Territory: Europe
Theme: Voices
Eligibility: Under 35 - Italian
Entry Fees: Free
Prize: Cash Prize
GFI | Premio Luigi Ghirri (Young Italian Photography | Luigi Ghirri Award) is a free-of-charge call for artists under the age of 35, promoting the discovery and showcase of emerging photography talents in Italy.
An international commission selects the works that, receiving a financial reward, are produced and shown in a collective exhibition in the European Photography program in Reggio Emilia.
Artists are invited to submit a project fitting the main theme and including a series of images with a description and a setup proposal.
The selection jury reserves its right to prefer recent or unpublished projects.
The exhibition layout will be defined together by artists and curators.
To be considered for the contest, candidates must be Italian - even if living abroad - or foreigners resident in Italy.
Each artist or collective can only submit one project.
Artists who have already been selected in one of the last three editions of the call (ed. 2023, 2024, 2025) cannot apply.
For further information on the call https://gfi.comune.re.it/en
THE THEME: “VOICES”
"In her book When I Sing, Mountains Dance, Catalan writer Irene Solà tells the story of a small village in the Pyrenean mountains through a collective narrative that intertwines human and non-human voices: clouds, deer, a dog, mushrooms, as well as people who passed away, ghosts, spirits, and the mountain itself.
Through constant shifts in perspective, Solà introduces us into a universe populated by invisible beings, leading us to the acknowledgment of loss and grief, and the perception of other ways of existing.
Since its origins, the photographic medium has been dealing with the invisible, capturing its traces through lights, marks, and presences that are not perceivable by the naked eye.
Similarly to Solà's writing, Photography also intertwines the visible and the invisible, what emerges and what disappears, and often invites us to conceive other ways of existing.
It is no coincidence that, in the eyes of its early witnesses, photography long seemed magical, in its ability to evoke images and to present what is not there.
Nowadays, we live submerged in a constant flow of images and information, and we might think that photography and its technological developments cover and reveal the entire spectrum of reality.
Yet, a large part of our world remains voiceless and invisible: people, other living and non-living beings, those who came before us and those who will come in the future.
Let us ask ourselves: are there images that are able to evoke such missing voices?"
(Ilaria Campioli, Daniele De Luigi)
What winners receive
Fee of 1500 € to the selected finalists covering the expenses for:
• production and transport of the works;
• artists' travel and stay in Reggio Emilia during the show's preparation and inauguration;
• potential insurance covering the transport of works.
Luigi Ghirri Award, worth 4000 €, to be awarded to one of the finalists by an international jury.
The jury will take place during the opening days of Fotografia Europea (April 30 – May 3, 2026).
GFI #13: Luigi Ghirri Award 2026 exhibition
This exhibition will be held in the halls of Palazzo dei Musei in Reggio Emilia as part of the Fotografia Europea 2025 festival programme.
Nuove traiettorie. GFI a Stoccolma
Artist residency in Stockholm that will consist of a study and research period, during which the selected artist will produce an art project to be displayed in an exhibition curated by the Italian Culture Institute in Stockholm.
The artist will be chosen by the IIC director, in consultation with the Luigi Ghirri Award jury.
Photo-Match
As part of Fotofestiwal Łódź, scheduled for June 2026, Fotofestiwal Łódź will invite one or more finalists to participate in the Photo-Match portfolio review programme, covering travel, accommodation and board expenses.
