CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
Seeing Harvey: Personal Stories, Public Responses
September 6 - November 3, 2018
Rikki Saldivar goes through old family photos at a house that belonged to her grandparents on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, in Houston. Saldivar's grandparents, and four young relatives, drowned in a van in Greens Bayou during Tropical Storm Harvey.
Jon Shapley , Courtesy of the Houston Chronicle
FotoFest is seeking photography submissions from  the public, photojournalists, artists and others living in the Greater Houston area and along the Gulf Coast for the upcoming exhibition Seeing Harvey: Personal Stories, Public Responses . Opening just after the storm’s one-year anniversary, Seeing Harvey will focus on the widespread and sustained influence the monumental event had on our landscapes, infrastructure, and communities.

This open submission call is an opportunity to participate in a large-scale, public endeavor that will highlight  the stories of resilience, generosity, heartache, compassion, and tenacity of the affected individuals, first responders, neighborhoods, and businesses—YOUR stories.

Hurricane Harvey dropped over 27 trillion gallons of water on the states of Texas and Louisiana last August, causing vast and devastating flooding. According to the Harris County Flood Control District’s most recent report, every one of the county’s 4.7 million residents was impacted , directly or indirectly. Even still, that report is conservative, as it does not include the many thousands of residents in surrounding counties or along the Gulf Coast in Port Aransas, Rockport, Beaumont, and elsewhere. Some reports estimate the damage at over $190 billion, which would make Harvey the most costly natural disaster in United States history.

The list of catastrophic tropical storms continues to grow—Allison (2001), Katrina (2005), Ike (2008), Sandy (2012), and most recently Irma, Harvey, and Maria (2017). As we enter another hurricane season, we must look back and consider what we’ve learned, how we’ve changed, and what, if anything, has improved. Working with a range of partners, FotoFest will present a series of accompanying public programs to encourage discussion on how we collectively dealt with the event, where we are now, and how we, the people, the city, state and federal governments, are preparing for future storms.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
DEADLINE: Friday, August 3, 2018 (11:59 pm CST)

We are accepting submissions through our online submission form, linked below, as well as through Instagram. By submitting your images via either of these channels, you agree that FotoFest may reproduce your image(s) in print, and/or digitally on a screen, as a projection, or online. Please note that any captions or narratives submitted alongside your images may be edited for spelling, grammar, and/or general comprehension.


Submitting via INSTAGRAM:
  • Please submit up to five (5) images, either as multiple images in one post, or as separate posts
  • Tag images with #SeeingHarvey
  • If making separate posts, please be sure to tag each post with #SeeingHarvey, and list your name and location with each image
  • Include your name and area of town within the comment section
  • If you would like to share a written narrative, you may either use the comment section within Instagram, or email the narrative to [email protected], and include your Instagram handle

Please be aware that FotoFest will not be able to access your images if your Instagram profile is set to "private".


Submitting via ONLINE FORM:
Please click the button below to submit your images and information online. You will be asked to fill out the following information fields (some of these fields are optional):
  • Name, Email Address, and Location
  • Up to five (5) high quality digital images
  • Image files must be a minimum of 4 MB, maximum of 10 MB
  • Please name your files according to this format:
LastName_FirstName_Number.jpg OR LastName_FirstName_Title.jpg
  • i.e. Smith_Jane_1.jpg OR Smith_Jane_Title.jpg
  • The form includes fields for a description of each image, including location of image, date, and narrative, if you wish to include one

Digital files that do not follow these specifications may not be considered.


If you have any questions, please contact Marianne Stavenhagen, Office Manager, at [email protected].

Due to the volume of material FotoFest receives, responses may take some time, and we appreciate your patience. Submissions will be reviewed in the order they are received.
SUMMER OFFICE HOURS
The FotoFest office will be closed on Fridays through August 3.

Current office hours are Monday - Thursday, 9am - 5pm.

FotoFest will resume regular office hours
on Fridays beginning August 10.