SEE DJERBA is a vibrant initiative that brings people together to create impactful public art projects rooted in the unique settings of Djerba. By fostering the creativity and collective energy of residents, artists, and collaborators, SEE DJERBA transforms shared spaces into platforms for contemporary art and culture.

Through hands-on projects that utilize elemental materials like water and earth, the initiative not only celebrates Djerba’s natural heritage but also strengthens community bonds and inspires innovative approaches to sustainability within the local context. The media art projects transform the streets and historic sites of Houmt Souk into a public gallery, where installations, projections, and site-specific works invite visitors to explore and engage with contemporary art. By bringing together local and international artists, this year’s SEE DJERBA aims to spark critical reflection and inspire creative action, both online and on-site, in parallel.

SEE DJERBA invites artists, photographers, and creators to participate in the Instagram Project for the 2025 edition, dedicated to the theme “Water & Earth.” This year’s edition continues the festival’s tradition of examining urgent ecological and social questions through contemporary art, following previous explorations of “Water & Salt” and “Flow (Water Matters)”.

The Instagram Project: Call for Projects

At the heart of SEE DJERBA 2025 is a dual focus on water and earth. The call is open to all proposals that reflect on water and earth as subjects in contemporary art, whether as material or as metaphor for exploring aesthetic or ecological, cultural, and political questions.

#water
We will highlight artworks that experiment with the material properties of water or earth, exploring their physical, symbolic, and ecological dimensions through innovative artistic approaches. If you find new visual approaches by fathoming water’s fluidity, transparency, reflectivity, and transformative qualities, this call is for you.

#earth
If you engage with soil, clay, sand, or sediment to reflect on land use, memory, sustainability, and the impact of human activity on landscapes, we will be happy to hear from you.

#challenges
We will promote artworks that engage with these elements to address urgent issues such as climate change, resource extraction, and the transformation of landscapes under human impact.

#local realities
We would also like to see proposals that explore the profound relationship between Djerba’s natural elements and its cultural identity. The island’s unique Mediterranean ecosystem, shaped by limited resources, a dry climate, and ongoing human impact, faces urgent challenges: water scarcity, coastal erosion, and environmental pressures from tourism and urbanization. Your work could reflect on these realities, examining how communities have adapted, the symbolism and politics of water, the memory and transformation of land, and the need for sustainable futures.

14 — 16 AUG 2026 Houmt Souk/Djerba and Online

All selected projects will be presented both online (on the web and Instagram) and in the streets of Houmt Souk, creating a dynamic dialogue between digital and physical spaces, by projecting contemporary visual works in the historic Medina, an urban landscape shaped by centuries of culture and tradition. With these “mixed realities”, we aim to highlight the contrast between the enduring textures of public spaces and the rapidly evolving visual languages of social media.

Submission Format

All visual media that can be projected (photography, video, digital art, animation, etc.)
Format: 4:5 aspect ratio (1080 x 1350 pixels, Full HD resolution)
Projects must be suitable for outdoor projection in the Medina of Houmt Souk.

How to Apply

Publish your artistic proposal on your Instagram account in 4:5 format.
Tag SEE DJERBA and invite us to collaborate. Once the jury approves your project, you will be contacted for the final file submission.

Submission Guidelines

The call is open to artists working in photography, video, digital art, new media, and related fields. International participation is welcome; both solo and group submissions are accepted. Works should engage deeply with the theme “Water & Earth,” demonstrating conceptual depth, aesthetic quality, originality, or site-specific relevance. Collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches are encouraged.

Selection Criteria

The jury will feature proposals that show conceptual strength and relevance to the theme, aesthetic quality and originality, and technical feasibility for projection. Sensitivity to site and context will be respected.

Jury

The SEE DJERBA Curatorial Collective, including the artistic directors Aymen Gharbi and Bettina Pelz, and also Fairouz Nouri, Johanna Baumgart, and Khadouja Tamzini from the MOMENTUM CURATORIAL PROGRAM.

Timeline

Info Session: 10 July 2025, 6:00–7:00 PM (online)
Submission Deadline: 31 JUL 2025
Project Submission (final files): 10 AUG 2025
Exhibition: 14–16 August 2025, Houmt Souk, Djerba

Display & Documentation

Selected works will be projected outdoors in the Medina of Houmt Souk, contrasting the historic urban setting with innovative social media language.
High-resolution image documentation will be provided for all exhibited works.

