Can you work with water and earth as artistic materials?
Join us and engage with the fundamental elements that shape our environment
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