Call Description

Pasadena Photography Arts is pleased to announce an open call for our PPA Photo Award 2026: Excellence in Contemporary Photography (Open Theme). This annual award recognizes and promotes emerging photographers, with residence in the United States, exemplifying excellence in contemporary photography. *Photographer must have a US bank account to complete application.*

The 2026 PPA Photo Award is accepting entries through April 12th, 2026. Results will be publicly announced August 21st, 2026. Photographers are invited to submit cohesive bodies of work between 10 - 20 images with an accompanying statement. Analogue, digital, portrait, abstract, mixed-media, documentary, street photography, conceptual, still-life photography, landscape, alternative photography, cell phone photography is acceptable. No fully generated AI images allowed, however, AI as an editing tool is permissible (e.g., Photoshop, Capture One, etc.).

The jury panel will be composed of Pasadena Photography Arts Advisors alongside guest juror Craig Krull, art dealer and founder of Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica. Entries will be judged on the basis of creativity, originality, quality, and responsiveness to the call.
 

Learn about last year's PPA Photo Award Winner Teela Misa DeLeon

The Prize

• $2,000 Cash Prize
• Lenscratch Feature
• Published Interview on PPA website
• A Virtual Hosted Artist Talk

Timeline

• January 6, 2026 : Call for entries is open for submissions
• DEADLINE - April 12, 2026: Deadline to submit. Call for entries closes at 11:59pm MT. Late submissions will not be considered.
• August 21, 2026: Winner announced
   

Fees

Artists will pay a non-refundable $42 application fee.
 

Application Requirements

Each artist that applies must meet all requirements as outlined on CaFÉ, in addition to the following:

• Photography Submission:
  • Applicants should submit at least 10 images to show the scope of the project, and can submit up to 20 images total. Images to be submitted digitally, in .jpg format, in sRGB color space, 1200 pixels on the long side, 72ppi, and no larger file than 5 MB each.
  • Jpegs should be named as following: 
    ProjectTitle_01.jpg …
    ProjectTitle_02.jpg …
  • All images submitted must have a common theme or work together as a whole.
  • NO watermarks 
• Supplemental Materials:
  • Project Title
  • Project description of up to 2,000 characters
  • Biography of up to 2,000 characters
  • PDF of Artist CV (optional)
  • Link to website (optional)

Eligibility Criteria

All artists are encouraged to apply to this annual photo award. Artists must meet following criteria:

• Artist must be 18 years or older.
• Artist must be a legal resident and currently have a primary address and bank account in the United States.
• Work may be from anywhere in the world, utilizing any type of photography (Analogue, digital, portrait, abstract, mixed-media, documentary, street photography, conceptual, still-life photography, landscape, alternative photography, cell phone photography is acceptable), as long as all work is solely the applicant’s. No fully generated AI images allowed, AI as an editing tool is permissible (e.g., Photoshop, Capture One, etc.). Work may range from documentary to fine art narrative (images may be altered or abstracted, candid or staged).
• Submitted photographs must NOT contain watermarks
• Submitted photographs should be original works made by the artist. While found materials may be incorporated, projects primarily composed of found photographs or found objects will not be considered.
• Applicant may submit up to 2 projects per award cycle, but each project must be its own entry. Winning projects from prior years are NOT eligible.
• Projects must be previously unpublished. For the purposes of this award, “published” is defined as a project in which 10 or more photographs have been exhibited in a gallery, published on another organization’s website or platform, or included in a book; any of these circumstances would render the project ineligible. However, projects that have been fully self-published on the artist’s own website or social media platforms are eligible. Projects included in a self-published book are also eligible, provided the book has not received ANY awards or accolades. 
• Previously submitted projects to the PPA Photo Award are eligible for re-submission, but only if they have NOT been awarded prize money or featured on another platform in their entirety.
• The PPA Photo Award consists of exclusively online publications and exposure. Winning artist DOES NOT have to ship work.

FAQ

Who can submit?

Anyone who is an emerging photographer and legal resident and currently has a primary address and bank account in the United States. Previous PPA Photo Award winners cannot resubmit with a new project.

I currently live outside of the United States, but I am a US citizen, can I apply for the PPA Award? 

Yes, if you currently have a primary address and bank account in the United States you can submit your project.

How do you define emerging?

For this call, “emerging” refers to photographers who are currently enrolled as students, are within the first five years of their professional photography practice, or whose primary income is not derived from photography.

What work will be considered?
Analogue, digital, portrait, abstract, mixed-media, documentary, street photography, conceptual, still-life photography, landscape, alternative processes, cell phone photography is acceptable.

My project incorporates found photos and found objects, is it still eligible for the award?

Submitted photographs should be original works made by the artist. While found materials may be incorporated, projects primarily composed of found photographs or found objects will not be considered.

What is a project?
A project is a minimum of 10 images. We will consider up to 20 images taken from a project. Images must share a common theme or concept. Projects will be judged as a whole.  

What are the requirements for the uploaded image digital files?
Digital images should be in sRGB format, 1200 pixels on the long side, 72ppi, and no larger file than 5 MB each. Name the files as: ProjectTitle_01.jpg … ProjectTitle_02.jpg … 

Please do not use other symbols or spaces in the file name. Since you will be submitting a series of images, please number them and upload in order of importance. Note: The first image should be the opening image.

How much does it cost to submit?
There is a $42 submission fee. There are a limited number of scholarships available, please reach out to pasadenaphotoarts@gmail.com for assistance.

My project has been previously shown in a gallery and/or published. Am I still eligible for the PPA Award?
To be eligible for the PPA Award, your project must not have been previously shown in its entirety in a gallery setting or published on another organization's website or platform. For the purposes of this award, “published” is defined as a project in which 10 or more photographs have been exhibited in a gallery, published on another organization’s website or platform, or included in a book; any of these circumstances would render the project ineligible. However, projects that have been fully self-published on the artist’s own website or social media platforms are eligible. Projects included in a self-published book are also eligible, provided the book has not received ANY awards or accolades. 

Can I enter more than one project?
Yes, you can submit up to 2 projects. Please note, each project submission requires a separate entry fee.

How will I know if my submission is complete, and what do I do if it's not?
If, at the time of the competition’s close, a submission is incomplete (e.g. the submission has not been paid, or the images have not been uploaded correctly), it will not be eligible for juried consideration. Though we make every effort to make contact and to ensure completion of submissions, we are not responsible for incomplete entries and are unable to offer a refund, should an entry be incomplete at the time of the competition’s close.

How will my images be used?
Photographers retain copyright of all images. Images will be used on the Pasadena Photography Arts website and media pages, Lenscratch and social media pages for promotion of all winners and the award in future years.

How many awards are there per year?
There is one PPA Award granted each year.

Can collaborating artists apply?
Yes.

Can I edit or make changes to my application after submission?
No, once submitted no changes can be made to your application. Please review your work selection and writing carefully.

If I am granted the award, will I be expected to report how I use the prize money?
No, we will not require the submission of any receipts or reports. We hope that the cash prize can help the winner with any aspect of their pursuit as an artist.

Who pays taxes?
The winner of the award is responsible for paying any taxes.