.

Seen Before, Seen Again: Philippine Photography Across Time articulates photography as a practice of sustained inquiry, one that revisits images, places, and histories rather than glossing over or replacing them. The title reflects this edition’s core methodology of pairing historical photographs with contemporary responses, foregrounding photography’s dual role as witness and interpreter across time.

In the Philippine context, where photographic history is dispersed across family albums, vernacular archives, and institutional collections, the act of “seeing again” becomes a critical gesture that reactivates memory and reveals social, environmental, and cultural change.

As the world celebrates the first 200 years of this medium we call photography, it is a moment to reflect on shared histories: on photography’s deep affinity with time, and its power to mediate — even transform — our understanding of reality.

For its fourth edition, Fotomoto frames repetition, duration, and re-examination as acts of reckoning, affirming the medium’s capacity to connect past and present while remaining open to reinterpretation in the future.

SUBMIT HERE

.

ABOUT THE OPEN CALL

FotomotoPH’s 4th Open Call is a photography project rooted in Philippine history and memory. It invites people to look at images from the past, and respond to them by creating new photographs. The project asks a simple but powerful question: What happens when we revisit a place, person, or moment again, many years later? How can photography be a process of reexamination?

WHO MAY SUBMIT

Seen Before, Seen Again is open to everyone aged 18 and above: professional photographers, hobbyists, students, and anyone with a curiosity about images and time.

As FotomotoPH is dedicated to Philippine photography, all submitted works must have a clear and verifiable connection to the Philippines. Both Filipino and non-Filipino photographers are welcome to submit. If you are not Filipino but your photographs were taken in the Philippines, this is considered sufficient Philippine context.

The photographer must be the author of all images submitted under their name.

WHAT TO SUBMIT

Participants are invited to submit two images or sets of images:

  1. Before: One or more historical photographs taken at least 25 years ago (2001 or earlier), from a family album, archive, book, or publication
  2. After: One or more contemporary photographs that revisit or respond to the historical image or set, up to a maximum of five (5) images

Placed side by side, these juxtapositions may surface environmental changes, urban growth, migration stories, family histories, cultural shifts, political echoes, and the textures of everyday life across generations.

Submissions may take one of two forms:

  1. A pair or diptych: one historical image directly responded to by one contemporary image
  2. A set: a group of related historical and contemporary images that together form a coherent dialogue

WHAT COUNTS AS A PHOTOGRAPH

For the purposes of this open call, a photograph is defined as any image made through the action of light on a light-sensitive medium. This medium may be chemical (film, paper, photographic plate) or electronic, such as a digital camera sensor. The use or absence of a camera, lens, or shutter is not a determining factor. What matters is that a light-sensitive medium was exposed to light, resulting in an image.

The image may be post-processed, and elements may be added, subtracted, or transformed. As long as the photographic image remains the dominant visual element, it remains a photograph.

Images with no light-sensitive medium at their basis, including those generated entirely by computer or AI tools, are not photographs by this definition, and are therefore not eligible for submission.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Exact visual replication is not required. There is no single correct response to this open call.

A submission might be as intimate as a grandmother’s portrait set beside one taken in the same chair today, as deliberate as seeking out the contemporary equivalent of an archival image, or as expansive as a landscape photographed across decades of environmental change. It may be documentary in instinct or conceptual in approach, driven by personal memory, historical research, advocacy, sheer curiosity, or quiet observation.

What matters is that the two images — or sets of images — speak to each other. How they converse is the challenge to you. We ask only that the contemporary work is made with intention, and that the historical image is handled with care and context. The strength of a submission lies not in technical perfection, but in the quality of the dialogue between past and present.

Submissions will be evaluated on the strength of the relationship between images, the clarity and thoughtfulness of context provided, the ethical handling of sources and subjects, and the conceptual insight into time, change, and what photography makes visible. Technical perfection is not the primary criterion.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Key dates

  1. Submissions open: 23 March 2026
  2. Submissions close: 17 July 2026 (11:59 PM Philippine Standard Time)
  3. Announcement of selected works: November 2026

FEES

Each submission consists of one (1) Before component and one (1) After component.

