The Photographer’s Gallery (TPG) in Soho has announced an open call for its Small File Photography Festival—and everyone is free to enter. 

The festival promotes alternatives to high tech photorealistic aesthetics, aiming to encourage experimentation on different digital image formats and their unique visual qualities. 

The theme is connected to the research of Marloes de Valk, PhD researcher of a programme by TPG and the Centre for the Study of the Networked Image, on the ecological impact of the networked image.

Small and low resolution files can reduce the global CO2 emissions from digital media, while also contributing to the diversity of visual culture, according to TPG. 

The festival questions the endless aspiration for higher resolutions, and will continue to support the joy of tiny images and large pixels. 

TPG stated: “We are demanding—unleash creative r/evolution! We are demanding—destroy the large-file clichés of thinking that prevent us from imaging a world otherwise!” 

The Small File Photography Festival is taking place between 27th -28th January 2023, with the open call closing on 4th January. 

There are three categories to enter:

• Dress to Compress: photograph of up to 100 Kb, along with the tools used and the steps taken to compress it.
• Small is Beautiful: photograph taken with a camera that automatically creates small-sized files. 
• Show Me The Pixels: an image of up to 100 Kb using any visually fascinating compression process, such as dither-punk, pixel art, or any other image processing effects like glitching, ASCII or halftone.

The prizes for the winning entries include a trophy, an online exhibition, and a one year membership to TPG, worth £50.

TPG is one of the UK’s greatest centres for presenting and exploring photography in all forms, while also providing a home to an international community of photographers. The Gallery is open seven days a week, presenting a variety of exhibitions, events, talks, workshops and courses. Their specialist bookshop/cafe offers a space for the discovery and sale of photographic prints.

Enter the Open Call for the Small File Photography Festival.

Words: Anna Kamocsai | Subbing: Rui Liang