Guest Room: Shana Lopes & Aspen Mays

Guest Room is Der Greif's recurring curator-led open call format. Each Guest Room is shaped by an external curator or curatorial duo who set the theme and the selection criteria. This 2026 cycle is curated by Shana Lopes (Assistant Curator of Photography, SFMOMA) and Aspen Mays (artist and Associate Professor/Chair of Photography at California College of the Arts).

The theme is A Little Bit of Magic. The brief asks for work engaging with doubling, substitution, sleight of hand, constructed realities, staged impossibilities, and illusion in photography — the medium's capacity for trickery and mis-direction rather than its evidentiary claims.

Selected work is featured on Der Greif's platform, and selected artists receive a feedback session with the curators — direct rather than written. One artist receives a €250 scholarship.

Eligibility is open globally. Submission is through Picter with 1–5 images. The fee is voluntary (PWYC); financial hardship vouchers are available by emailing voucher-guestroom@dergreif.org. The 2026 deadline was April 2; results announced April 24, 2026.