  1. Historical image/s (Before component): No charge
  2. Contemporary image/s (After component): PHP 600 (flat fee, up to five (5) images).

The submission fee covers file management, storage, and security. Payment of the submission fee does not guarantee selection or exhibition.

Participants may submit multiple entries. Each submission is charged independently at PHP 600.

FEE WAIVER

If the submission fee is a barrier, please let us know. We do not want the cost to stand in the way of participation. Write to us at exhibitions@fotomoto.ph before submitting, and include a brief note stating your reason for requesting a waiver.

By submitting, you confirm:

  1. That you have secured the rights to use the historical image/s in your Before component, or have verified that they are in the public domain or freely available for use with proper attribution
  2. That the contemporary image/s in your After component are your own work and that you hold the rights to them
  3. That FotomotoPH has the right to exhibit and reproduce your submitted work for purposes related to this open call and its exhibitions

WHAT TO PREPARE

Alongside your images, we ask for some basic information about each component. This helps us understand the context of your work and ensures that historical images are properly credited.

For your Before component:

  1. Source of the image (family album, archive, book, publication, etc.)
  2. Photographer’s name, if known
  3. Year or approximate date
  4. Location (city/town, province, country)
  5. A short description of what the image shows

For your After component:

  1. Date taken
  2. Location
  3. A short note on how it responds to the historical image.

All captions and descriptions must be written in English or Filipino.

FILE NAMING

Please name your files as follows:

  1. Before component: ArtistName_Title_B_01.jpg
  2. After component: ArtistName_Title_A_01.jpg

If submitting a set of images, continue numbering: _02, _03, and so on.

FILE REQUIREMENTS

  1. Accepted formats: BOTH JPEG and TIFF files must be uploaded.
  2. Minimum: 16 megapixels at 300 DPI
  3. Black and white or color images are both accepted

A NOTE ON ETHICS

Photography carries responsibility — especially when working with images of real people, communities, and histories. We ask that all participants handle historical images with care: crediting sources where known, and approaching images of vulnerable subjects, children, and sensitive cultural practices with particular thoughtfulness and respect. How we use images says as much about us as the images themselves.

This open call is not only about making images. It is about learning how images are made, circulated, and remembered. Photography is not just an artistic output but a shared cultural record, one that carries responsibility across generations. By asking participants to credit sources, provide context, and reflect on how they handle images, FotomotoPH hopes to foster a culture of visual literacy, accountability, and ultimately, responsible creative agency.

Once your submission has been received, you will get a confirmation email. All participants will be notified of the results by November 2026. If your work is selected, you will receive a private email with further details, followed by a contract outlining the terms of participation.

Fotomoto Open Call invites participants to create a meaningful dialogue between the past and the present through photography. Submissions must consist of images reflecting time, memory, and change.

SUBMIT HERE

ADDITIONAL FAQs

LEARN MORE

On eligibility

  • Do I need to be a professional photographer to join? Not at all. This open call is open to everyone: photographers, students, hobbyists, and anyone with a curiosity about images and time.
  • Is this open to international participants? Yes. Submissions are welcome from both Filipino and non-Filipino photographers, provided the work has a clear and verifiable connection to the Philippines. If you are not Filipino but your photographs were taken in the Philippines, this is considered sufficient Philippine context.
  • May I submit as a pair, group or collective? Submissions are accepted from individuals only for this edition. Each submission must be made under the name of the photographer who authored the work.
  • Is there an age requirement? Yes. Submissions are open to participants aged 18 and above.

On the images

  • Where can I find historical photographs? Family albums are a good place to start. You may also find images in community archives, libraries, published books, newspapers, or online collections. If you’re unsure whether an image is available for use, check its source.
  • What if I don't know who took the historical photograph? Please make every effort to trace the source. Check the back of a print, ask the person or institution you sourced it from, or research the publication it came from. If, after diligent effort, the photographer remains unknown, indicate this clearly in your submission along with everything else you do know: where the image came from, when it was taken, and what it shows. Transparency and effort matter more than a complete record.
  • May I use an image I found online? Yes, provided you can verify that it is in the public domain or freely available for use with proper attribution. If in doubt, err on the side of caution, and make sure to credit the source fully in your submission.
  • How old does my historical image need to be? The historical image must have been taken at least 25 years ago — that is, in the year 2001 or earlier. What matters beyond this minimum is that the gap in time is meaningful: enough for change to be visible, felt, or reflected upon.
  • Does my contemporary photograph need to be taken in the same location as the historical one? No. Your After component may revisit the same place, or it may respond to the historical image in a more interpretive way. What matters is that the two images speak to each other meaningfully.
  • May I submit black and white images? Yes. Black and white or color images are both accepted for both components.
  • May I submit film photographs? Yes, provided they meet the minimum resolution requirements when scanned.

