plan (exhibition theme and/or concept)
– CV (workgroups should attach a separate CV for each artist)
– Visual and textual excerpts that support the exhibition/concept and photographs of previous works
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre encourages applicants to submit recent, topical works based on photography and lens-based media understood broadly. Utilising the features of the exhibition space as part of the whole will be considered an advantage. If the exhibition proposal includes moving images, the application should include online viewing links to excerpts or entire works (on Vimeo or YouTube, for example). All exhibition applications will be evaluated confidentially. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Northern Photographic Centre welcomes submissions from photographers who belong to language, culture or other minorities. We also encourage applications from artists of all ages and genders.
The selection process
The applications will be considered by an exhibition committee consisting of three to five members from Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s board and staff. In addition, a rotating expert member may be invited to join the exhibition committee. All applicants will be informed of the exhibition committee’s decision personally by e-mail or text message within two (2) months of the end of the application period.
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre
Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre is dedicated to presentation of high quality, contemporary photography. The Centre’s reputation is based on uncompromising, long-term work promoting high-quality photographic art in the North. Through its activities and choices, Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre emphasises sustainability and ecological soundness and actively promotes a responsible operating culture in the field of contemporary art. We believe in transparency and free sharing of knowledge.
Additional info:
Taija Jyrkäs
taija@photonorth.fi, +358 40 1281 150