A doorway can divide a photograph into two stories. A reflection can create another space inside the first, while a window, mirror, picture frame, or architectural opening can redirect attention toward a detail that might otherwise go unnoticed. Frames Within Frames by Praxis Gallery focuses on this visual device and its ability to shape perspective, relationships, boundaries, and meaning within a single image.
The international juried exhibition is open for submissions until August 16, 2026. Up to 74 photographs will be selected for display at Praxis Gallery in Minneapolis from September 19 through October 10, 2026. Accepted work will also appear in the gallery’s online exhibition archive. Photographers browsing broader opportunities for online photo submissions will find that this call combines a digital entry process with a physical gallery exhibition.
All photographic genres and interpretations are eligible, provided that one or more frames inside the image form the conceptual basis of the work. The structure may emphasize a subject, separate spaces, introduce reflection, create visual layers, or address ideas such as isolation and enclosure. Entries cost $35 for up to five images, with additional photographs priced at $5 each, up to ten images in total. Praxis members may submit ten images for the price of five, and artists experiencing financial hardship may request a free submission.
Frames Within Frames by Praxis Gallery 2026 Prizes
The principal opportunity is inclusion in an international juried exhibition at Praxis Gallery, a physical photography venue in Minneapolis. Up to 74 photographs will be selected, with accepted work presented both in the gallery and on its online exhibition page.
- Juror’s Choice: The selected photographer receives free entry to three future Praxis Gallery juried calls of the artist’s choice.
- Directors’ Choice: The recipient receives free entry to two future juried calls of the artist’s choice.
- Eight Honorable Mentions: These photographs will be featured in the physical exhibition, the printed exhibition catalog, and the online exhibition gallery.
- Selected photographers: Accepted images will be exhibited at Praxis Gallery from September 19 through October 10, 2026, and permanently archived in the gallery’s online exhibition collection.
Selected artists may send an original unframed print or use the Praxis printing service for $37. The service covers printing, matting, framing, and installation. Praxis provides the matting and framing for original prints as well. This places the call among photography opportunities offering both gallery exhibition opportunities and publication in an exhibition catalog.
Related Photo Contests
Frames Within Frames Categories and Theme
There are no separate entry categories. Instead, the exhibition is organized around one curatorial theme: the use of a frame or multiple frames within the photograph itself.
Doorways, windows, mirrors, picture frames, and architectural structures are among the suggested approaches, but the call is not limited to those examples. The internal frame may guide attention toward a subject, establish relationships between separate areas, or explore perspective, reflection, boundary, and isolation.
Frames Within Frames Dates and Entry Fees
The submission and exhibition schedule is as follows:
- Submission deadline: August 16, 2026, at 11:59 p.m.
- Notification: August 25, 2026, at 4 p.m. CT.
- Exhibition dates: September 19 through October 10, 2026.
Entry fees:
- $35 for up to five images.
- $5 for each additional image, with a maximum of ten images.
- Praxis members receive ten submissions for the price of five.
- Artists experiencing financial hardship may request a free submission by contacting Praxis Gallery.
How to Enter
Entries must be submitted as digital JPEG files through the online application form. Each file should be 72 ppi, no more than 1,920 pixels on its longest side, and no larger than 8 MB.
Files must follow the naming format ImageTitle_by_FirstName_LastName. For example: MyPhoto_by_Amy_Johnson.jpg. After the selection process, accepted photographers will receive instructions for either shipping an original print or uploading a high-resolution file for gallery printing.
Why Enter Frames Within Frames by Praxis Gallery?
Frames Within Frames by Praxis Gallery is built around a clear visual idea while remaining open to different genres, processes, and interpretations. Rather than prescribing a particular subject, it asks photographers to consider how internal structures affect the reading of an image. That focus can accommodate work concerned with space, portraiture, architecture, visual narrative, reflection, or abstraction without turning the exhibition into a general open-theme selection.
The exhibition format is also concrete. Up to 74 photographs will appear in a physical Minneapolis gallery, while accepted images will receive a continuing presence through the Praxis online archive. Honorable Mention recipients also gain inclusion in a printed catalog, and the Juror’s Choice and Directors’ Choice awards provide access to future calls.
For photographers comparing the best photography competitions, the distinction here lies in the combination of a tightly defined concept, physical display, online archiving, and options for either artist-supplied or gallery-produced prints. International entrants can participate through the same digital submission process and arrange printing through Praxis if shipping an original is impractical.
Rules and Copyright
The critical rules and image-rights conditions are summarized below. Entrants should review the complete official call before submitting.
Rules
- Entrants must be at least 18 years old.
- Submitted images must not have been exhibited at Praxis Gallery during the previous year.
- A maximum of ten photographs may be submitted.
- Entry fees are non-refundable.
- Selected artists may provide an original unframed print or purchase the Praxis printing service.
- Original prints must arrive in reusable return packaging with prepaid return postage.
- Praxis uses 22 × 22-inch black exhibition frames with standard pre-cut white mats.
- Available maximum image dimensions are 11 × 11, 10 × 15, 11.8 × 15, or 8 × 15 inches.
- Praxis does not crop submitted digital files, although portions of oversized prints may be covered by the mat opening.
- Artists may offer exhibited prints for sale. Praxis retains a 50% commission on completed sales.
Copyright and Image Usage
Artists retain full copyright to their photographs. By submitting, they give Praxis Gallery a non-exclusive right to use accepted images for exhibition display, promotion of the artist and related programs, online exhibition archives, social media, and website features.
The photographer’s name will accompany the work wherever it is displayed. Selected images will also remain permanently archived in the Praxis Gallery & Photographic Art Center online exhibition gallery.
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For more information and to participate in the contest, visit: the official website.