2022
Nowadays, thanks to the power of social media, we see a considerable amount of images that look alike. Either they are taken in the exact locations, have a similar visual narrative, or depict identical subjects. However, in the end, what makes the difference is the meaning that photographers tend to convey with their work. For the 2022 edition, the theme « The Meaning in the Making » aims to potentially distinguish "meaning in a photograph" from "meaning through photographing."
Making an image is an entirely different experience —it requires skill, knowledge, and the experience of knowing what you want from a setup before you even put the viewfinder up to your eye. The art of making images takes a life span to understand.
A photograph goes beyond what is depicted and points to what is suggested beyond the boundaries of the frame. The meaning delves into our minds to create meaningful work and explore our connection with the viewer. It is attained through narrative, storytelling, symbolism, and metaphor, leaving space for imagination and deeper audience engagement. In that sense, finding meaning in the making comes down to understanding ourselves: what we value, what we fear and how our experiences still inform our emotions and behavior today.
We received 174 exciting and engaged projects for the seventh edition from 44 schools and 31 countries. The curatorial team was honored to count with guest curator Sarker Protick and winners from last year’s edition, Irina Dmitrovskaya Cora Sun Yuting and Raúl Armando Jiménez Jiménez. The committee selected three winners and thirty finalists and awarded 13 special mentions. The latter will be included in the activities of the educational program throughout the year.
We thank the institutions and their talents for their participation and our partners' continuous support, FOTODOK, Urbanautica Institute, European Cultural Centre, and Paris College of Art.
finalists
Stijn Terpstra
Eden Zornitser
Lisa Mazenauer
Charlotte Helwig
Joeri Boelhouwer
Remco de Vries
Benedetta Stefani
Hilda Nikita Yusman
Seppe Van Craywinkel
Saskia Kahn
Anna Bányász
Kush Kukreja
Patricia Rodas
Abdul Razzak Jauhar
Tanjimul Islam
Ramil Gilvanov
Jaka Teršek
María del Socorro Bairés
Mahboube Karamli
Denis Zezyukin
Ksenia Inverse
Cristian Arriagada Seguel
Manuel Alejandro Beltrán Zorro
Paula Bedoya
Jeremy John
Amukelani Shihangule
Ross Gardner
İlayda Akarca
Katie Angela Waite
Sophia-Talya Transky
special mentions
Santtu Laine
Beatrice Corsini
Anna Schlechter
Khanjana Mistry
Rhia Hylton
Eric Gallardo
Allen Thomas
Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor
Sarah Stone
Ronaldo Navarro
Charmaine de Heij
Ewa Pajewska
Jasper van den Ende
2021
For the new edition of Blurring the Lines it is an honor and a privilege to welcome Amak Mahmoodian as our guest curator and the winners of the 2020 edition, Ragna Arndt-Maric, Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, and Riti Sengupta, as well as the European Cultural Centre.
Beyond its unique way of making visual information, photography has become the universal medium through which image-makers raise essential questions on human ethics and responsibility. Since its invention, photography was a decisive factor in gestating and deploying a new way of observing, representing, and understanding reality and with it ourselves. For the 2021 edition, the theme « Ethical shifts in photography » aims to explore the power, the moral principles, and the responsibilities of photography in all its dimensions: the rights of privacy and publicity, cultural representation, appropriation, confidentiality, copyright, intellectual property, sustainability, ethics of wildlife, and nature photography, ethics in photojournalism, and accountability as well as the use of technology that started to challenge the landscape of ethics by doing things to photos without the viewer even being aware.
Ethics and photography are two terms that seem distant in the first instance: the first a foreshortening of philosophy, the second an activity sustained by a technological artifact. Photography can ask questions about the ethics of the world, but more likely, the world can ask questions about the ethics of photography. Faced with an overproduction of images by all means and possibilities, today more than ever is vital to distinguish what is significant and pertinent from what is purely aesthetic. This call brings to the fore the theme of the education and responsibility of seeing. To face a world where images dominate the stage, not only codes of ethics, quality standards but also critical reading and discernment skills are urgently needed.
