Since 2004 the European Central Bank (ECB) has been holding an annual photography competition in which young photographers from the particular EU Member State being featured are invited to present their own vision of the country in which they live.
The winner of the first prize will be awarded the “ECB Annual Photography Award”. The competition is held as part of the “EUROPA CULTURAL DAYS of the European Central Bank”, which is this year devoted to Austria and organised in close cooperation with the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB). The theme of the 2006 competition is thus “Austria today”.
With this initiative the ECB intends, over time, to build up an impressive collection of photographic works which not only provide an insight into the photographic work of artists from the individual countries, but also combine to reflect Europe’s richness and cultural diversity, as seen through the eyes of young, emerging artists.
1. Theme
The theme of the 2006 competition will be "Austria today". The photographs submitted must have been taken in Austria. There are no restrictions with regard to the specific motifs or the content of the photographs submitted.
2. Eligibility requirements
The competition is open to photographers born in or after 1971. Photographers must either
a) be of Austrian nationality or
b) have been living and working in Austria since at least 1996.
3. Structure of the competition
The competition will take place in two stages:
- First stage: A jury will draw up a shortlist of ten participants from among participants fulfilling the entry requirements.
- Second stage: The jury will select the prize winners from among the ten shortlisted participants.
4. Award ceremony and exhibition
The works of participants in the second stage will be exhibited in Frankfurt am Main as part of the 2006 Cultural Days programme. The award ceremony and the opening of the exhibition will take place in October 2006 in Frankfurt am Main. The exhibition will run until mid-November 2006 and may subsequently also be shown elsewhere. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue in both English and German.
5. Photographs to be submitted
Artists may submit a portfolio of five to eight digital or analogue photographs, in either colour or black and white. These may be digitally reworked.
Photographs must be submitted as paper or computer prints. The images must be no smaller than
24 x 30 cm and no larger than 30 x 40 cm.
Photographs must have been taken after 31 December 2003. Photographs already having won an award in an artistic or photographic competition may not be submitted.
The name of the artist must appear on the back of each photograph.
6.Accompanying material to be submitted
- Technical information on the photographs submitted (titles of works, the year they were taken, technique(s) and materials used, etc.).
- Short description (of no more than 300 words) of the works and underlying concept, indicating the link between the works submitted and the given theme.
- Curriculum vitae (of no more than 300 words) and a recent photograph of the artist.
- Completed and signed application form (see attached application form).
7. Closing date
The above-mentioned photographs and accompanying material must be submitted by 7 July 2006 to:
Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Photography Competition “Austria today”
Postfach 61
A-1011 Wien
Late entries will not be considered.
The ECB and the OeNB will not be liable for any damage arising in the course of submission.
Photographs and accompanying material submitted by participants who are not shortlisted will be returned to them at the end of 2006. In the case of those whose works are exhibited, the photographs and accompanying material will remain with the ECB until the end of the exhibition(s), whereupon they will, upon request, be returned.
8. Jury
The jury will consist of up to five persons internationally renowned in the field of photography. The ECB and the OeNB will each send one observer.
9. Awards
The jury will award the following prizes:
- First prize: €4,000
- Second prize: €2,000
- Third prize: €1,000
The jury will select the short-listed participants and prize winners by majority vote.
The jury reserves the right to change the number of short-listed participants; it also reserves the right to decide not to award prizes.
The verdict of the jury is final.
10. Exhibition
The participants in the second phase shall grant the ECB and the OeNB the right, for a period of two years after the end of the second stage of the competition, to display the works submitted in light boxes on the premises of either the ECB or third parties. This will not entail any cost for competition participants.
11. Copyright
- The short-listed artists shall grant the ECB and the OeNB for a period of two years after the end of the competition the right to reproduce, distribute and otherwise use the works in the following manner:
- reproduction including without being limited to print uses, including periodical publications (such as annual reports and monthly bulletins, etc.) and any other publications (such as brochures, editorials, book covers, paper series); this right shall also comprise exploitation of the works for ECB publications; and
- distribution including without being limited to leasing or gratuitous loan, on websites, in multimedia presentations, electronic journals, on CD-ROMs, DVDs and all currently known comparable forms of data carriers, database and archival storage in analogue, digital or electronic form, provided that the images of the works are clearly not intended to be reproduced for commercial purposes. This includes the right to crop and/or adapt the images of the works to a given format;
- public communication including without being limited to any media platforms, websites, the internet and the ECB’s intranet, provided that the images of the works are clearly not intended to be downloaded for commercial purposes; and
- broadcasting for transmission including without being limited to television broadcasting and live streaming via the internet and other media platforms.
- The prize winners shall grant the ECB the transferable, irrevocable, geographically unlimited and infinite right to reproduce, distribute, exhibit, present, communicate to the public, broadcast and otherwise use the work without any limitation in time in the following manner:
- reproduction including without being limited to print uses, including periodical publications (such as annual reports and monthly bulletins etc.) and any other publications (such as brochures, editorials, book covers, paper series); this right shall also comprise exploitation of the works for ECB publications; and
- distribution including without being limited to leasing or gratuitous loan, on websites, multimedia presentations, electronic journals, CD-ROMs, DVDs and all currently known comparable forms of data carriers, database and archival storage in analogue, digital or electronic form provided that the images of the work are clearly not intended to be reproduced for commercial purposes. This includes the right to crop and/or adapt the images of the works to a given format; and
- public communication including without being limited to any media platforms, websites, the Internet as well as the ECB’s intranet provided that the images of the works are clearly not intended to be downloaded for commercial purposes; and
- broadcasting for transmission including without being limited to television broadcasting and live streaming through the Internet and other media platforms.
- The awarded prizes shall include any licence fees or royalties for the use of the photographs in the above mentioned manner.
- When reproducing the works the ECB and the OeNB shall indicate the artist’s name and the title of the work.
- Each participant guarantees that the works submitted are his/her original creations and that he/she is the copyright owner of these works.
11. Contact
In case of any queries please contact: