Sign in
57
open now
Photography · Worldwide

Photography Open Calls & Competitions

Prizes, juried shows, festivals, and residencies for lens-based artists. Verified and updated throughout the week.
Added in 30 days
30
2,300+ tracked since launch

Editor's picks

ARTHEAD hand-picked this week
Closing this week12URGENT
EXHExhibition
Open to all·Ottawa, Canada·Free entry

Ottawa School of Art Call for Exhibition Proposals 2027-2028

Ontario CARFAC artist's exhibition fee paid to the exhibiting artist(s)

The Ottawa School of Art invites artists and collectives to submit proposals for its 2027-2028 exhibition season at two Ottawa venues: the J.W. Stellick Gallery in the ByWard Market and the Orleans Campus Gallery in the Shenkman Arts Centre.

Ottawa School of Art
Closing
Tomorrow
1 day left
4 Sept 2026
COMCompetition
International·New York, United States·Entry fee $30

Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Awards 2026

First PhotoBook Prize: $10,000; shortlisted books exhibited at Paris Photo and touring venues worldwide; jury statements accompany all 35 shortlisted titles

The Paris Photo-Aperture PhotoBook Awards celebrate the photobook's contribution to the narrative of photography. Three categories are judged: First PhotoBook, PhotoBook of the Year, and Photography Catalog of the Year.

Aperture
Closing
Tomorrow
1 day left
4 Sept 2026
RESResidency
International·Syracuse, New York, United States·Free entry

2027 Erie Canal Artist-in-Residence

$10,000 stipend per artist (paid quarterly), plus up to $2,000 reimbursement for production of final project. Exhibition in 2028.

A year-long residency (Jan-Dec 2027) for two artists to pursue creative visual inquiry into the New York State Canal System, reflecting on its past, present condition, and future. Artists engage with the Canal, communities, and partner organizations.

Erie Canal Museum / New York State Canal Corporation
Closes in
3
days
6 Sept 2026
EXHExhibition
International·Vienna, Austria·Entry fee €20

Red Light Festival for Analog Photography: Open Call

Exhibition allowance of EUR 550; satellite exhibition at Tschick Galerie in Linz's Tabakfabrik (December 3, 2026 to February 7, 2027); publication in the 2026 festival catalog; free printing of exhibition images upon request

The Rotlicht Festival for Analog Photography invites submissions of work using analog or hybrid photographic processes for a satellite exhibition at Tschick Galerie in Linz, Austria.

Kulturverein Tschick Galerie / Prager Fotoschule
Closes in
3
days
6 Sept 2026
EXHExhibition
International·The Hunt Museum, Custom House, Limerick, Ireland (gallery and online), Ireland·Entry fee €15

Hunt Open Submission Exhibition 2026

Inclusion in a juried museum exhibition (5 Dec 2026 - 21 Feb 2027) plus four special exhibition awards. Award amounts not specified.

The Hunt Museum, one of Ireland's leading cultural institutions housed in the historic Custom House in Limerick, presents its Second Annual Hunt Open Submission Exhibition.

The Hunt Museum
Closes in
4
days
7 Sept 2026
EXHExhibition
Open to all·Portsmouth, United Kingdom·Free entry

Portsmouth Open 26

Portsmouth Open 26 is a group photography exhibition at Art Space Portsmouth, curated by Brighton Photo Fringe. The theme invites artists to explore how archives change through acts of remembering, revisiting, and reimagining. The exhibition runs 24-25 October 2026.

Brighton Photo Fringe
Closes in
5
days
8 Sept 2026
FELFellowship
International·Princeton, United States·Free entry

The Hodder Fellowship

$93,000 stipend for a 10-month Visiting Fellow appointment

The Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University supports artists and writers of exceptional promise, selected more for promise than for performance.

Princeton University
Closes in
5
days
8 Sept 2026
GRTGrant
Regional·Montevideo, Uruguay·Free entry

Fundación Ama Amoedo Grants

Ten grants of USD 10,000 each, across four categories (Artists, Art and Social Engagement, Organizations, Publications).

