Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery looks beyond familiar images of the natural world. Its subject is not simply land, flame, atmosphere, or water, but the pressure and traces these forces create: erosion, smoke, heat, ash, fog, flood, breath, stone, light, and survival. Photographers and lens-based artists worldwide can submit work until September 20, 2026, for consideration in a curated online exhibition presented by TCG Gallery.
Approximately 35 images will be selected for the exhibition, which runs from October 1 to October 31, 2026. Selected artists receive a permanent place in the gallery’s website archive, promotion through its website, email list, and social media channels, and the option to make their work available for sales inquiries. The entry fee is $15 for up to three images, while fee waivers are available on request for artists experiencing financial hardship. Those consulting Deartline’s photo contest list will find a tightly defined thematic call with international eligibility and a lasting digital exhibition component.
Work may address one or several elements directly, symbolically, or through the evidence they leave behind. Individual photographs and cohesive series are accepted, including conventional and alternative processes with an analog or digital photographic base. The selection process considers image quality, originality, relevance to the theme, and the overall cohesion of the final exhibition.
Prizes
The Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery open call centers its opportunities on exhibition participation, continued visibility, and optional artwork sales.
- Selected artists: Approximately 35 photographs or lens-based works will be included in the curated online exhibition, “Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water”.
- Exhibition presentation: When provided, the artist’s name, artwork title, medium, dimensions, and price will appear alongside the selected work.
- Permanent archive: Selected images will remain in TCG Gallery’s website archive after the month-long exhibition closes.
- Promotional support: The gallery will promote selected work through its website, email list, and social media channels, with artist credit given wherever feasible.
- Future consideration: Submissions may be retained for up to one year for administrative purposes and possible consideration in other current or future TCG Gallery opportunities.
- Optional sales: Artists may list selected work as available for sale or mark it as not for sale. The gallery may direct interested collectors to the artist or assist with communication. TCG Gallery retains a 30% commission on work sold through the gallery.
Related Photo Contests
Categories or Themes
There are no separate entry categories. The exhibition is organized around four connected elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Artists may engage with one element or combine several within a single image or cohesive body of work.
The curatorial scope extends beyond literal depictions. Possible approaches include weather, atmosphere, erosion, flooding, smoke, stone, ash, light, heat, breath, transformation, destruction, renewal, and human vulnerability within natural systems. The elements may also function as metaphors for emotion, memory, danger, or change.
The gallery welcomes quiet, violent, minimal, surreal, staged, and symbolic interpretations. Relevant approaches may include documentary, abstract, fine art, and experimental photography. Images exploring physical terrain and changing ecosystems may also connect naturally with landscape and environmental practices.
Dates and Entry Fees
The Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery 2026 edition follows a short timetable between the submission deadline and the opening of the online exhibition.
| Submission deadline | September 20, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Artist notifications | On or before September 25, 2026 |
| Online exhibition | October 1 to October 31, 2026 |
The entry fee is $15 for up to three images. Entrants may submit more than one application if they wish to enter additional work.
Fee waivers are available on the honor system for artists experiencing financial hardship. Anyone requiring a waiver should contact TCG Gallery before submitting an entry.
How to Enter
Entries are completed through the online submission form. Each application may contain up to three individual images or work from a cohesive series. Files must be uploaded in JPG or JPEG format, with a minimum dimension of 1,200 pixels on the longest side and, when possible, a minimum file size of 500 KB.
The suggested naming format is “firstname_lastname_title-01.jpeg”. An image description is optional but strongly encouraged. Artists offering work for sale should provide print dimensions in inches or centimeters, while work that is unavailable for purchase may be marked “NFS”.
Why Enter Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery?
The exhibition provides selected photographers with more than a temporary online display. Each chosen work remains in a permanent website archive after the exhibition ends, while promotion through the gallery’s digital channels can continue to direct viewers toward the artist and the image. Optional sales inquiries add a commercial route without requiring every selected artist to make work available for purchase.
The Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery also accommodates a wide range of photographic processes and visual languages. Conventional photography, alternative processes, analog-based images, digital work, individual photographs, and cohesive series are all eligible, provided the submission maintains a photographic or lens-based foundation. Its international scope and financial-hardship waiver further broaden access to the opportunity.
For photographers comparing the best photography competitions, the distinguishing features here are the focused four-element theme, blind review where possible, permanent online archive, and inclusion within an independent New York City-based gallery program.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the Elemental: Earth, Air, Fire, Water by The Chateau Gallery has been generated automatically. If you are interested in participating in this contest we suggest you review the complete rules provided by the contest.
Rules
The call is open worldwide to photographers and visual artists aged 18 or older. Eligible submissions include two-dimensional images made through traditional or non-conventional media, as well as conventional or alternative photographic processes with an analog or digital photographic base.
All submitted work must be original and created by the artist making the submission. Entrants are responsible for ensuring that their images do not violate copyright, privacy, publicity, or other third-party rights. Work created by or substantially altered with artificial intelligence is prohibited.
There is no stated restriction on the physical size or production year of submitted work. TCG Gallery may be unable to accept entries or provide services where doing so would violate applicable United States sanctions, export rules, payment-processing requirements, or other compliance restrictions.
Copyright and Image Usage
Artists retain copyright to all submitted work. By entering, they grant TCG Gallery a non-exclusive right to reproduce the images for jurying, exhibition presentation, archival documentation, and promotion connected with the exhibition.
This permission may cover use on the gallery website, social media, email newsletters, exhibition catalogs, and related promotional materials. Artist credit will be provided whenever feasible. Artists may request in writing that their work be removed from future promotional use.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
