A Guide To July 2026 Photo Awards & Open Calls

MUUS Collection Research Fellowship, Textile Exchange: Fashion Regenerated, Kometa: Fellowship Programme, Charta Award, and Prix Photoforum are among the opportunities we selected this month.

MUUS Collection Research Fellowship

Deadline 31 July / No entry fee

The MUUS Collection Research Fellowship offers a $20,000 (€17,500) grant – inclusive of full travel coverage – to an international curator or academic with at least five years of professional experience in cultural institutions. Running from November 2026 to November 2027, the fellowship enables the recipient to develop an exhibition or publication concept by conducting research at the MUUS archives in Tenafly, New Jersey, and utilizing the MUUSEUM Research Portal. The selected fellow will focus exclusively on works by artists within the collection (such as Deborah Turbeville, Larry Fink, Rosalind Fox Solomon, or Alfred Wertheimer) while benefiting from remote mentorship sessions with an esteemed advisory board.

The jury is composed of Nathalie Herschdorfer (Photo Elysée), Sarah Meister (Aperture), Sophie Wright (MUUS Collection), Mark Sealy (Autograph), and Paul Roth (Image Centre), with the fellowship recipient to be decided in October and announced at Paris Photo

Find out more on their website.

Textile Exchange: Fashion Regenerated 2026

Deadline 20 July / No entry fee

Organized by Textile Exchange in partnership with Atmos, the call invites photographers and filmmakers to submit visual stories documenting real-world examples of ecological and community restoration across the fashion industry.

The grand prize recipient will receive a $10,000 (€8,750) commissioned assignment, with production and travel costs included, to produce a new body of work that will be published by both organizations and exhibited at the 2026 Textile Exchange Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Two runners-up will also receive a $2,000 (€1,750) cash prize alongside publication and exhibition opportunities.

Submissions are welcome until 20 July, with no entry fee. Learn more on their website.

Kometa: Fellowship Programme

Deadline 31 July / No entry fee

Launched by the independent media outlet Kometa, Kometa grants €10,000 gross to six journalists, writers, or photographers to support field-based, investigative projects addressing conflict, censorship, disinformation, and social change. For its first cycle, the programme will fund three projects exploring the localized mechanisms and counter-narratives of Disinformation, and three projects capturing the nuanced realities and ordinary lives within the Gulf region.

Selected fellows will have one year to complete their projects and will benefit from the financial support to cover research, travel, production, and working time, while collaborating with Kometa's editorial team and contributing monthly field reports to their newsletter, La Comète.

Learn more on Kometa's website.

Charta Award 2026

Deadline 25 July / Entry fee €25

An annual program of the biennial Charta Festival, the award invites international artists to submit unpublished, book-ready photographic projects. One selected recipient will have their project published by Yogurt Editions in a 500-copy print run, receiving 30 complimentary copies and 10% royalties while retaining the project's copyright.

Additionally, through a partnership with Artphilein, one shortlisted artist will be selected to present a solo exhibition at their space in Switzerland, between April and May 2027.

Check the full terms on their website.

Prix Photoforum 2026

Deadline 7 July / Entry fee €70 (€38 for students)

Photoforum Pasquart is looking for photographers and artists with a distinctive approach to their practice to submit projects exploring the boundaries of the medium. Between 10 and 15 artists will be selected to be featured in a group exhibition in December 2026 in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Selected artists will receive CHF 500 (€540) toward production and transport costs, participate in a Portfolio Day to network with industry experts, and compete for the main Prix Photoforum award of CHF 5,000 (€5,430).

The jury is composed of Olivia Fahmy (Fondation Gandur pour l'Art & Centre Culturel Afropea), Margherita Guerra (Fotofestival Lenzburg), Gregor Huber (Edition Hors-Sujet), Sophie Huguenot (Fotografin), and Amelie Schüle (Photoforum).

You can apply until 7 July. Learn more on Photoforum Pasquart's website.

InCadaqués Festival‍ 2026 Open Call

Deadline 17 July / Entry fee €25

The InCadaqués International Photography Festival invites photographers worldwide to submit projects with no theme restrictions. 20 photographers will be selected to exhibit their work during the 2026 edition in Cadaqués, Spain, offering over €20,000 in combined cash prizes and exhibition support. The main prize recipient will receive €1,000, full production coverage for a solo show, accommodation, transportation, and VIP festival access. Among the other selected artists, 14 finalists will each receive a €150 cash prize, production support for an exhibition, and portfolio presentation opportunities.

The festival also features specialized awards such as the Fisheye Magazine – Women Photography Award and the New Realities Photography Award, both of which offer a €1,000 cash prize alongside a solo exhibition with accommodation. Additionally, three Special Mentions will receive €300 cash prizes with exhibition support. Finally, two projects selected for the Instagram Prize will be featured in the InCadaqués Risograph Catalogue.

Find out more on the festival's website.

Apparently in America - Artist Award 2026

Deadline 4 July / Entry fee €10

Photographers are invited to reflect on the complex, shifting landscape of the U.S. through satire, sincerity, protest, or poetry. A key requirement is that applicants must complete the phrase "Apparently, in America..." within their written project description.

A jury composed of Cali M. Banks, Leah DeVun, William Camargo, and Francesca Hummler, will select one grand prize recipient to receive $500 (€435) to support their practice, alongside a featured profile on the platform. Up to three honorable mentions will also be awarded.