TSCHICK GALLERY & PRAGUE SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY in cooperation with the ROTLICHT FESTIVAL 2026 invite you to the
OPEN CALL 2026 – THE ANTHROPOCENE:
Hybrid Realities
We are looking for 4–6 projects for a satellite exhibition of the
Rotlicht Festival at Tschick Gallery, Prague School of Photography, Linz.
Exhibition:
3 December 2026 – 7 February 2027
Opening Reception: 3 December 2026
Rotlicht Festival for Analogue Photography, Vienna
26 November – 6 December 2026
Theme
Anthropocene: Hybrid Realities
The Anthropocene—often described as the Age of Humanity—is a metaphorical term referring to an epoch in which human activity has become the dominant force shaping the Earth’s ecological and geological systems. Yet this very idea may itself be an illusion. Our belief in control, progress, and technological mastery stands in contrast to a world that continually confronts us with unpredictability and fragility.
Analogue photography naturally resists this paradigm of control. It is based on light, chemistry, time, and chance. Imperfections, materiality, and process are not flaws but essential characteristics of the medium.
The festival theme „Anthropocene: Hybrid Realities“ invites artists to rethink the relationship between humanity, nature, and the photographic image—between intervention and dissolution, influence and vulnerability, construction and decay. Humanity consumes resources as though they were limitless, colonizes the planet, destroys natural environments, and replaces them with artificial ones. In doing so, humankind has itself become a geological force.
Who Can Participate
The Open Call is open to artists worldwide working with analogue photographic processes—from traditional darkroom techniques to alternative and experimental processes, including chemical and sculptural approaches.
We consider ourselves a hybrid photography festival. While the use of digital tools is not prohibited, at least one essential stage in the creation of the work must involve an analogue photographic process.
Submissions from individual artists, collectives, and students are warmly welcomed.
Submission Details
Submission deadline: 6 September 2026
Notification of selected exhibitors: 10 September 2026
Exhibition: 3 December 2026 – 7 February 2027
Tschick Gallery, Tabakfabrik Linz
Opening Reception: 3 December 2026, 7:00 PM
Format: One photographic series or project (maximum 5 images)
Medium: Analogue or hybrid photographic processes (exclusively digital photography is not eligible)
Submission: Online via the submission form at …
Entry Fee: €20 per submission
ONLINE SUBMISSION
https://www.rotlicht-festival.at/open-call-submission-for-prager-fotoschule/
Awards & Exhibition
4–6 artists will be selected for the exhibition.
Each exhibiting artist will receive an exhibition fee of €550.
All selected artists will be featured in the Rotlicht Festival 2026 Catalogue.
Upon request, exhibition prints will be produced free of charge by the Tschick Gallery Cultural Association. Alternatively, finished and framed works may be delivered directly to the exhibition venue at Tabakfabrik Linz. Please note that all logistics and associated costs are the sole responsibility of the participating artist and will not be covered by the organiser.
JURY
DANIELA KÖPPL
Daniela Köppl (*1978, Linz) lives and works in Gmunden, Upper Austria.
She studied Agricultural Marketing and Management at the University of Applied Sciences Weihenstephan in Bavaria and completed both the Foundation Course and the Diploma Program in Applied and Artistic Photography at the Prague School of Photography Austria. In 2025, she graduated with distinction from the Master’s program Digital Photography and New Visual Media at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences.
In her photographic practice, she combines documentary and conceptual approaches at the intersection of editorial and artistic photography, exploring rural working environments. Her work has received several awards, including the voestalpine nextpicture award (2017) and the Upper Austrian Research Photo Challenge (2019), and has been presented in solo and group exhibitions. Works from her series KUPPEN are part of the Graphic Collection of OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH. In addition to her artistic practice, she serves on the advisory board of the Prague School of Photography Austria and is Chairwoman of the art association Artiné in Gmunden.
PAUL KRANZLER
Paul Kranzler (*1979, Linz) studied Visual Media Design at the University of Art and Design Linz and later completed his postgraduate studies as a master student under Joachim Brohm at the Academy of Fine Arts Leipzig (HGB Leipzig). His long-term photographic projects move between documentary precision and personal engagement, focusing on social environments, family relationships, and life in the Austrian countryside. Kranzler’s works are included in major public collections, among them the ALBERTINA in Vienna and the Museum der Moderne Salzburg.
He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Outstanding Artist Award for Artistic Photography from the Austrian Federal Ministry and the Upper Austrian State Prize for Photography. Alongside his artistic practice, he regularly publishes artist books. He lives and works in Upper Austria.
MARIA VENZL
Maria Venzl is Curator of Contemporary Art at OÖ Landes-Kultur GmbH. She studied Fine Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Art and Design Linz, specializing in Sculpture – Transmedial Space, and graduated in 2015. From 2016 to 2020, she worked as Curatorial Assistant at OK Center for Contemporary Art. A particular focus of her curatorial practice is contemporary photography, installation-based and cross-media artistic positions, as well as emerging artists. She has curated numerous solo exhibitions, including presentations by Anna Breit, Arvida Byström, Anna Ehrenstein, Peter Kogler, Michaela Moscouw, and Elfie Semotan, as well as international group exhibitions, including exhibitions of the winners of the Prix Ars Electronica. She also worked as Curatorial Assistant for the public art format Höhenrausch.
