Call for Entries -
Open Call: Summertime Vintage - Call for Entries
Juried By: Dr. Rotem Rozental, Los Angeles Center of Photography Executive Director and Chief Curator.
Deadline for Submission: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 at Midnight PST
Notice of Acceptance: Thursday, June 26th, 2025
Opening Reception (In-Person): Thursday, August 7th, 2025, 6-8pm
Exhibition Run Dates: August 7th, 2025 – September 27th, 2025 at LACP's DTLA Headquarters
Description
Winners and honorable mentions will be shown in LACP’s new 2nd floor gallery space.
It’s summer, let’s play. Inspired by LACP’s location between the Toy District, Little Tokyo and the Arts District in Los Angeles, this call invites submissions for photo-based works that explore vintage and lo-fi aesthetics and technologies from a multitude of perspectives, practices and approaches. You might be shooting with a beloved 1980s Holga, or giving your images a Lomo touch on your computer. Maybe you chronicle the streets of your town with a Polaroid, or you’re capturing playful portraits of people in your community. You might be working with a combination of alternative processes and digital printing, or completely virtual forms of display. We don’t know, but we would love to see them.
As a style and an approach, lo-fi aesthetics rose to prominence in the 1990s. It was embedded in the Gen-X nostalgia for the hues and cultural objects of their 1970s childhood. It was also a rejection of a cultural mainstream that seemed to have preferred conventions over creativity, and was utilizing those as a way to block entry into centers of production. Lo-fi was connected to street culture, to underground music, to an existence that recognizes things might not get any better. And if they don’t, we should probably make the most of what we have and do it with old Kodaks, if we can.
The introduction of digital cameras during the same decade served a harsh blow to the traditional photographic industry. Slowly, it also nourished a turn toward disposable, snapshot or toy cameras that found their way to heart of DIY indie culture. By the 2010, it was hard to find a single Urban Outfitters store without an old camera section.
This exhibition considers such histories, and our relationships with photographic and technological tools, as well as the ways in which they produce new visual languages, concepts and ideas.
Prizes
1st Place winner will receive $500 cash prize + Holga Camera; 2nd Place winner will receive a $250 gift card + Holga Camera; 3rd Place winner will receive $125 Gift Card + Holga Camera. Honorable Mentions: Other artists will receive honorable mentions and have their work shown with the winners in our online gallery + an in-person exhibition at LACP Headquarters opening on August 7th, 2025. Cameras are courtesy of Freestyle.
The Juror
Rotem Rozental, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Center of Photography. Between 2016-2022, she served as Chief Curator at American Jewish University, where she was also Assistant Dean of the Whizin Center for Continuing Education and Senior Director of Arts and Creative Programming. Her book, Pre-State Photographic Archives and the Zionist Movement (Routledge, 2023) was named recipient of the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Award by the Association for Jewish Studies.
Rotem is a lecturer at USC Roski School of Art and Design Critical Studies Department. She mentors artists worldwide and contributes regularly to exhibition catalogues, magazines, journals and. Her writings about contemporary art, visual culture, technology and image-based media were published in Artforum, Artillery, Photographies, Jewish Currents, Tablet and Forward, among other outlets.
Eligibility and Guidelines
The exhibition is open internationally to photographers of all levels. The juror will select images based on creativity, originality, and quality. LACP invites photographers working in all mediums and styles to take part in the exhibition.
We do not accept images and texts created by AI for this open call.
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The deadline to submit digital files through Submittable for consideration in this call is: Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025 at Midnight PST. No exceptions.
Acceptance Notice
The selection process will be blind. Once the juror has made selections, all entrants will receive an email from LACP with a list of images and artists selected for the show. The selected images and artists’ names will be posted on LACP’s website.
LACP is not responsible for connecting the selected artists with the juror. In addition, LACP reserves the right not to use a particular selected image(s) for promotional purposes if the image(s) is deemed inappropriate for use on LACP’s social media, newsletter feed, and/or on in any other marketing material.
Entry Details & Fee
There is no limit to the amount of images which can be submitted. If submitting more than 35 images, please repeat the payment process as necessary.
Size each image 1200 pixels on the long side at 72 dpi DO NOT HAVE YOUR FIRST OR LAST NAME IN THE FILENAME. You are welcome to name the files anything you like, or to keep the original file number.
NOTE: Please DO NOT watermark your images when submitting. Thank you.
$25 for 1 image ($12.50 for LACP Members)
$50 for 2-5 images ($25.00 for LACP Members)
$75 for 6-10 images ($37.50 for LACP Members)
$100 for 11-15 images ($50.00 for LACP Members)
$125 for 16-20 images ($62.50 for LACP Members)
$150 for 21-25 images ($75.00 for LACP Members)
$175 for 26-30 images ($87.50 for LACP Members)
$200 for 31-35 images ($100.00 for LACP Members)
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Exhibit Prints & Works
This is a print only show. All works accepted for exhibition must be prints that can be hung with magnets in each corner, holding it to the wall. No frames. Because this is a print show there is a possibility your print will have some wear marks from the magnets. Artists must expect this possibility. Further, there are no size restrictions (but keep shipping in mind). Artists will be required to submit an artist statement, materials/techniques used, and size/dimensions of each artwork when entering. Exhibiting artists will be expected to either drop off their work or pay for round-trip shipping of their work. You will be required to send us a prepaid express mail label for the return of your artwork. We take no responsibility for damage during shipping, so we suggest that your insure the work during mailing.
Liability & Agreement
Each photographer retains all copyrights to his or her images. Photographers whose submissions are chosen for the exhibition grant the Los Angeles Center of Photography (LACP) the right to use their images for display on LACP’s website and for the purpose of promoting exhibitions, promoting LACP’s programs, and promoting the artist. Promotions and images may also be placed on social networks for LACP with artist credit. Artists grant the use of their image(s) as stated without further contact from LACP. The artist understands that LACP will not be held responsible for loss, theft or other damage, whether caused by the negligence of its officers, members, or others. Photographers are welcome to sell their photos during the online exhibit, with 50 percent commission to LACP. Submission of application will constitute an agreement to all these terms and conditions.
Questions?
Email: info@lacphoto.org