Moving Walls Exhibition

Guidelines

Moving Walls is an annual documentary photography exhibition produced by OSI, a private operating and grantmaking foundation that works to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. The exhibition series is an artistic interpretation of the obstacles—such as political oppression, economic instability, and racism—that society often erects, and the struggles to tear those barriers down. Since its inception in 1998, Moving Walls has featured nearly 100 photographers whose work addresses a variety of social justice and human rights issues that coincide with OSI’s mission.

Click here to view Moving Walls exhibitions online.

Eligibility

The Open Society Institute encourages photographers to submit documentary work of national or international subjects that coincide with the issues and geographical areas that are principally of concern to OSI. OSI does not discriminate based on any characteristics that may be protected by applicable law.

Application Process

Please submit the following materials:

1) a one-page proposal* (600 words maximum) describing the project you would like to exhibit at OSI;
2) a short narrative bio (250 words maximum) summarizing your previous work and experience;
3) your curriculum vitae;
4) 15-20 loose, unmounted, and captioned gelatin silver or digital prints of the work that you would like to exhibit. Work samples should be approximately 8 x 10 inches (larger prints will not be accepted) and must have descriptive captions either hand-written or adhered to the back of each print;
5) a CD with items 1-4 mentioned above, that is:

• a one-page proposal (Word document, 600 words maximum)
• a short narrative bio (Word document, 250 words maximum)
• your curriculum vitae (Word document)
• 15-20 digital files of the same images (jpegs); files should be titled using the following naming convention: Last name_First name_01, Last name_First name_02, etc.
• a corresponding caption list (Word document)

6) a self-addressed stamped mailer or FedEx or DHL shipping label with your credit card or account number (if you do not include return postage, your work samples will not be returned).

*NOTE: The one-page proposal is intended to give the Selection Committee a better understanding of the project. Non-native English speakers should describe their projects as accurately as possible, but do need not be concerned with the quality of their English.

Please do not send your work in leather portfolios or in tubes. Applications that are submitted electronically will not be considered.

Deadline

Complete submissions, with all 6 items mentioned above, must be received at OSI-NY by 5:00 pm (Eastern Standard Time) on Friday, March 28, 2008.

Address

Submit applications to:

Program Assistant
Documentary Photography Project
Open Society Institute
400 West 59th Street
New York, NY 10019

Review and Selection Process

Phase 1
Proposals will be reviewed and selections made by a committee of foundation staff and the exhibit curators, Susan Meiselas and Stuart Alexander. In evaluating the work, the committee considers the quality of the photographs and their relevance to OSI’s overall mission and activities. In addition, the committee aims to select a diversity of issues and geographic areas in order to avoid repetition of topics shown in recent exhibitions.

Phase 2
The selected photographers will be designated wall space and encouraged to visit OSI’s offices in order to meet with our curators and prepare installation plans. Please note that travel to OSI is not part of Moving Walls payment and is not a requirement. Photographers who are unable to travel to OSI may correspond with our curators by e-mail or fax and submit their installation plans electronically.

Time Frame

Participants selected for the exhibition must be able to follow the schedule detailed below. This show is scheduled to open in December 2008. The approximate duration of the exhibition in New York is nine months. After the New York exhibition closes, OSI will select (at its discretion) a portion of the exhibition to travel to its Washington, D.C., office for an additional nine months.

Payment

Upon selection, photographers must submit a budget proposal for printing, drymounting, and other miscellaneous costs. Once the budget is approved, participants will be responsible for working within this budget and must use OSI-approved labs. OSI will then pay for standard framing and window matting. In addition, selected photographers will receive a $1,500 royalty payment. Please note: When the show comes down, OSI will only cover the costs of returning unmounted and unframed work. Photographers will be responsible for covering the expense of returning mounted or framed photographs.

Exhibition Schedule

Participating photographers must be able to commit to the following exhibition schedule:

March 28, 2008: Deadline for submissions.

Late April 2008: Notification of participants begins.

May 2008: Selected photographers meet with curators to plan their shows.

Late May 2008: Deadline for selected photographers to submit detailed proposals, budgets, and installation plans.

Late June 2008: Deadline for submission of:

• artist’s statements and bios.
• captions and/or wall texts.
• one 8 x 10 inch print of each image for record/file purposes.
• 400 dpi (at 8 x 10 inches) jpeg files of each exhibition image for use in exhibition-related publications and for inclusion on our website.

October 2008: Deadline for photographers to have their completed prints delivered to the framer. Photographers are responsible for making these arrangements.

December 2008: Opening reception.

Photographers previously exhibited in Moving Walls:

Abbas
Lynsey Addario
Jon Anderson
Kike Arnal
Don Bartletti
Beggars and Choosers: A Group Show
Jonas Bendiksen
Nina Berman
Mary Berridge
Jodi Bieber
Marcus Bleasdale
Robin Bowman
Heidi Bradner
Edward Burtynsky
Hélène Caux
Chien-Chi Chang
Julien Chatelin
Philippe Cheng
Gigi Cohen
John Cohen
Jan Dago
Bruce Davidson
Carl De Keyzer
Donna DeCesare
Nigel Dickinson
Dwayne Dixon
Thomas Dworzak
Jason Eskenazi
Gary Fabiano
Stephen Ferry
George Georgiou*
Aleksandr Glyadyelov
Eric Gottesman
Edward Grazda
Lori Grinker
Harlem Horizon Art Studios
Katja Heinemann
Sean Hemmerle
Tim Hetherington
Chester Higgins, Jr.
International Center of Photography/Friends of Island Academy Program
Olivier Jobard
Ed Kashi*
Katrina, An Un-natural Disaster: Photographs by OSI’s Katrina Media Fellows*
Brenda Ann Kenneally
Antonin Kratochvil
Teru Kuwayama
Jeffrey Ladd
Mark Leong
Andrew Lichtenstein
Pedro Linger-Gasiglia
Steve Liss
Jon Lowenstein
Steve McCurry
Jonathan Moller
Régina Monfort
James Nubile
Darcy Padilla
Vesna Pavlovic
Gilles Peress
Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Pictures from Home: Representing Guantanamo Detainees & Their Families
Dana Popa*
John Ranard
Eugene Richards
Joseph Rodriguez
Bastienne Schmidt
Stephen Shames
Ivan Sigal
Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
Sara Terry
Jonathan Torgovnik*
Larry Towell
John Vachon
Kadir van Lohuizen
Ami Vitale
Tuen Voeten
Beka Vuco
Alex Webb

*Included in forthcoming Moving Walls 14 exhibition

For Further Information

If you have any questions, please contact Yukiko Yamagata at (212) 548-0369 or yyamagata@sorosny.org.