After protests, MiBACT changes disputed call for photographers: no longer free, but 2,000 euros each

There had been strong protests over the Refocus call, the photo call launched by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to collect works by young photographers working on the theme of restrictive measures in Italian cities during the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic. The contest, in fact, did not provide any compensation for the winners, and this had led a group of 125 cultural professionals (photographers, artists, photo editors, immmage professionals, curators, journalists) to write a letter of objection against the Ministry, signed by leading associations and galleries in the field.

MiBACT, in the wake of the protest, has now changed its mind about the call (which also involves the Milan Triennale and MUFOCO - Museum of Contemporary Photography in Milan) and introduced some novelties, first of all the economic recognition of 2,000 euros for each of the twenty selected authors, gross of VAT and tax and social security withholdings, as consideration for the transfer of the rights to use the images for online and/or print publication. In addition, the call has been extended to June 10, 2020, and there is also an opportunity for those who had already submitted material to supplement or resubmit a new proposal within the deadline.

In the supplement to the call, which has been posted on the official website of the Directorate General for Contemporary Creativity (DGCC), it is specified that the call is open to photographers, artists, and visual researchers (over the age of 18 and under 40 on the date of the call deadline), and that the evaluation committee will be composed of a representative of the DGCC and a representative of the Triennale or MUFOCO and three renowned experts in the field of contemporary culture, chosen jointly with the project partners.

The DGCC also wants to specify that “the call aims to support the cultural production and activity of artists, emphasizing their fundamental role within society, and to establish a visual archive linked to the public and collective memory connected to this unrepeatable historical moment.” To this end, there will be further initiatives in collaboration with the Triennale and MUFOCO, starting with an exhibition of the works selected from the call, which will be held at the Milan Triennale in 2021. The production of the works will be borne by DGCC, and the mode of presentation will be agreed with the authors and the scientific direction of the project. In addition, a selection of the produced works, made in agreement with the individual authors, may be acquired and become part of the MUFOCO collections at the conclusion of the whole project.

"The revision of Refocus,“ the DGCC explains, ”became necessary as a result of careful consideration of the many comments received from associations and photographers. The important contribution of the sector acted as a driving force and an accelerator for the evolution of the project, which, moreover, was already foreseen in the call for proposals itself. The DG Contemporary Creativity, whose institutional mission is aimed primarily at the enhancement, promotion and support of contemporary creativity, considers it its duty to listen to the solicitations coming from the sector with a view to an open and constructive dialogue, consequently giving a concrete response, in full respect of the professionalism of those working in the field of visual arts and photography and in the awareness of the difficult situation in which the cultural system as a whole finds itself, even more so in these weeks of health emergency."

After protests, MiBACT changes disputed call for photographers: no longer free, but 2,000 euros each

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