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The Room Next Door by Decagon Gallery is an international photography call built around spaces that remain partly beyond view. Documentary, conceptual, experimental and staged approaches are all welcome, with the emphasis placed on the relationship between what can be seen and what remains implied.
The competition offers $1,000 in cash awards, including $500 for First Place, while selected photographers will take part in an online exhibition running from January 10 to March 10, 2027. Exhibiting artists also receive publication in a professionally designed exhibition catalog, together with digital badges and certificates. The submission deadline is December 15, 2026, with results scheduled for January 1, 2027.
The call is open to photographers worldwide and accepts all photographic processes and styles. The entry fee is $25 for up to four photographs, with additional images charged at $5 each. Photographers planning further submissions can also browse the list of photography competitions compiled by Deartline.
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Prizes
The Room Next Door by Decagon Gallery offers $1,000 in total cash awards. Cash prizes are limited to one per photographer, so if work by the same entrant is selected for more than one cash award, only the award with the highest value is paid.
- First Place: $500.
- Second Place: $250.
- Third Place: $150.
- Two Honorable Mentions: $50 each.
- Human Presence Award: Free entry to a future Decagon Gallery exhibition of the photographer’s choice.
All selected photographers receive inclusion in the online exhibition, publication in a professionally designed exhibition catalog, and digital badges and certificates for exhibiting artists. The award structure therefore combines cash prizes with an online exhibition and catalog publication.
Related Photo Contests
Categories or Themes
The Room Next Door has one central theme. Photographers are asked to work with the idea of a space that can be sensed but not completely entered or understood: a doorway left open, a lit window, a hallway disappearing from view, a neighboring life observed from a distance, or light and shadow arriving from somewhere outside the frame.
Interiors viewed from outside, exteriors seen from within, windows, reflections and physical thresholds are all possible interpretations, but the theme is not limited to literal architecture. Documentary work is accepted alongside staged images and more conceptual photography or experimental approaches. People may appear, but the relationship between visible and unseen space remains central to the brief.
Dates and Entry Fees
The competition closes in mid-December, followed by notification at the beginning of January and a two-month online exhibition.
| Key Date | Event |
|---|---|
| December 15, 2026 | Submission deadline |
| January 1, 2027 | Notification |
| January 10, 2027 | Online exhibition opens |
| March 10, 2027 | Online exhibition closes |
Entry Fees:
| Submission | Fee |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 photographs | $25 |
| Each additional photograph | $5 |
The published call does not state a maximum number of additional photographs. Decagon Gallery also offers entry fee waivers to photographers experiencing financial hardship, living in war-affected areas, or residing in sanctioned countries.
How to Enter
Entries are submitted digitally through Decagon Gallery. Photographs should be supplied as JPG files at least 2100 pixels on the longest side and preferably under 4 MB. Images must not contain text, watermarks, borders or frames.
Files should follow the naming format First Name-Last Name_Title.jpg. The call is open internationally and accepts all photographic processes and styles.
About the Jury
The Room Next Door is juried by Dr. Susan Bright, an independent curator, art historian, writer and lecturer specializing in photography and lens-based art. Her curatorial experience includes exhibitions at institutions such as Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery, Princeton University Art Museum and Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna.
Why Enter The Room Next Door by Decagon Gallery?
The Room Next Door by Decagon Gallery offers several concrete outcomes for selected photographers. The online exhibition remains on view for two months, exhibiting artists are included in a professionally designed catalog, and selected participants receive digital certificates and badges. The $1,000 cash pool is distributed across First, Second and Third Place, together with two Honorable Mentions, while the Human Presence Award provides free entry to a future Decagon Gallery exhibition.
The submission format also allows photographers to enter up to four images for the initial $25 fee, making it possible to present different interpretations of the theme rather than relying on a single photograph. The brief accommodates documentary, staged, architectural, conceptual and experimental work, provided the image engages with the idea of visible and unseen space. Photographers comparing this opportunity with other best photography contests listed on Deartline can consider the combination of cash awards, exhibition, catalog publication and multiple forms of recognition for selected work.
Rules and Copyright
We reviewed the official rules of The Room Next Door by Decagon 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
The call is open to photographers worldwide. Decagon Gallery’s current submission guidelines require participants to be at least 18 years old and to submit work that they own and that does not infringe another person’s copyright.
All photographic processes and styles are accepted. Submitted files must meet the published JPG requirements and cannot include text, watermarks, borders or frames.
Decagon Gallery does not accept images substantially created using artificial intelligence. Limited AI-assisted edits, such as removing an object from the background or extending image borders, may be accepted, with the final decision resting with the juror and the gallery.
The exhibition brief indicates that photographs should engage with the relationship between visible and unseen space, with documentary, conceptual, experimental and constructed approaches all explicitly welcomed.
Copyright and Image Usage
Photographers retain copyright and all rights to their submitted work.
For images selected for the exhibition, Decagon Gallery receives permission to publish the work in the online exhibition and exhibition catalog and to use it on its website, social media and newsletters for promotional purposes. Decagon’s general legal terms also state that selected images will not be used for other purposes without the photographer’s permission.
The published terms do not specify how long this permission remains in effect or define sublicensing or third-party usage rights.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
