The open call for submissions to EMOP Berlin 2027 is aimed at museums, exhibition spaces, archives, collections, libraries, cultural institutes, universities, art academies, and other educational institutions in the field of photography, as well as municipal and private galleries and project spaces. Photographers and artists can also take part in the open call as individuals or as a group/collective, provided they have an exhibition space in Berlin.

The open call for submissions to EMOP Berlin 2027 starts on June 15, 2026. The deadline for submitting your exhibition proposals is midnight on August 16, 2026.

The online form and additional information for submitting your exhibition proposal can be found in the EMOP Berlin 2027 Participation Guidelines. To submit your entry, please use the digital Open Call application form.

Together with the Artistic Director of EMOP Berlin, a jury comprised of people from the professional art field decides on the selection of exhibition proposals for participation in EMOP Berlin 2027.

The jury members responsible for selecting exhibition proposals for EMOP Berlin 2027 are:

• Akinbode Akinbiyi (artist, Berlin)
• Kathrin Kohle (Exhibition Manager, Ostkreuz. Agentur der Fotografen, Berlin)
• Sara-Lena Maierhofer (artist and professor for photography, Berlin and Darmstadt)
• Maren Lübbke-Tidow (author, curator, Artistic Director EMOP Berlin)
• Anna Voswinckel (author, curator, Berlin; 2026 curator Krakow Photomonth)

The EMOP Berlin 2027 jury meets confidentially. Reasons for a project’s inclusion or rejection will not be recorded in writing. You are welcome to contact the EMOP Berlin team with any questions you may have.

Notifications of acceptance or rejection for participation in EMOP Berlin 2027 will go out in September 2026.

The EMOP Berlin team will contact you to obtain further information (including text and image material) about your exhibition project and accompanying events. The information you provide will be used for a wide-ranging communication and promotion of the festival programme (website, programme booklet, social media, etc.). Additionally, a cooperation agreement will be drawn up for your participation in the festival.

In 2027, EMOP Berlin will not charge fees to its partners.

EMOP Berlin is unable to contribute to the costs you will incur in realizing your exhibition project and educational programme. Securing funding for exhibition projects is the responsibility of our partners and not a service provided by EMOP Berlin. EMOP Berlin is responsible for the festival’s overall communication and carries out extensive promotional measures as well as on-site branding.

The leitmotif for EMOP Berlin 2027 is Common Ground. Letters from Europe.  

We’d be pleased if your exhibition proposal for EMOP Berlin 2027 involved a connection to the leitmotif. It’s not mandatory, however, and does not affect the jury’s decision.

In principle, it’s possible to submit a proposal to EMOP Berlin 2027 if you’re not based in Berlin. However, one precondition for participation is cooperation with an exhibition space in Berlin. This can be a room temporarily adapted for the exhibition.

Yes, provided they have a suitable exhibition space.

It’s not possible to apply for participation in EMOP Berlin if there is no suitable exhibition venue at the time of submission. EMOP Berlin does not have its own exhibition spaces and cannot organize venues for potential participants.

Yes. However, when submitting a proposal to EMOP Berlin 2027, the project’s concept should be conveyed as concretely as possible, and you should already have the first collaboration commitments from artists. A complete list must be submitted by October 18, 2026.

Yes. However, when submitting a proposal to EMOP Berlin 2027, the project’s concept should be conveyed as concretely as possible, and the first photographic works should already have been selected. A representative list of images must be finalized by October 18, 2026.

No. Information on events and educational programmes accompanying your exhibition will be requested separately at a later date and included in the EMOP Berlin event calendar.

We ask our participants to plan their exhibition projects to coincide as closely as possible with the start of the festival. Openings that take place during the festival month are eligible; extending the show beyond the festival month is not a problem.