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Animalia: Our Shared World is an international juried photography exhibition organized by PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont, exploring the diversity of animal life and the relationships between animals, people, and their environments. Juror Wendi Schneider will select up to 35 photographs for a physical gallery exhibition and approximately 40 additional images for an online exhibition. The submission deadline is November 9, 2026.
The selected photographs will be featured in an exhibition catalog, promoted through PhotoPlace Gallery’s communications, and displayed permanently on the gallery’s website. The physical exhibition runs from January 1 to January 30, 2027, with an opening reception on January 1. Entry fees begin at $39 for up to five images, with no limit on the total number of photographs submitted.
The exhibition’s broad interpretation of animal photography makes it relevant to photographers working with wildlife, pets, birds, insects, marine creatures, and more experimental approaches to the natural world. It also adds an exhibition-focused opportunity to Deartline’s list of photography competitions, combining a focused subject with professional jury selection, publication, and gallery presentation.
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Prizes
Animalia: Our Shared World provides two forms of juried recognition: a physical exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery and inclusion in its Online Gallery. All selected photographs receive catalog publication and permanent online presentation.
- Exhibition Gallery — Up to 35 Photographs:
- Exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont, from January 1 to January 30, 2027.
- Inclusion in the official exhibition catalog.
- Permanent placement on the gallery’s website.
- Promotion through PhotoPlace Gallery’s social media and publications, including links to photographers’ websites.
- Eligibility for exhibition awards.
- Online Gallery — Approximately 40 Additional Photographs:
- Presentation in PhotoPlace Gallery’s online exhibition.
- Inclusion in the same exhibition catalog.
- Permanent online archive placement and promotional coverage.
- Eligibility for exhibition awards.
Selected artists may choose to offer their work for sale. PhotoPlace Gallery allows artists to set their own prices and retains no commission on artwork sales. Photographers selected for the physical exhibition must provide an exhibition-ready work or arrange printing through the gallery.
Related Photo Contests
Categories or Themes
The exhibition has one central theme: animal life and the relationships that connect animals with the wider world. PhotoPlace Gallery welcomes photographs made through traditional, alternative, and experimental photographic processes.
Photographers can interpret these subjects through documentary observation, expressive portraiture, fine art techniques, or alternative photographic processes. The exhibition offers considerable creative freedom within its animal-centered theme, making it relevant to both wildlife photography and nature photography, as well as photographers who use animals to explore broader ideas about identity, coexistence, and the environment.
Dates and Entry Fees
The Animalia: Our Shared World exhibition follows this schedule:
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Call for entries opens | October 6, 2026 |
| Submission deadline | November 9, 2026 |
| Juror selections announced | November 23, 2026 |
| Print delivery deadline | December 18, 2026 |
| Exhibition opening and reception | January 1, 2027 |
| Exhibition closes | January 30, 2027 |
Entry Fees:
- First five photographs: $39.
- Each additional photograph: $6.
There is no limit to the number of photographs each participant may submit.
For physical exhibition selections, artists must arrange printing and presentation. They may send their own exhibition-ready work, provide an unframed print suitable for the gallery’s standard framing system, or use PhotoPlace Gallery’s optional printing service. Gallery-produced prints generally cost $55–$70, depending on the paper and size, with additional charges for certain custom presentation or shipping services.
How to Enter
Photographers must register through PhotoPlace Gallery’s online submission system, create a profile, and upload their images for jury consideration. International entries are welcome, and participants can include their website or social media information in their profiles for promotional use if selected.
Digital submission requirements include:
- JPG or JPEG format.
- Maximum file size of 5 MB per photograph.
- Approximately 2,100 pixels on the longest side, with 300 ppi recommended.
- sRGB color space recommended for color and black-and-white images.
- Diptychs and triptychs assembled as single files before uploading.
- No watermarks or signatures.
Artists selected for the physical exhibition must deliver their prints by December 18, 2026, or use an available gallery printing service. Online Gallery selections do not need to provide additional exhibition files or physical prints.
About the Jury
Wendi Schneider is an American photographic artist whose work explores the natural world through layered materials, delicate color, and hand-gilded photographic prints. Her ongoing series States of Grace, begun in 2012, combines photography with precious-metal gilding on translucent vellum and Japanese kozo paper, creating images that respond to changes in light.
With a background in painting, art history, design, and editorial photography, Schneider brings particular attention to the expressive possibilities of the photographic print. Her work has been exhibited and published internationally and is held in collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Center for Creative Photography; the New Orleans Museum of Art; and the Royal Photographic Society.
As juror for Animalia: Our Shared World, Schneider will select the photographs presented in both the physical and online exhibitions.
Why Enter Animalia: Our Shared World?
Photographing animals involves more than recording appearance. An image can reveal behavior, express the character of an individual creature, or suggest how animals inhabit spaces shaped by human activity. Animalia: Our Shared World welcomes these different perspectives, allowing a familiar domestic subject or a rare wildlife encounter to become the basis for a thoughtful photographic interpretation.
The exhibition also offers a chance to consider animal photography beyond the boundaries of conventional wildlife imagery. Documentary photographs, alternative printing techniques, and more experimental approaches can all contribute to the theme. Wendi Schneider’s own artistic practice, which combines natural subjects with carefully constructed photographic prints, provides an interesting context for a selection that values both observation and personal expression.
For photographers browsing Deartline’s best photo contests, the combination of a juried physical exhibition, an online gallery, catalog publication, and permanent website presentation provides several ways for selected work to reach an audience. With up to 35 physical exhibition places and approximately 40 online selections, the call accommodates different forms of recognition within the same curatorial project.
Rules and Copyright
We reviewed the official rules of Animalia: Our Shared World 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 welcomes international photographers working with traditional and alternative photographic processes. Submitted images must be original, and participants must hold the necessary rights and permissions, including releases for recognizable people where applicable.
Fully AI-generated images are not eligible. AI-assisted editing tools may be used as part of photographic post-production, but submissions must originate from photographic processes. Images accepted into previous PhotoPlace Gallery exhibitions cannot be resubmitted within three years of that exhibition’s opening.
Physical exhibition artists are responsible for arranging suitable prints and covering applicable production and shipping costs. PhotoPlace Gallery offers standard gallery frames and precut mats for qualifying prints during the exhibition. The gallery insures artwork while on display, but artists are responsible for insurance during shipping. Unsold work must be collected or returned through arranged shipping; unclaimed work may be donated or destroyed if return arrangements are not made within two weeks after the exhibition closes.
Copyright and Image Usage
Photographers retain full copyright and ownership of their images. If selected, they grant PhotoPlace Gallery a non-exclusive, royalty-free license for exhibition catalogs, website presentation, and promotion of current or future gallery exhibitions through social media, newsletters, press materials, and related communications.
Photographers may revoke permission for future promotional use by providing written notice. Uses already published or distributed are unaffected, and exhibition records may remain online as part of the gallery’s permanent archive. The organizer does not acquire the right to commercially license or otherwise exploit images without the photographer’s explicit permission.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