Funding & Fees

No financial support or participation fee is provided.

Contact

For further information, technical requirements, or to access the image pool, contact asslema()seedjerba.net

SEE DJERBA is a community-driven initiative dedicated to promoting environmental awareness, reducing waste, and fostering innovative forms of cooperation through public art. SEE DJERBA invites artists, researchers, and creative practitioners worldwide to participate in the SEE DJERBA Photo Project, a collective reflection on Djerba’s natural and cultural heritage through the lens of historic and vintage photography.

The land of Djerba is both a foundation and a living archive. It holds the traces of ancient settlements, agricultural practices, and the ongoing negotiation between tradition and change. Earth as a material connects to questions of heritage, sustainability, and belonging. Artists may explore how land is shaped, cultivated, divided, and remembered, as well as how environmental pressures threaten it.

With the Photo Project, we aim to foster new perspectives, encouraging a sense of exploration and discovery that transcends clichés and familiar narratives. Djerba’s unique position in the Mediterranean has shaped its history, settlement patterns, and ways of life. For centuries, communities on the island have adapted to a semi-arid environment, developing ingenious systems to manage scarce water resources and cultivate the earth. This symbiotic relationship between people, water, and land has given rise to a distinctive cultural landscape, as reflected in the island’s architecture, agriculture, and social organization. As both a life-sustaining resource and a source of ecological tension, water on Djerba is precious and contested. The island faces increasing water stress due to climate change, population growth, and tourism. Recent solutions, such as seawater desalination, raise new ecological and social questions. Artists are invited to reflect on the material, symbolic, and political dimensions of water—its scarcity, its abundance, its role in ritual and daily life, and its impact on the island’s future.

We are seeking artistic interventions that utilize historic and vintage photographs from Djerba as a source for new artistic reflections. We are interested in creative practices that use photography and film as artistic media, transcending the well-known clichés and the often-repeated images and stories.

Vintage Resources

Participants may use any vintage photographic materials.
Please ensure that all images are free of royalty conflicts.
If you need assistance to find amterials, please contact us asslema()seedjerba.net

Participation

Open to all interested in contributing to a collective exploration of Djerba’s heritage, where ecological, socio-cultural, and aesthetic layers intersect. We are welcoming both emerging and established artists, as well as collaborative and interdisciplinary projects.

Formats

Artworks can be submitted as
— Prints (must be provided in printed version)
— Analog slides (for display with slide or overhead projectors, slides must be provided)
— Digital images (for screen display or projection)

Submission Guidelines

Submit media artworks that can be presented as prints, slides, or digital projections. Works should engage with the outlined themes and demonstrate conceptual depth, aesthetic quality, uniqueness, or site-specific relevance. Collaborative and transdisciplinary approaches are encouraged.

Eligibility

Open to artists working in photography, video, digital art, new media, and related fields. International participation is encouraged; both solo and group submissions are welcome.

How to Apply

Prepare a draft or sample of your proposed artwork.
— Include a concise concept description (max. 300 words) outlining your approach and its relevance to the project themes
— Share with us a brief artistic statement or summary of your artistic practice
— Provide us with a link to your website and Instagram account
— Submit your application and sample images to the SEE DJERBA team via email: asslema@seedjerba.net.

Selection Criteria

Conceptual strength and relevance to the themes, aesthetic quality and originality, technical feasibility for the intended display format, and site-specific or context-sensitive approaches.

Jury

The SEE DJERBA Curatorial Collective, including curators Aymen Gharbi and Bettina Pelz, along with Fairouz Nouri, Johanna Baumgart, and Khadouja Tamzin from the MOMENTUM CURATORIAL PROGRAM.

Timeline

Online Info Session
13 JUL 2025 2:00 PM — 3:30 PM
Contact us to receive the link asslema()seedjerba.net

Submission Deadline
31 JUL 2025

Displays

14 — 16 AUG 2025 Houmt Souk
17 AUG 2025 Guellala

Documentation

We will provide high-resolution image documentation from all works that will be presented in Houmt Souk or Guellala.

Funding & Fees

We don’t provide any financial support or a fee for participants.

Info

For further information, technical requirements, or to access the image pool, please contact us asslema()seedjerba.net