Photography curator Ahmed Nabil is announcing an open call for the first edition of his ‘Photo Dump People’ exhibition, which will be hosted at District 5’s TAM Gallery from May 22nd to the 25th. The open call invites people to submit eight to ten photos in a photo dump-style, expressing themselves through a seemingly random but mildly curated collection of images.

“The first edition is all about self expression,” Nabil tells CairoScene. “Imagine I’m asking you to introduce or express yourself through ten images or videos. It’s a challenge, but that’s the idea.”

The recent boom in the popularity of photo dumps is often attributed to our search for authenticity, when social media has become so saturated with sponsored content and adverts. Furthermore, photo dumps are often a welcome break from the face and body-centric use cases of Instagram and other social media. Oftentimes, they symbolise a full-circle evolution aimed at de-centring the physical self altogether.

“The exhibition is dedicated to showcasing the body of work in the form of snippets taken by regular folk, documenting their day to day lives or things they find intriguing or inspiring,” Nabil explains. “All of the photos will be displayed in the form of one huge photo dump.”

The open call looks to encourage amateurs to submit their photo dumps, many of which have already been submitted to Nabil’s curated page @photodumppeople. That being said, professionals are not barred from entry; Nabil hopes for a 70/30 split between amateurs and pros when it comes time to curate the exhibition.