For this edition, and among the 71 very high-quality projects coming from 39 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners, 33 finalists and 14 special mentions.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
2020
The 2020 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson, Lisanne van Happen & John Fleetwood. For this edition, and among the 151 very high-quality projects coming from 38 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners and 33 finalists.
The theme for the 5th edition of the call is “Commitment” as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc., or an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. The question of photography’s commitment to real-world issues and its relationship provides significant directives for promoting a social engagement from photographers, which is changing the photographic tool.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
2019
The 2019 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Lisanne van Happen.
For this edition, and among the 66 very high-quality projects coming from 19 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners and 22 finalists.
The 2019 edition of the Blurring the Lines does not betray expectations. The number of participating schools and works submitted is increasing, accordingly with the quality of the entire cultural proposal. The mission of this initiative, growing exponentially since its first edition in 2016, is to establish an area of observation, dialogue, and discussion on the subject of image-making. The diversity of schools reflects a variety of approaches to the visual medium, in a kaleidoscope of intentions and creative enthusiasm.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
2018
The 2018 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Lisanne van Happen.
The exhibition includes 22 projects coming from graduates connected to 17 art academies in 3 different continents of the world.
The third edition stood out through participation in the FotoFever fair during the ParisPhoto opening week. Also, the European Cultural Center step in as a new partner and hosted an installation of Blurring the Lines at Palazzo Mora during the Venice Biennale.
Finally, in collaboration with Urbanautica Institute, a catalog was published for the first time.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
2017
The 2017 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Rodrigo Orrantia.
17 projects from 9 schools have been selected to be showcased at Paris College of Art.
The call aimed to select and exhibited images that best communicate the expansion of modes of representation through photography. A change that indeed refers to the digitization and the frontiers of post-production, the contamination between different visual languages, the relationship between the availability of technology and new forms of expression. This explosion of the medium combined with an endemic proliferation of pervasive social media encourages us to reflect on the ethical consequences of image-making.
2016
The first edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & François Ronsiaux.
The program involved 3 universities and led to the creation of the first exhibition at Espace F15 of Paris College of Art, which combined the projects of 3 French artists (Dominique Clerc, Pierre Folk and Patrick Rimond) with a selection of 10 graduates' works. The exhibition focused on the expansion of the photographic language as a phenomenon affecting the ways in which we understand pictures, we discuss them and share their content. The splitting border between photography and images generate alternative spaces and new modes of interaction.
2022
Nowadays, thanks to the power of social media, we see a considerable amount of images that look alike. Either they are taken in the exact locations, have a similar visual narrative, or depict identical subjects. However, in the end, what makes the difference is the meaning that photographers tend to convey with their work. For the 2022 edition, the theme « The Meaning in the Making » aims to potentially distinguish "meaning in a photograph" from "meaning through photographing."
Making an image is an entirely different experience —it requires skill, knowledge, and the experience of knowing what you want from a setup before you even put the viewfinder up to your eye. The art of making images takes a life span to understand.
A photograph goes beyond what is depicted and points to what is suggested beyond the boundaries of the frame. The meaning delves into our minds to create meaningful work and explore our connection with the viewer. It is attained through narrative, storytelling, symbolism, and metaphor, leaving space for imagination and deeper audience engagement. In that sense, finding meaning in the making comes down to understanding ourselves: what we value, what we fear and how our experiences still inform our emotions and behavior today.
We received 174 exciting and engaged projects for the seventh edition from 44 schools and 31 countries. The curatorial team was honored to count with guest curator Sarker Protick and winners from last year’s edition, Irina Dmitrovskaya Cora Sun Yuting and Raúl Armando Jiménez Jiménez. The committee selected three winners and thirty finalists and awarded 13 special mentions. The latter will be included in the activities of the educational program throughout the year.
