Call for entries - Exposure: Format 13 International Photography Festival, Derby

[Joanne Lee]

What is the theme?

The main theme of FORMAT13 will centre on the FACTORY and mass production. This can be understood literally and creatively in terms of process and the transformation of material, live site of production, the products, workers, analogue process, documentary and so on. We are open to your ideas.

Derby, the city where FORMAT is based, has a significant World Heritage Status for being the birthplace of mass production and having the world’s first factory. This world affecting phenomenon, of mechanised production on mass, was one of the factors responsible for timed working life, urbanization, mass production on all scales and the creation of industrial economies. It also sparked the movement towards socialism, unions, futurism and constructivism, during the industrial revolution.

Artists throughout time have reacted to the fast pace of change involved with the mechanisation of life. Today, the art of automation is no longer confined to manufacturing industries but has seeped into every aspect of our daily living. A factory is still a space for production, a space of exploitation. At the same time, it has changed almost beyond recognition. The typical setup of the factory was an industrial workplace where many parts created on or off site come together to eventually make a whole product, and this is the case still is in many countries. But also now people spend their time in front of computer monitors orchestrating from afar.

We are looking for a varied and international perspective, and a broad range of series/projects that expose and play with the factory as a production process or as a site of multiple narratives. Outside of the factory we are interested in other industries – film, leisure, tourism, and the use, distribution, status and final destination of the products, materials and by-products themselves.

FACTORY can be broken up into a huge array of sub-themes, narratives and investigations. Here are some of the sub-themes, but remember, we welcome broad interpretations to the theme!

In Work – the site, the street, the office, the location, geography, politics, environment

At Work – the people, the workers, the business, process/processing

Out of Work – leisure industry, unemployment, the street, family, the product, impact, histories

The festival theme will focus on several aspects of factory and working life, automation, live to work/work to live, the products and impacts of factories, through exhibitions, performances and related programmes encompassing a wide array of genres and interests from street photography, journalism, documentary, art, film and more.

Through eyes of the greatest image makers of today and tomorrow the festival will explore the global effects and impacts, celebrate the innovations and achievements, and discover the complex relationship between workers and machines throughout time. The theme will offer festival visitors a diverse, imaginative, dynamic, poignant and fascinating view on the phenomenon of mechanized production, industry, work and its impact on our lives.

Head to our website http://formatfestival.com to find out more and you can still submit to the EXPOSURE open call. http://formatfestival.com/exposure