Open Call: Hello Stranger

As the new neighbours on Allerstraße, we're looking for photographic works for our first group exhibition at műSpace – our very first exhibition – that engage with neighbourhood in its different forms: personal or political, everyday or abstract, documentary or staged.

We're seeking images that tell stories about closeness and distance, encounters and boundaries, community and conflict. What does it mean to be connected with other people, places or living beings? How do relationships form – and where do we draw lines?

About the theme

Neighbourhood begins where people, things, ecosystems or places meet. Sometimes just for a moment, sometimes over many years. It emerges at borders and transitions: at the garden fence, in the stairwell, at the front door or on the shared pavement.

There, you encounter one another, strike up conversations, borrow tools or sugar, accept packages or water plants. Neighbourhood can create closeness. Out of it grow friendships, communities and networks of mutual support.

Yet neighbourhood also knows conflict. Boundaries can connect or divide. They raise questions: Who belongs? Who stays, who must go? Where does one's own freedom end – and where does another's begin?

Who can participate?

The open call is open to everyone who works with photography and is 18 years or older – regardless of training, experience or professional background. The open call is international and welcomes photographers regardless of where they live.

Participation is free.

What can be submitted?

You can submit:

• a single image or
• up to five images from a related photographic series

From the selected works, one image from each will be shown in the exhibition.

What do selected artists get?

• Your work is part of the opening exhibition at műSpace, our space for photography, running from 24 October – 19 December 2026
• Your image will be printed free of charge on our photo plotter which you can take home after the exhibition ends
• Credit on the website (permanently available even after the exhibition)
• Social media announcement of selected works before the exhibition opens

Application

For your application, we need:

• up to five images from a series or a single image
• a brief artist's biography
• a description of your submitted work and its connection to the theme of neighbourhood (max. 1,000 characters including spaces)

Technical requirements for images

• Format: JPEG (.jpg)
• Colour space: sRGB
• Image size: long side minimum 1920 px
• File size: maximum 5 MB per image
• File name: Surname_TitleofWork_01 (e.g. Smithson_Mechanism_01)

AI-generated images or AI elements within your submitted work must be clearly identified in your concept description.

Please avoid watermarks or additional text elements that are not part of the work itself.

Selection

The application phase runs until 27 September 2026, 23:59 CET.

The selection of works is made by Milena Carstens, Photo Editor of ZEITMagazin, and the team of műSpace.

The selection will be announced on 8 October 2026.

Production

We print your photos on a professional photo plotter.

We have a small selection of frames available. Not every photo will be provided with a frame. If you have already had your selected photo printed with the appropriate framing, we’ll be happy to borrow it.

About the Exhibition

»Hello Stranger« is the first exhibition at the newly opened műSpace. We look forward to showing different photographic perspectives, talking with you and celebrating the opening together.

The exhibition opens on 24 October 2026 and runs until 19 December 2026.

Contact

For any questions, reach us at: space@mue.berlin