AMFO

The AMFO national competition of amateur photography is the oldest and largest national competition of its kind in Slovakia. Its main mission is to create opportunities for confrontation and evaluation of results of contemporary amateur photographers in Slovakia.

AMFO is a three-level advancement competition (district and regional rounds, national round) and a showcase for amateur photography; it is not thematically profiled. The competition is open to any amateur photographer who is a citizen of the Slovak Republic. The competition is structured according to age and formal criteria. Entries to relevant groups and categories are made by submission and organised into the categories group A – amateur authors aged over 21 years, and group B – (i) junior authors aged up to 16 years and (ii) junior authors aged up to 21 years; both groups compete in the categories of: black and white photography, colour photography, and multimedia presentation of photos. Regional cultural centres organise the district and regional rounds. The competition’s results – photos of different regional provenience, thematic and genre orientation, formal and technical processing – are presented at a national exhibition. An expert jury assesses the competing works in the national finals. The jury also makes a selection of national collections which it recommends for international competitions organised through FIAP, eg the Biennial of Black and White Photography, the Biennial of Colour Photography, the Biennial of Nature Photography, the Biennial of Youth Photography. An analytical seminar and a creative workshop constitute the professional and educational part of the event, the aim of which is to encourage the artistic and professional growth of amateur photographers.