Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi Open Call: Learn More
Thank you to everyone who submitted their photos. Stay tuned for future announcements.
Image credit: Api Husien
You asked, we answered. A compilation of common inquiries about Tiga Mata.
For further inquiries, you may contact us through,
Email: tigamata@zontiga.com | IG: tigamatazine
Both amateur and professional photographers and photo-related artists who are nationals of Southeast Asian countries—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam—are invited to submit.
Applicants under 16 must provide written consent from a parent or legal guardian.
Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi is a Tiga Mata Special Project by Zontiga, developed in conjunction with Sementara: Ahmad Zakii Anwar from the Steve Wong Art Collection, in collaboration with GDP Architects/R+.
Zontiga will curate selected photographs into a physical exhibition at GDP Campus.
Sementara: Ahmad Zakii Anwar from the Steve Wong Art Collection is a retrospective exhibition of works by Ahmad Zakii Anwar from the Steve Wong Art Collection, on view at GDP Campus from 11 October 2026 to 10 January 2027.
It is the third installation of the Steve Wong Art Collection at GDP Campus, designed and curated for the second time by R+.
As a company of designers, GDP Architects’ practice centres on honing and appreciating good craft, of which art forms an integral part. Its Kuala Lumpur home, GDP Campus, is where both the practice and discourse on good design take place, bridged by its anchor community hub, Testing Ground, the venue of the Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi exhibition.
R+ spearheads GDP’s strategic research and branding through collaborations, events, publications, exhibitions and more.
Website: www.gdparchitects.com
Instagram: @gdparchitects · @_rplusss
A close collaborator of GDP, the Steve Wong Art Collection (SWAC) promotes art through its large collection of Malaysian and Southeast Asian works. Built by collector Dr Steve Wong over more than three decades, the collection comprises up to 1,000 artworks that encapsulate the breadth and depth of artistic practice, psyche and the many facets of society.
Dr Steve’s admiration for Zakii’s masterly attention to detail began a friendship that started with the Smokers series in 1994.
Website: stevewongartcollection.com
Instagram: @stevewongartcollection
Submissions open on 16 October 2026.
Submissions must be received by:
8 November 2026, 23:59 MYT (Malaysia Time / UTC+8).
Yes.
The submission fee is RM 30. It supports the administration, curation and production of the project and exhibition.
Payment of the fee does not guarantee selection.
We welcome photographic and lens-based work responding to Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi. Digital and analogue photography, in colour or black and white, are welcome.
You may submit existing work or photographs created specifically for this open call.
All submissions must be made digitally through the Tiga Mata Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi Submission Form.
No.
Photographs may be made at any time of day and may include people or crowds. We welcome different interpretations of quietness, solitude, silence and emptiness within the urban environment.
No.
We invite responses from cities across Southeast Asia, including smaller cities and peripheral neighbourhoods as well as major capitals.
No.
Zakii’s Kota Sepi and Kota Sunyi works provide a starting point for the project. We encourage photographers to respond through their own experiences and ways of looking.
Both are welcome.
You may submit individual photographs or a series. Not every image from a selected submission will necessarily be exhibited. Zontiga may select individual photographs from a series.
Each submission may include up to 5 images.
Yes.
Please identify each collaborator and clearly describe their role and the authorship of the submitted work.
Include a short statement of approximately 100–200 words.
Tell us about the place, encounter or observation behind your photographs, what led you to make the work, and how it relates to Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi.
Please prepare your photographs according to these specifications:
Do not include watermarks, borders, photographer names or other identifying information within the images.
Keep your original high-resolution files available, as these will be requested if your work is selected.
Submission Guidelines & Form: Here
Selected photographs will be presented in a physical exhibition.
Zontiga will determine the selection, sequencing, scale and presentation of works, with consideration for the integrity and intention of individual photographs.
19 December 2026 – 1 February 2027
Level 1, Testing Ground
GDP Campus
No.
Printing and production costs for selected works will be covered by Zontiga. There is no additional exhibition or production fee payable by selected photographers.
Selected photographers will be announced on 19 November 2026 and contacted by email.
Please ensure that the email address supplied in your submission is correct.
You may be asked to provide original high-resolution image files, captions, biographical information and other materials required for exhibition production.
Copyright remains with the respective photographer, artist or rights holder.
By submitting, you grant Zontiga (The Next Level Sdn Bhd), R Plus Projects Sdn Bhd and GDP Architects Sdn Bhd a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to reproduce selected works for purposes directly related to Kota Sepi Kota Sunyi, Tiga Mata and Sementara.
These include exhibition, publication, promotion, educational and editorial use, documentation and archiving. Photographers will be credited wherever reasonably possible.
Please refer to the full Copyright & Usage section for details.
No.
Submissions must be made by the individual photographer, artist or collaborative team responsible for the work.
Please email us if you have any other questions.
Email : tigamata@zontiga.com
Follow us on Instagram for updates!
Instagram: @tigamatazine