DINO REKANOVIĆ
GRÜNDER & DIREKTOR – ROTLICHT FESTIVAL
Dino Rekanović is an experienced project manager and cultural producer with more than twenty years of experience in the conception and coordination of international art and cultural events, particularly in the field of contemporary photography. He has extensive expertise in contemporary art, curatorial practice, and visual culture. His work focuses on analogue photography, experimental formats, and interdisciplinary collaboration, combining creative vision with a structured and strategic approach. Dino is known for his strong communication skills, collaborative mindset, and his ability to build successful partnerships and connect diverse stakeholders. Driven by a passion for artistic research, cultural exchange, and innovative exhibition formats, he develops projects that explore the intersections of image, process, and perception. Through his work, he creates spaces for dialogue, experimentation, and new perspectives within the contemporary art and cultural landscape.
Curatorial Concept
Anthropocene: Hybrid Realities understands analogue photography as a form of resistance to digital reproducibility—a medium whose material presence creates a tangible connection between humanity and the environment.
The festival seeks artistic positions that challenge and explore the boundaries between nature and culture, control and chaos, destruction and renewal.
Anthropocene: Hybrid Realities
The Anthropocene—often referred to as the Age of Humanity—describes an era in which human activity has become the dominant force shaping the Earth’s ecological and geological systems. Yet this narrative of human dominance may itself be a construct. Ideas of control, progress, and technological mastery stand in tension with a world increasingly defined by instability, complexity, and fragility.
Analogue photography fundamentally challenges this paradigm of control. It is grounded in light, chemistry, time, and unpredictability. Imperfection, material presence, and process are not flaws but intrinsic qualities of the medium.
With the theme „Anthropocene: Hybrid Realities,“ the festival invites artists to critically and poetically explore the relationship between humanity, nature, and the photographic image—between intervention and dissolution, influence and vulnerability, construction and decay.
Humanity consumes resources as though they were limitless, reshapes landscapes, replaces ecosystems with artificial environments, and is increasingly regarded as a geological force in its own right. How can photography respond to this condition? What hybrid realities emerge between the natural and the constructed, the organic and the synthetic, the real and the staged?
We welcome submissions that engage with these tensions and expand the discourse through experimental, critical, and process-oriented approaches to analogue photography.
Kontakt & Organisation
Kulturverein Tschick Galerie
4020 Linz, Peter-Behrens-Platz 10 (Tabakfabrik Linz – Bau 1 – Stiege A – 1. Stock)
E-Mail: office@prager-fotoschule.com
Web: https://prager-fotoschule.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pragerfotoschule/
General questions
Am I Eligible?
We welcome submissions from all creatives and image-makers aged 16 years and older.
Employees, members, and affiliates of the organiser (Zigutamve – Association for Contemporary Photography) as well as members of the competition jury are not eligible to participate.
How Do I Apply?
Complete the Open Call submission form, upload your images, and pay the submission fee. Once your submission and payment have been successfully received, you will receive a confirmation by email.
Can I Submit More Than One Project?
Yes. You may submit multiple projects. Each submission will be evaluated independently and reviewed by the jury with the same level of care and consideration.
How Will I Know That My Submission Has Been Received?
Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email. If you are unsure whether your submission has been successfully received, please contact us at office@prager-fotoschule.com.
What Is the Submission Fee?
The submission fee is €20 per project.
Refund Policy
Submission fees are non-refundable.
Usage Rights & Copyright
Submitted images may be used to promote the festival and its exhibitions in both print and online media. By participating in the Open Call, an exhibition, or any other festival programme, you consent to the use of your work for these promotional purposes.
It is our responsibility to ensure that every reproduced work is properly credited and that authorship is acknowledged appropriately. As a team of photographers, we place great importance on the respectful handling of image rights and copyright.
Image Requirements
If your project is selected by the jury, the photographs submitted with your application may be used for the exhibition, the festival catalogue, and other festival-related publications and media. It is therefore essential that your images are uploaded in the required resolution, file naming convention, and quality.
Only images or projects that include at least one analogue photographic process are eligible. Purely digital works will not be considered.
Technical Requirements
JPEG files only
Maximum file size: 5 MB
Minimum image size: 2,000 pixels on the longest side
Resolution: 300 dpi
Can I Submit a Photograph Created or Edited Using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
All submitted works must be original photographs taken by the participating artist. They must not have been generated, altered, or enhanced using AI technologies, unless the deliberate use of AI forms an integral part of a hybrid artistic concept and is critically reflected upon as a thematic component of the work.
Submissions containing demonstrably AI-generated imagery will be disqualified from the competition.
Who Selects the Winners?
The artists selected for the main exhibition and the winners of the Open Call 2026 will be chosen by an independent jury.Our jury consists of international curators, festival directors, and invited experts. All submissions are assessed individually and independently by each jury member.
What Do We Mean by an Analogue or Hybrid Project?
As a festival team, we do not exclude digital photography—on the contrary, we regard it as a valuable enrichment.However, to participate in the Open Call or to be exhibited as part of the festival, your work must include at least one significant analogue photographic process. It does not matter whether this analogue step takes place during image capture, development, printing, or another stage of the photographic workflow.
The decisive criterion is that an analogue process constitutes an essential and defining part of the creation of the photographic work.
Timeline
Submission Deadline: 6 September 2026
Notification of Selected Artists: 10 September 2026
Exhibition: 3 December 2026 – 7 February 2027
Tschick Gallery, Tabakfabrik Linz
Opening Reception: 3 December 2026, 7:00 PM
Awards & Exhibition
4–6 artists will be selected for the exhibition.
Each exhibiting artist will receive an exhibition fee of €550.
All selected artists will be featured in the Rotlicht Festival 2026 Catalogue.
Upon request, exhibition prints will be produced free of charge by the Tschick Gallery Cultural Association. Alternatively, finished and framed works may be delivered directly to the exhibition venue at Tabakfabrik Linz. Please note that all transport, logistics, and associated costs are the sole responsibility of the participating artist and will not be covered by the organiser.