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The Human Experience by PhotoPlace Gallery explores the complexity of human life through photography, from portraits, family, labor, and community to current affairs, culture, identity, and the places people inhabit. The juried exhibition is open to photographers worldwide, with a submission deadline of October 5, 2026 and Meredith Fleischer serving as juror.
Fleischer will select up to 35 photographs for exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont, together with approximately 40 additional works for the Online Gallery. Every selected photograph is reproduced in the exhibition catalog, remains permanently accessible through the PhotoPlace Gallery website, and receives promotion through the gallery’s social media channels. Entries are submitted digitally, giving the call the accessibility of an online photo competition while retaining a substantial physical exhibition component.
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Prizes and Selected Opportunities
The Human Experience by PhotoPlace Gallery centers its awards on exhibition, publication, and continued visibility for the photographers selected by Meredith Fleischer.
- Exhibition Gallery: Up to 35 photographs will be selected for physical exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont, from December 4 to December 26, 2026.
- Online Gallery: Approximately 40 additional photographs will be selected for the gallery’s online exhibition.
- All Selected Artists: Every selected work is included in the exhibition catalog, permanently archived on the PhotoPlace Gallery website, and promoted through the gallery’s social media channels with links to photographers’ websites.
- Exhibition Awards: All selected artists are eligible for awards associated with the exhibition.
Both selection routes therefore include publication and long-term online presentation, while the Exhibition Gallery selections also become part of the physical exhibition in Vermont.
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Categories or Themes
There are no separate categories. The central theme is the human experience, interpreted broadly through photographs dealing with personal and collective life, identity, family, labor, community, current affairs, culture, and the spaces people occupy.
The brief accommodates portrait, street, and documentary photography, but the subject does not have to be represented literally. Conceptual images, places, events, and traces of human presence can also address the theme.
Dates and Entry Fees
The Human Experience by PhotoPlace Gallery follows a compact fall schedule, with selections announced in October and the physical exhibition opening in early December.
| Call opens | September 7, 2026 |
| Submission deadline | October 5, 2026 |
| Selections announced | October 19, 2026 |
| Exhibition prints due | November 20, 2026 |
| Exhibition | December 4–26, 2026 |
Entry fees:
- $39 for the first five images.
- $6 for each additional image.
There is no limit to the number of photographs that may be submitted. Artists selected for the Middlebury exhibition must provide a physical print, either independently or through PhotoPlace Gallery’s printing service. Standard matting and framing are provided at no additional cost for works compatible with the gallery’s 16 × 20 format; printing, custom mats, and shipping are separate when required.
How to Enter
Submissions are made through a PhotoPlace Gallery account. Files must be JPG or JPEG, with a maximum size of 5 MB; approximately 2100 pixels on the longest side and 300 ppi are recommended. The gallery recommends sRGB for both color and black-and-white photographs. Diptychs and triptychs should be assembled into a single image before uploading.
Images may be added until the deadline, but submitted photographs cannot later be deleted or replaced.
About the Jury
Meredith Fleischer is the founder of The MF Gallery in Royal Oak, Michigan, and Director of The Detroit 15, an archival photography institution. She holds an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and previously worked in the New York photography market managing legacy portfolios for photographers including Deborah Turbeville, Miles Aldridge, and Gilles Bensimon.
Her practice and curatorial work place particular emphasis on the original photographic print, authorship, and independent publishing. PhotoPlace Gallery uses blind jurying: photographers’ names and file information are hidden during the selection process, with files renamed before they are presented to the juror.
Why Enter The Human Experience by PhotoPlace Gallery 2026?
The two-tier selection structure is one of the more useful aspects of the call. A photograph can be chosen for the physical Vermont exhibition or for the Online Gallery, yet both groups receive catalog publication, permanent website placement, and gallery promotion. This gives approximately 75 photographs a continuing presence beyond the December exhibition itself.
The physical exhibition also offers photographers some flexibility in presentation. Selected artists can send finished work, provide an unframed print for use with PhotoPlace’s standard frames, or use the gallery’s own printing service. Artists may offer exhibited work for sale and retain 100% of the proceeds, as PhotoPlace Gallery does not charge a sales commission.
That combination of juried selection, physical exhibition, publication, and permanent archiving gives The Human Experience a natural place among Deartline’s best photography competitions to enter for photographers seeking gallery-based opportunities. Fleischer’s background also makes the call particularly relevant to work where authorship, photographic printing, and the interpretation of contemporary human life are central to the practice.
Rules and Copyright
We reviewed the official rules of The Human Experience by PhotoPlace Gallery to summarize the key participation requirements, copyright terms and image usage conditions. Before entering, we recommend checking the complete rules published by the organizer.
Rules
- Photographers worldwide may submit work.
- Traditional and alternative photographic processes, mixed media incorporating photography, artist books, sculptural work, and other non-traditional photographic presentations are eligible unless otherwise restricted by the individual call.
- Fully AI-generated images are not accepted. AI-assisted editing tools may be used, but submitted work must originate through photographic processes.
- Jurying is blind, with photographers’ names and file information hidden during selection.
- Images previously accepted into a PhotoPlace Gallery exhibition may not be resubmitted for three years from that exhibition’s opening date.
- Entrants must own the necessary rights to submitted work and obtain any required permissions or model releases.
Copyright and Image Usage
Photographers retain full ownership and copyright of their submitted images. The gallery receives image-use rights only when a photograph is selected for exhibition.
Selected photographers grant PhotoPlace Gallery a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce their work in printed and digital exhibition catalogs, display it on the gallery website, and use it for promotion of current and future PhotoPlace exhibitions through social media, newsletters, press materials, and other gallery communications. The gallery cannot sell, license, or otherwise commercially exploit the photographs without the photographer’s explicit written permission.
Permission for future promotional use can be revoked in writing. Materials already produced or distributed are unaffected, and exhibition webpages may remain online as part of PhotoPlace Gallery’s permanent historical archive.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
