Calls for Entries newsletter
Vision & Expression: The Art of Photography
A curated international photography exhibition
September 19 – October 13, 2026 @ PH21 Gallery Barcelona
Although photography initially emerged as a technological invention, it quickly evolved into an expressive artistic practice. Pictorialist photographs from the nineteenth century were crafted to resemble paintings, while proponents of straight photography in the early twentieth century aimed for a purely photographic approach to conveying meaning. Street photographers dedicated the medium to capturing fleeting moments, and in the latter part of the twentieth century, many photographers embraced staging and directing to employ photography as a means of artistic visual communication. Straight photography derives expressive meaning from the observed scene, while directorial, or staged photography involves creating a scene based on a preconceived notion. Art photography today encompasses various genres and creative practices, ranging from portraiture, landscape, and still life to staged, abstract, and conceptual photography. More recently, AI-generated photo-based images have also asserted their presence in the art photography scene. In this call, we invite contemporary photographers to demonstrate their understanding of photography as an expressive fine art practice in the twenty-first century.
PH21 Gallery invites photographers to submit their work for a group exhibition themed Vision & Expression: The Art of Photography. We welcome submissions from photographers interested in photography as an art form and looking for a venue to showcase their work to a broader international audience through the exposure provided by PH21 Gallery. The theme is broadly construed, and we encourage submissions from all artistic photographic genres and styles, including abstract compositions and AI-generated photo-based images (explicitly labelled as such). We are interested in exploring diverse and creative photographic interpretations of what photography as an art form might entail.
This exhibition will be showcased in PH21 Gallery’s beautiful new venue, situated in the heart of Barcelona’s historic Gothic Quarter.
Submission deadlines
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Early bird deadline: July 13, 2026
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Final deadline: July 20, 2026
Read more and submit your work here.
Solo exhibition opportunity in Barcelona
October 17 – November 10, 2026
PH21 Gallery invites photographers to submit their work for a solo exhibition opportunity. Applicants should submit a cohesive portfolio suitable for a solo exhibition, together with an artist statement and a short biography.
The portfolio should include a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 35 images. Submissions may feature one or two series, provided that they can be presented harmoniously within a single exhibition. There are no stylistic, thematic, or genre restrictions; photographers working in all areas of photography are encouraged to apply.
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The winner of the competition will be awarded a solo exhibition, at PH21 Gallery Barcelona, scheduled to take place from October 17 to November 10, 2026.
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PH21 Gallery will cover all printing and installation expenses for the solo exhibition. In addition to the physical exhibition, the winner's work will be presented on a dedicated page of our website.
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PH21 Centre for Photography will offer to design and publish a photobook accompanying the solo exhibition at a special 50% discounted rate. For more information about PH21 photobooks, please click here.
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The total value of the solo exhibition and the special photobook offer is €4500.
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Up to 10 additional photographers will be invited to present a mini-series of three images from their portfolio in the "Photographic Visions" group exhibition. Photographic Visions is a biannual exhibition hosted by PH21 Gallery that showcases mini-series by selected artists who participated in the solo exhibition competition. The Photographic Visions exhibition will also be presented on a dedicated page on our website.
Submission deadlines
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Early bird deadline: August 10, 2026
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Final deadline: August 17, 2026
Read more and submit your work here.
