Flash Forward 2011

The Magenta Foundation have announced Year Seven of its Emerging Photographers exchange.

This is an open call for submissions.

All photographers in Canada, the UK and the US 34 years of age and under may submit. All submission requirements and instructions are located on their website but we´ve also listed them below.

Jurors for 2011:

Canada:
Julien Beaupré Ste-Marie, Photo Editor, enRoute Magazine
Erin Elder, Manager, Business Development, Digital Media, The Globe and Mail
Robyn McCallum, Bau-Xi Photo Gallery, Toronto

UK:
Diane Smyth, British Journal of Photography, London
Harry Hardie, Director, HOST Gallery
Bruno Ceschel, Founder, Self Publish, Be Happy
Aaron Schuman, Director and Editor, Seesaw Magazine

US:
Andy Adams, Editor and Publisher, Flak Photo
Shane Lavalette, Photographer and Publisher/Editor, Lay Flat

Competition Prizing:
The Bright Spark Award winner will receive $5,000.

As in the past, all competition Winners and Honourable Mentions will be published in a high quality catalogue. Along with being published, select 2011 Flash Forward Winners will be featured in a touring exhibition.

In January 2011, a significant additional component will be announced to complement the program’s alternate festival years. Stay tuned and sign up for their newsletter.

Submission Deadline:
Submissions open on Wednesday 20 October, 2010 and close on Friday 31 December, 2010.

Submission Fees:
Canada: $50
USA: $50
UK: £30

Guidelines for Submissions:
Submissions are easy, but please read all guidelines before submitting. Here's what you will need to submit:

1. Up to 10 digital images of your work (if you would prefer to submit fewer, that's fine too):

Resolution: low (72 dpi)

Format: .jpg, .gif or .png only. Please be aware that your files will be viewed by the jurors on the web, and if you submit files in .tif, .psd or other non-web-viewable formats, they will not be visible and you will be disqualified.

Size: 700 pixels on the longest side, and a file size NO larger than 500 kb.

The caption/title, medium and dimensions for each image you intend to submit, including English translations if the captions are not in English. These do not need to be directly attached to the image file in any way - the image upload form provides fields for filling this information in.

Please choose the images that you submit from a concise body of work which you feel best represents the style you work within.

2. An artist's statement regarding your work.

3. A brief one-paragraph bio suitable for use in a book or exhibition catalogue.

4. A complete CV (curriculum vitae) focussing on your artistic career.
Your complete contact information, including address, phone number, e-mail, web address if any, etc.

Go to their website to fully familiarise yourself with their guidelines and why not begin your submission today?

Elliot Wilcox

All images © Elliot Wilcox

Wow! There really is some exciting work landing in the submissions inbox nowadays! Firstly, let me just take the opportunity to thank you all for everyday I get more and more spoiled by the sheer volume and quality of artwork that comes my way. Thank you for satisfying my hungry eyes, but also for making me relish more.

Elliott Wilcox is the latest artist whose work has truly captivated my attention. Wilcox is a London based, British photographer who is currently studying at the University of Westminster, MA Photographic Studies. He graduated from the University of Wales, Newport with a BA in Photographic Art in 2008. He has been the recipient of several awards including a Judges Award at the Nikon Discovery Awards and a New York Photo Award in 2009. Elliott recently won a prestigious Lucie Award for the Discovery of the Year at the International Photography Awards. 

Elliott has exhibited internationally and in the UK, his work was part of Singapore’s first International Photography Festival and selected for both Catalyst Arts Belfast and the Crane Kalman Gallery Brighton’s Graduate showcase exhibitions. His work was part of the recent show PRUNE – Abstracting Reality at FOAM Gallery Amsterdam guest curator Kathy Ryan, editor of the New York Times Magazine.
 
His work is featured in the Magenta Foundation’s latest publication on the future of photography, focusing on emerging talent, Flash Forward - Emerging Photographers 2009, The New York Photography Festival and in the New York Photo Awards Annual 2009. Elliott is also featured in FOAM magazine’s Talent issue and FOAM Gallery’s 2010 Annual. 

Wilcox has also been a part of the BBC’s latest Documentary – School of Saatchi. His work beat thousands of applicants to be in the last 10 artists involved in the show. Elliott was the only photographic artist to make it through to the final stages, a testament to the quality of his photographic works. 

The images showcased here are taken from his fantastic project Courts. The work "examines representations of the enclosed spaces of sports courts. In photographing the empty courts, absent of the fast paced action we are so familiar with, these environments reveal themselves in a new light."

"The camera shows details that the viewer can see closely, revealing many subtleties that usually go unnoticed. The vivid stains, ball marks, blood and scratches force the viewer to focus on these details rather than just the court."

"The courts have one single use – a ball game, with all their complicated rules and regulations. These normally sub conscious spaces become alive. Much like a gallery space is missed to the artwork, the space of these courts is missed to the sport. These large format images are slow and deliberate. The non-judgemental image creates an experience to explore, a path to revealing the unnoticed and exposing the unexposed, consequently romanticising the courts."

Forthcoming projects for 2010 include an artist run exhibition featuring works from artists affiliated with MurmurArt which is set to run in autumn 2010. Later this year Wilcox is planning to exhibit Courts in his first ever solo show in London. In the meanwhile, he says he "hopes to continue developing his photographic practice and pushing the boundaries of his medium."