Der Greif Issue 19 — I Am Because of You, Mother Earth

Der Greif is the Munich-based photography magazine and platform founded in 2008, supported by the Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung foundation. The magazine's print issues are guest-edited by a single curator or artist who sets the theme and reviews submissions, with Issue 19 guest-edited by Zanele Muholi.

Muholi is a South African visual activist and photographer based in Cape Town, internationally recognised for documenting Black LGBTQIA+ communities, the Faces and Phases project, and a long-running self-portrait practice that reimagines representations of Blackness. They were named the 2026 Hasselblad Award laureate.

The theme is "I Am Because of You, Mother Earth." Muholi reframes environment as inseparable from the self: the body as a landscape, the face as geography, breath as atmosphere, with water in the blood, minerals in the bones, and soil that feeds the body all positioned as part of the same continuous ecology. The brief invites artists and writers to respond to this framing.

Accepted media include photography, writing, poetry, and essays. Collaborative submissions are encouraged. Selected work is reviewed by Muholi, published in Issue 19 with a complimentary copy plus discounts on additional copies, and considered for an Artist Feature on dergreif.org. Selected contributors may also participate in Der Greif's Paris Photo 2026 programme and related events.

Submission is through Picter. The fee is voluntary (PWYC) — €13 until June 7, then €15, with financial assistance available on request. The deadline is June 20, 2026 at 11:59 PM CET.