OPEN CALL
Reinterpret Myanmar’s history

MPA OPEN CALL ©Goethe-Institut/ Myanmar Photo Archive

This open call represents opportunities for writers, visual artists, filmmakers, scholars, and anyone engaged with Myanmar's history.
The Goethe-Institut Myanmar and the Myanmar Photo Archive invite you to participate in our commissioned program 2023. We are giving out 45 grants for creatives to reinterpret the images of the Myanmar Photo Archive. The archive holds the largest image source of independent Myanmar, with vernacular photography from around the country.
The Myanmar Photo Archive began its collection in 2013 and had been continuously presenting its materials in exhibitions and publications locally in Myanmar and abroad. Since 2018 the Goethe-Institut Myanmar has been a strong supporter and collaborator in its endeavors and is allowing supporting these grants financially, including a publication program. It is with the Goethe-Institut's generous support that opportunity is made possible. 

The deadline to apply is the 30th of June, 2023
Announcement of recipient's 14th of July 2023
The deadline for artwork/ writing to be submitted is the 14th of October, 2023

We welcome submissions by writers and visual artists of any form and kind. The interpretations of the images can be, for example, fictional writing, historical analyses, an imagined photo series in response to the images, a narrative film, a print series, a collage work, drawings, prints, etc. We encourage accurate and emotional-based reactions to the images to gain a broad reflection on these largely uninterpreted materials. The result will be published and/or exhibited online, in print, and on display. The original works, if created, will go into the Myanmar Photo Archives collection.  

We offer the following Grants:
A) 20 x Short written pieces to a series or single image. Minimum 250 words (100 Euro)
B) 5 x Long written pieces to a series or single image. Minimum words 2500 words (500 Euro)
C) 5 x Films of any narrative from a series of images. Minimum length 3 minutes (500 Euro)
D) 5 x photo series in response to a series in the archive. Minimum 10 images. (500 Euro)
E) 5 x print/drawing series in response to a series in the archive. Minimum 5 images (500 Euro)
F) 5 x single painting grants in response to a series in the archive (500 Euro)

ARCHIVE MATERIAL

We provide you with an extensive array of image series and single images to work on and interpret on this link. Please choose a category and indicate it in the application form.

Procedure

If you want to participate in this open call, please pick one of the proposed image series or single images. Indicate the number and category to which you wish to present an interpretation with a summary of your planned endeavor and a short cv of your past experiences in the field. The final material can be in Burmese or English.

Privacy

Your information will only be processed by the Myanmar Photo Archive and Goethe-Institut Team. You can submit it anonymously or with a pseudonym. We will protect your data and work and will not publish anything under your name if you do not wish to do so. 

Myanmar Photo Archive's Open Call Flyer
Application form

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