On the submission

  • May I submit more than one entry? Yes, participants may submit multiple entries. Each submission is charged independently at PHP 600. Each entry may contain up to five (5) images in the After component, depending on your approach and the nature of your response.
  • Can my Before component have more images than my After component, or vice versa? Yes. The Before component may contain one or more images. The After component may contain one or more images, up to a maximum of five. What matters is that the two components form a coherent dialogue.
  • What is the difference between a pair and a set? A pair or diptych consists of one historical image directly responded to by one contemporary image. A set consists of multiple related historical and contemporary images that together form a coherent dialogue. Both are valid forms of submission; the choice depends on your subject and approach.
  • What counts as a “series”? A series is a group of related images submitted as a single component. For example, a set of photographs of the same street taken over several years, or multiple images exploring the same subject or theme. What holds a series together is a coherent line of inquiry, not necessarily a single location or moment. Formally disjunctive or fragmented submissions are welcome, provided the artistic intent is clearly articulated in your accompanying description.
  • May I submit work I’ve already shown or published elsewhere? Work submitted to the open call must be unpublished and not yet exhibited in galleries or art spaces.

On AI and editing

  • What counts as AI-generated? Any image produced entirely through AI tools (text-to-image generation, generative prompts, or synthetic scenes) involves no light-sensitive medium and therefore does not qualify as a photograph under the terms of this open call. Such submissions will be disqualified. If AI tools were used in post-processing but the basis of the image is photographic, disclose this fully in your accompanying description and we will evaluate it accordingly.
  • How much editing is allowed? Basic editing is allowed: cropping, color correction, contrast adjustment, and dust removal. Any use of AI tools in post-processing must be clearly disclosed in your submission.

On ethics and rights

  • What if I can’t trace the owner of a historical photograph? Do your best to identify the source and credit it as fully as possible. If the photographer or owner is unknown, state this clearly. Transparency is what we ask for, not perfection.
  • What does “public domain” mean in practice? In the Philippines, photographs are generally protected by copyright for the whole lifetime of the author plus 50 years. After that period, they enter the public domain and may be used freely with proper attribution, unless other rules apply. Images whose copyright has been explicitly waived or licensed for public use by the owner are also freely usable. For reference, consult the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.

If you are working with images less than 50 years old, make every effort to identify and contact the rights holder. If the source is an institution, check their terms of use. When in doubt, credit fully and disclose the source in your submission.

  • What rights does FotomotoPH have over my submitted work? By submitting, you grant FotomotoPH the right to exhibit and reproduce your work for purposes related to this open call and its exhibitions. You retain ownership of your images.

On fees and waivers

  • How do I apply for a fee waiver? Write to us at exhibitions@fotomoto.ph before submitting. We do not want cost to stand in the way of participation. Please include a brief note stating your reason for requesting a waiver and we will do our best to accommodate you.
  • Is the fee per image or per submission? The fee is per submission. Each submission consists of one Before component and one After component. The fee is a flat PHP 600 per submission, covering up to five images in the After component. The Before component carries no charge.

On selection and exhibition

  • Who are the judges? See our list of jury members here: Selection Jury .
  • How will I know if my work is selected? All participants will be notified by November 2026. Selections will be announced on our social media pages, and selected participants will receive a private email with further details.
  • What happens to selected works? Selected works will be exhibited in major museums and cultural spaces across the Philippines, with the possibility of travel to additional venues around the country. Selected participants will be included in the FotomotoPH Book, a publication documenting this edition of the open call. FotomotoPH will be in touch with selected participants regarding a contract outlining the terms of participation.