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Open Call: A Celebration of Contemporary Photography by PhotoPlace Gallery arrives as a broad, timely juried exhibition built around the many ways photography is being made now. Presented in celebration of World Photography Day on August 19, the call welcomes a wide range of photographic subjects, styles, and processes, from traditional image-making to more experimental approaches.
The exhibition is open to photographers worldwide aged 18 and over, with a submission deadline of June 8, 2026. Selected work will be shown in PhotoPlace Gallery’s Middlebury, Vermont gallery and in its Online Gallery, with all 75 selected images included in the exhibition catalog and kept permanently on the gallery website. For photographers browsing the best photography challenges online, this Open Call: A Celebration of Contemporary Photography offers an open theme while still providing a juried gallery context.
Jurors Paula Tognarelli and PhotoPlace Gallery Director Zach Hoffman will select up to 35 images for the physical gallery exhibition and another 40 for the Online Gallery. Awards include a $300 Juror’s Award, a $200 Director’s Award, and three Honorable Mentions of $50 each. The entry fee is $39 for up to five images, with additional images accepted for $6 each.
Prizes
The prize structure combines cash awards with exhibition, catalog, online publication, and social media promotion. The main opportunity is selection for a juried PhotoPlace Gallery exhibition, with monetary awards given to several selected photographers.
- Juror’s Award: $300.
- Director’s Award: $200.
- Honorable Mentions: Three photographers will each receive $50.
- Physical Gallery Selection: Up to 35 images will be selected for exhibition at PhotoPlace Gallery in Middlebury, Vermont.
- Online Gallery Selection: Another 40 images will be selected for the Online Gallery.
- Catalog Publication: All 75 selected images will be reproduced in the exhibition catalog, which is available for purchase.
- Permanent Online Feature: All selected images will remain permanently on the PhotoPlace Gallery website.
- Promotion: Selected works are promoted on social media with links to photographers’ URLs.
Related Photo Contests
Categories or Themes
There are no separate categories in A Celebration of Contemporary Photography by PhotoPlace Gallery. The exhibition is organized as an open call for contemporary photographic work across all subjects, styles, and processes. Its broad scope makes the call especially suitable for photographers looking for an open theme photo contest with a gallery-based selection process.
Dates and Entry Fees
The call follows a clear schedule, with selected works moving from jurying to print preparation and exhibition during the summer of 2026.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Submission deadline | June 8, 2026 |
| Prints due | July 24, 2026 |
| Exhibition | August 7 – August 29, 2026 |
| World Photography Day context | August 19, 2026 |
Entry fees:
- Submission fee: $39 for up to 5 images.
- Additional images: $6 for each additional image.
- Number of images: There is no stated limit on how many images may be submitted.
Images may be added to a submission before the deadline, but submitted images cannot be deleted or replaced after submission.
How to Enter
Photographers submit work through the PhotoPlace Gallery online submission system. First-time users create an account with a user ID and password; returning users can log in with their email address. Adding a website and social media links to the profile is recommended, as these links may be used when selected work is promoted.
Files must be JPG or JPEG only, up to 5 MB, around 2100 pixels on the longest side, with 300 ppi recommended. The sRGB color space is recommended for both color and black-and-white images. Watermarks and signatures should be avoided, and diptychs or triptychs should be assembled into a single image before upload.
About the Jury
The A Celebration of Contemporary Photography open call will be juried by Paula Tognarelli and Zach Hoffman, Gallery Owner and Director of PhotoPlace Gallery.
Paula Tognarelli recently retired after a long tenure as Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Massachusetts. During her time there, she produced approximately 54 exhibitions per year, reviewed portfolios at national and local events, and juried or curated more than 100 exhibitions for institutions in the United States and internationally.
Zach Hoffman is a photographer, educator, and advocate for the arts. He studied Film and Photography at Montana State University and later completed a Master’s degree in Photographic Arts at Lesley University. He joined PhotoPlace Gallery in 2020 and became its owner in 2025, continuing the gallery’s focus on exhibitions, photographic arts, and support for artists.
Why Enter A Celebration of Contemporary Photography?
This call gives photographers a broad editorial frame without asking them to fit into a narrow category. That matters for work that crosses boundaries: a personal documentary series, a constructed image, a landscape study, a portrait, or a process-based experiment can all sit within the same contemporary photography conversation.
The gallery context is also specific. PhotoPlace Gallery has curated juried exhibitions since 2009, with selected works displayed in its Middlebury, Vermont gallery and online. For photographers comparing photography competitions, the value here comes from the combination of juried selection, physical and online visibility, printed catalog inclusion, permanent website presentation, and social media promotion.
Rules and Copyright
This section about the rules and image rights of the Open Call: A Celebration of Contemporary Photography by PhotoPlace 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 to photographers aged 18 and up. Submissions must be the photographer’s own work, and the entrant must take full responsibility for the content of each image. Elements by others may be incorporated only when the final image remains essentially the entrant’s work.
Images generated primarily by artificial intelligence are not accepted, although post-processing with tools such as Photoshop is allowed. Images accepted into previous PhotoPlace exhibitions may not be resubmitted for three years from the opening date of that exhibition.
The jurying process is blind. Jurors do not see the photographer’s name or file information, and files are renamed to preserve anonymity. Image titles supplied by the photographer are used for cataloging and display.
Copyright and Image Usage
Photographers retain all rights to their images. If a work is selected, the photographer grants PhotoPlace Gallery permission to display it on the gallery website and social media, include it in the exhibition catalog, and use it to promote future exhibits with credit.
Selected works are never used for other purposes without permission, and personal account information is not shared. For works selected for the physical gallery exhibition, photographers may use PhotoPlace Gallery’s professional print service, ship their own print, or send a ready-to-hang framed piece after confirming suitability with the gallery.
For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.