We thank the institutions and their talents for their participation and our partners' continuous support, FOTODOK, Urbanautica Institute, European Cultural Centre, and Paris College of Art.
finalists
Stijn Terpstra
Eden Zornitser
Lisa Mazenauer
Charlotte Helwig
Joeri Boelhouwer
Remco de Vries
Benedetta Stefani
Hilda Nikita Yusman
Seppe Van Craywinkel
Saskia Kahn
Anna Bányász
Kush Kukreja
Patricia Rodas
Abdul Razzak Jauhar
Tanjimul Islam
Ramil Gilvanov
Jaka Teršek
María del Socorro Bairés
Mahboube Karamli
Denis Zezyukin
Ksenia Inverse
Cristian Arriagada Seguel
Manuel Alejandro Beltrán Zorro
Paula Bedoya
Jeremy John
Amukelani Shihangule
Ross Gardner
İlayda Akarca
Katie Angela Waite
Sophia-Talya Transky
special mentions
Santtu Laine
Beatrice Corsini
Anna Schlechter
Khanjana Mistry
Rhia Hylton
Eric Gallardo
Allen Thomas
Kwadwo Amfo-Akonnor
Sarah Stone
Ronaldo Navarro
Charmaine de Heij
Ewa Pajewska
Jasper van den Ende
2021
For the new edition of Blurring the Lines it is an honor and a privilege to welcome Amak Mahmoodian as our guest curator and the winners of the 2020 edition, Ragna Arndt-Maric, Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, and Riti Sengupta, as well as the European Cultural Centre.
Beyond its unique way of making visual information, photography has become the universal medium through which image-makers raise essential questions on human ethics and responsibility. Since its invention, photography was a decisive factor in gestating and deploying a new way of observing, representing, and understanding reality and with it ourselves. For the 2021 edition, the theme « Ethical shifts in photography » aims to explore the power, the moral principles, and the responsibilities of photography in all its dimensions: the rights of privacy and publicity, cultural representation, appropriation, confidentiality, copyright, intellectual property, sustainability, ethics of wildlife, and nature photography, ethics in photojournalism, and accountability as well as the use of technology that started to challenge the landscape of ethics by doing things to photos without the viewer even being aware.
Ethics and photography are two terms that seem distant in the first instance: the first a foreshortening of philosophy, the second an activity sustained by a technological artifact. Photography can ask questions about the ethics of the world, but more likely, the world can ask questions about the ethics of photography. Faced with an overproduction of images by all means and possibilities, today more than ever is vital to distinguish what is significant and pertinent from what is purely aesthetic. This call brings to the fore the theme of the education and responsibility of seeing. To face a world where images dominate the stage, not only codes of ethics, quality standards but also critical reading and discernment skills are urgently needed.
For this edition, and among the 71 very high-quality projects coming from 39 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners, 33 finalists and 14 special mentions.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
finalists
Daniel Court
Mirre Wijnja
Rick van der Klooster
Dafna Amira
Vaghinak Ghazaryan
Pavo Marinovic
Antonia De Noronha
José Guilherme Costa
Hasan Sarbakshian
Pepijn Zuiderveld
Camilla Marrese
Nurul Sabrina Shahbuddin Elman
Suzannah Olanrewaju-Gabriel
Delovie Kwagala
Valentina Soto
Anna Gajewszky
Isha Gahlot
Rohini Bharti
Guy Glasberg
Shina Tser-Shiuan Peng
Nona Griffin
Tyler Dehaarte
Ilya Nikitin
Polina Rukavichkina
Assaf Hinden
So-Jung Yoon
Alex Harbich
Jana Rothe
Gemma Carosin
Ranji Mangcu
Austin Cullen
Olo Komenda
Milah van Zuilen
2020
The 2020 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson, Lisanne van Happen & John Fleetwood. For this edition, and among the 151 very high-quality projects coming from 38 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners and 33 finalists.