The fourth edition of the Fundación Ama Amoedo Grants awards ten grants of USD 10,000 each across four categories (Artists, Art and Social Engagement, Organizations, Publications).

Fundación Ama Amoedo
Closes in
6
days
9 Sept 2026
RESResidency
Domestic·Bangalore, India·Entry fee See official site

IASPIS Residency in Bangalore at 1Shanthiroad, 2027

A stipend of SEK 45,000 covering travel, living expenses and some material costs, plus accommodation and a workspace at 1Shanthiroad for two months during 2027.

The Swedish Arts Grants Committee runs its IASPIS residencies abroad with local partners, and the Bangalore placement sits at 1Shanthiroad Studio/Gallery, an artist-run residency and exhibition space founded in 2003 by Suresh Jayaram.

Swedish Arts Grants Committee
Closes in
6
days
9 Sept 2026
EXHExhibition
International·Denver, Colorado, United States·Entry fee See official site

Artburst Studios: "Pattern Language" Online Art Show

Juror's Award USD 350; two Honorable Mention Awards of USD 100 each.

Artburst Studios hosts curated online art shows connecting artists directly with collectors. "Pattern Language" runs October 28 to November 11, 2026. Shows are fast-paced boutique events lasting under 72 hours, with artwork available for purchase on the Artburst website.

Artburst Studios
Closes in
6
days
9 Sept 2026
PUBPublic Art
Domestic·Toronto, Canada·Free entry

George Street Construction Hoarding Public Art

Four shortlisted artists: $1,000 CAD each to develop design concepts. Selected artist: $8,000 CAD (+HST) for final design, consultation, and services.

The City of Toronto seeks a Canadian artist working in two-dimensional media to create custom art for construction site hoarding along 309-345 George Street, part of the George Street Revitalization Project replacing Seaton House with a modern facility integrating shelter…

City of Toronto
Closes in
6
days
9 Sept 2026
EXHExhibition
International·Chicago, Illinois, United States·Entry fee €20

ORAC Gallery Open Call: Artist Selection for Spectrum Chicago 2026

The selected artist is presented by ORAC Gallery inside the gallery's own booth at Spectrum Chicago 2026, with exhibition space, curatorial selection and development of the presentation, installation coordination, on-site gallery representation, inclusion in the gallery's fair communication and sales representation during the fair. No booth fee, exhibition fee, curatorial fee or participation fee is charged to the selected artist.

ORAC Gallery, run by ORACART sp. z o.o. out of Nowolipki 27 in Warsaw, is picking one artist to present inside its booth at Spectrum Chicago 2026, held at THE MART in Chicago from 7 to 10 October 2026.

ORAC Gallery
Closes in
7
days
10 Sept 2026
45more calls behind paywall
You're seeing page 1 of 5. Sign up free to browse 3 pages, or subscribe for full access.
✦ PHOTOGRAPHY OPEN CALLS

Photography open calls, answered.

Photography has one of the busiest open-call circuits in the art world: international prizes, juried group shows, festival exhibitions, photobook awards, and residencies that welcome lens-based practices.

This page gathers every live call on Arthead tagged for photography, from documentary and fine-art photography to experimental lens-based work, each verified by hand with deadline, fee, and eligibility shown.

What kinds of photography open calls exist?
Competitions and prizes with cash or publication awards, juried exhibitions in galleries and festivals, photobook and portfolio awards, and residencies open to lens-based artists. Some calls are photography-specific; others are all-media calls that explicitly accept photographic work.
Do photography competitions keep rights to my images?
Reputable calls license images only for promoting the exhibition or award, and say so explicitly. Rights-grabbing terms, where entry transfers broad commercial usage, are a red flag worth checking in the official rules before entering. Arthead links the official terms on every listing.
How should I choose which photography calls to enter?
Look at the jurors, past selected work, and what selection actually gives you: exhibition, publication, cash, or representation. A smaller show judged by a curator you respect often does more for a practice than a large contest with anonymous judging.