The theme for the 5th edition of the call is “Commitment” as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc., or an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. The question of photography’s commitment to real-world issues and its relationship provides significant directives for promoting a social engagement from photographers, which is changing the photographic tool.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
finalists
Silvy Amorim Crespo
Zoë Sluijs
Romain Roucoules
Lucas Pandolfo
Marco Loi
Hrafn Jónsson
Terna Jogo
Josephina van de Water
Max Arens
Lisbeth Luft
Daan Russcher
Evgeniia Koreshilova
Marina Istomina
Maxim Zmeyev
Natalia Davtyan
Leif Houllevigue
Kincső Bede
Juliette Alhmah
Marthe Buer
Alexandra Maldonado
Weronika Perłowska
Paolo García Nigrinis
Bianca Salvo
Eréndira Gómez Espinosa
Gabriela Elena Suárez
Alejandra Edwards
Katerina Voegtle
Tolga Akbaş
Siva Sai Jeevanantham
Oğulcan Arslan
Muhammad Nurhakim Ngatimin
Nadia Adler
Thero Makepe
2019
The 2019 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Lisanne van Happen.
For this edition, and among the 66 very high-quality projects coming from 19 participating photography schools worldwide, curators selected 3 winners and 22 finalists.
The 2019 edition of the Blurring the Lines does not betray expectations. The number of participating schools and works submitted is increasing, accordingly with the quality of the entire cultural proposal. The mission of this initiative, growing exponentially since its first edition in 2016, is to establish an area of observation, dialogue, and discussion on the subject of image-making. The diversity of schools reflects a variety of approaches to the visual medium, in a kaleidoscope of intentions and creative enthusiasm.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
finalists
Petri Juntunen
Jessica Bizzoni
Fleur Jakobs
Isa De Jong
Efrat Jacobovich
Arthur Lehmann
Dalia Hussein
Giselle Hinterholz
Gabriela Campos
Raquel Santos
Roberta Capaldi
Hjordis Eythorsdottir
Alexey Vasiliev
Elena Ovchinnikova
Ilka Pappenscheller
Merve Terzi
Julia Gat
Sofiya Pankevich
Frédérique Scholtes
Jonna Bruinsma
Boris Lutters
Tibor Dieters
2018
The 2018 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Lisanne van Happen.
The exhibition includes 22 projects coming from graduates connected to 17 art academies in 3 different continents of the world.
The third edition stood out through participation in the FotoFever fair during the ParisPhoto opening week. Also, the European Cultural Center step in as a new partner and hosted an installation of Blurring the Lines at Palazzo Mora during the Venice Biennale.
Finally, in collaboration with Urbanautica Institute, a catalog was published for the first time.
Purchase the catalogue ↗
Free digital version of the catalogue (PDF) ↗
2017
The 2017 edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & Rodrigo Orrantia.
17 projects from 9 schools have been selected to be showcased at Paris College of Art.
The call aimed to select and exhibited images that best communicate the expansion of modes of representation through photography. A change that indeed refers to the digitization and the frontiers of post-production, the contamination between different visual languages, the relationship between the availability of technology and new forms of expression. This explosion of the medium combined with an endemic proliferation of pervasive social media encourages us to reflect on the ethical consequences of image-making.
2016
The first edition of Blurring the lines was curated by Steve Bisson & François Ronsiaux.
The program involved 3 universities and led to the creation of the first exhibition at Espace F15 of Paris College of Art, which combined the projects of 3 French artists (Dominique Clerc, Pierre Folk and Patrick Rimond) with a selection of 10 graduates' works. The exhibition focused on the expansion of the photographic language as a phenomenon affecting the ways in which we understand pictures, we discuss them and share their content. The splitting border between photography and images generate alternative spaces and new modes of interaction.
BLURRING THE LINES
FOSTERING TALENT AND NETWORKING IN VISUAL CULTURE
Program Leader
Partners
BLURRING THE LINES
FOSTERING TALENT AND NETWORKING IN VISUAL CULTURE
Program Leader
Partners
Sponsors